There are few cities in the world, if any, that have produced more great writers than has Dublin. That is a bold statement to make but the facts support it.

For those who might disagree, the Dublin Writers Museum is the place to visit. The museum is dedicated solely to their works and achievements. The museum displays first editions, manuscripts, diaries, and letters from authors such as William Butler Yeats, James Joyce, Oscar Wilde, Samuel Becket, Patrick Kavanagh, and others.

Dracula to Ulysses

Books on display include a first edition of Bram Stokers Dracula, which was written in Dublin. Ulysses, the mammoth novel written by James Joyce and considered by many to be the best novel ever written, is set in Dublin. In addition to books written in and using Dublin as a setting, the city also is the birthplace of many literary luminaries, including Joyce, Yeats, and George Bernard Shaw.

James Joyce

There are at least two cultural attractions in the greater Dublin area devoted solely to James Joyce. The James Joyce Centre on George’s Street resides in an 18th century Georgian townhouse. Its stated mission is to inspire curiosity and promote enquiry into the life and works of Joyce through education, exhibitions, workshops, lectures, walking tours, and special events.

South of the center of the city is the James Joyce Museum. The museum is in one of one of a series of Martello towers built to withstand an invasion by Napoleon, located eight miles south of Dublin on the coast road. Joyce stayed there briefly and his visit inspired the opening of his masterpiece, Ulysses.

W.B. Yeats

If Joyce is recognized as Dublin’s (and thereby Ireland’s) most famous novelist, W.B. Yeats is its premiere poet. Yeats, also born in Dublin, grew up in the Sligo area, which inspired many of his poems. The son of famed Irish artist John Butler Yeats, Yeats studied to be an artist but in 1886 abandoned art to concentrate on writing. Like many other Irish writers and artists, Yeats moved to London before becoming famous.

Wilde and Shaw

Dublin also houses monuments to some of its lesser known literary figures, such as George Bernard Shaw and Oscar Wilde. Having two authors of such stature being ranked third or fourth among a city’s great writers gives further credence to the notion that Dublin is the most literary city in Europe.

The Oscar Wilde House, where the writer lived from 1855 to 1876, is an example of Georgian architecture with its many remarkable cornices, arches, and decorative centerpieces demonstrated throughout the house.

Also renovated and preserved is the birthplace of G. B. Shaw. The first home of the Shaw family and the renowned playwright has been restored to its Victorian elegance and charm and has the appearance that the family have just gone out for the afternoon.

If the names and places listed here are not enough, visitors also can look into some of the city’s other authors, such as Jonathan Swift or Oliver Goldsmith.