Dublin Writers Museum, Parnell Square

Note 2023 - sadly the Dublin Writers Museum is now closed.

I was born in Tipperary, and have been back to Ireland a few times, including 2012 when I spent four days exploring Dublin with my younger son. He enjoyed a visit to the James Joyce Centre (I haven’t read Ulysses all the way through – have you?) while I opted for an hour or two at the Dublin Writers Museum.

Simple on the Outside, Ornate on the Inside

This quirky, haphazard, or charming, depending on who you talk to, museum is located in a fine 18th century Georgian house in Parnell Square, a few blocks off the northern end of O’Connell Street. The building used to be the family mansion of the Jameson whiskey barons, and includes a beautifully ornate, gilded ballroom on the upper level. (Where you’ll find James Joyce’s piano. Must have been a museum tug of war on that one.)

Photo:  DublinPass site — Photo: DublinPass site

Failte Ireland , the Irish Tourist Board, which now owns the museum, describes it this way on their website:

"In 1991, the Dublin Writers Museum was opened to house a history and celebration of literary Dublin. The collection features the lives and works of Dublin's literary celebrities over the past three hundred years. Swift and Sheridan, Shaw and Wilde, Yeats, Joyce and Beckett are among those presented through their books, letters, portraits and personal items."

Not in a Cafe

In 2012 there was a small café down the hall from a bookstore on the basement level, part of an annex behind the building. I ended up not stopping there; it was about to close, plus it was small and dark. I like large, airy museum cafes best. Now, in 2018, the bookstore remains but the café has been turned into a fine dining restaurant called Chapter One. The claustrophobic closeness has morphed into cozy, catacomb-like charm. Expensive but it seems to be a hit!

Since I did not stop at the café during my visit, my customary break was spent walking across the street to the Garden of Remembrance (park honoring Irish freedom fighters) to rest on a bench and enjoy a Wispa candy bar. (This aerated chocolate is divine - I got pocketfuls of them as I walked miles around town. They were conveniently priced at one euro coin each. I've even had them shipped over here from the UK.)

In a Cafe

In a small room off the ballroom upstairs I discovered a display for the short story writer Mary Lavin (1912-1996). A large portrait of Mary was hanging above a display case, and the pendant she was wearing in the painting was in the case, along with her childhood teddy bear (complete with lace dress.) There was also a letter that she had carefully saved ... the one bringing news of her first literary award, the 1943 James Tait Black Memorial Prize for her debut collection of short stories, Tales from Bective Bridge. Heady stuff for a writer.

The next day I went to a bookstore and purchased a few of her story collections . "In a Cafe" and "Lilacs" are two of her most famous works. I read "Lilacs" over coffee and croissants at a busy restaurant (not a quiet cafe) near our hotel. Mary Lavin had a poignant command of human feelings and failings. She wrote with "staunch and pessimistic realism," according to University College Dublin.

An Arrow in Flight

Another intriguing discovery during this adventure was a wonderful insight into short story writing. While reading all I could get my hands on about Mary Lavin I found an interview where she described a well-written short story as "an arrow in flight." She said the art of creating short stories doesn't involve beginnings or endings - it's all about capturing that powerful arc right in the middle. A moment in time. That hits you right between the eyes. The rest is left to our imaginations.