This is a post dedicated to the primary reason why I enjoy Dublin so much – the parks and the rich literary history coming from here. It really helps to come to Dublin if you enjoy literature, because apart from drinking, literature is the next biggest thing here. Dublin is full of bookstores – both used and new – and has an enormous literary history which continues to develop with modern Irish authors to this day. Dublin is proud of its literary history as well, marking all sorts of important literary figures’ homes and erecting statues to some of its stars. A lot of these statues are in some of the major parks you can find around Dublin.

St. Stephen’s Green is the largest park in the center of Dublin, and arguably the most beautiful. It has winding paths around the gorgeous tree lined plots around the park, and is home to two large ponds full of birds looking to be fed. You can come really close to swans and various species of duck here, as well as, of course, pigeons.

There is a bust of James Joyce in here as well, and this was one of my very first stops when we arrived in Dublin. You absolutely must pay tribute to the G.O.A.T. of literature when you come here. There is also a larger full-body statue north of The Liffey that I didn’t get to this time, but did pay homage on my previous trip in 2012.

Merrion Square is another large park relatively close to St. Stephen’s Green. Around this park you can find several homes of famous authors, and a very cheeky statue as well. Oscar Wilde spent some time living on this Square, and there is a plaque on his house. I believe there used to be a time where you could tour the home, but this was not possible when we were there in October. Right across from his home, and inside Merrion Square is the statue of Oscar hanging out on a big rock, looking straight at his home. I love this statue, and it’s a fun spot to take some photos.

Also on Merrion Square, you can find the former home of W.B. Yeats, one of Ireland’s most celebrated poets. There is a plaque there too. In fact, there are plaques on former homes all over Dublin of all sorts of famous people – not just authors – so it’s fun to run into them and see who these people where and where they lived. You can also get in and out of the National Gallery of Ireland off of Merrion Square, and you can read about our experience at the Gallery here.

Finally, I was excited to just happen to run into the plaque delineating one of Bram Stoker’s former homes. He is famously the author of Dracula, but the plaque says he was a theater manager as well, so that is something fun I hadn’t known about before.

This article really just scratches the surface on the deep dive you can do into Dublin’s literary history. There are all sorts of tours you can do, either guided or on your own, of Leopold Bloom’s day (June 16, 1904) from Ulysses. There are a ton of amazing book stores to check out, and I highly recommend checking the rare book store called Ulysses in the center of town, pictured at the top of this article. I picked up a signed Barrytown Trilogy edition by Roddy Doyle there 10 years ago, but they have a ton of signed and rare first editions that are fun to browse through even if you don’t have the means to buy. On their website they call James Joyce, Samuel Beckett, and Oscar Wilde the “holy trinity” which I absolutely love. Yes, you can find actual signed books from these guys at this shop too!

Come to Dublin with an open mind for literature, remember to spend at least a little time in its beautiful public parks, and pick up a book or two as the perfect souvenir from this incredibly literary city.