My interests in Irish literature are limited to James Joyce, though I readily concede there is way, way more to Irish lit, much of it among the world's greatest literature. Anyhow, while Vicki did a tour of Trinity U and the Book of Kells, I did a 90 minute walk under the auspices of the James Joyce Center.
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As observed earlier, you can learn a fair amount about Irish lit just reading the signs
on various buildings in Temple Bar |
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Or noticing the sculpture at various pubs |
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Or reading the sidewalk plaques that are all over the old
city; Dubliners are justifiably proud of their literary heritage,
even including the silence, cunning, and exile bits |
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The Joyce Center's circle walk was ably led by this young woman, whose
knowledge of the city, Joyce and his writings, was impressive; nor was she
one of those who simply venerates Joyce; here she is telling us about
Belvedere College, Joyce's most formative years, and Stephen's |
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7 Eccles Street is one of the most famous addresses in literature |
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Alas, the flat occupied by the Blooms is no longer there (there's a plaque to Joyce
on the building's lower left) |
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Now a hospital, although someone has helpfully hung a small banner for tourists |
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Similarly with many of the addresses associated with the Joyce/ Daedalus family,
whose frequent removals kept them a step ahead of the creditors |
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One of their addresses, on Hardwicke Lane, now also gone |
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The house in which Gogarty (Buck Mulligan) was born; Joyce and Gogarty were
friends and rivals, early on; in a more conventional sense, Gogarty was the more
successful...if wealth and public approval count... |
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The Gresham Hotel ("Ivy Day in the Committee Room," Dubliners; the Parnell
statue is nearby) |
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"The prick with a stick," as Dubliners now call it, just off the
intersection of Henry and O'Connell |
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Interesting observation, in an exhibit at the art museum on the subject of the
Irish Diaspora; it took Joyce a while to get to the generosity stage... |