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Dublin Writers Museum
Rating Details »
- Hours:
Mon-Sat. 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Sun. 11:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
- Price Range:
-
€
- Good for Children:
- Yes
5 reviews for Dublin Writers Museum
The Dublin Writers Museum is probably one of my favourites in the city. I can't believe I waited so long before coming here.
For a small fee of something like 7 Euro, you can spend hours in the old Georgian house looking at really old copies of books and photographs of all the famous writers.
The museum provides you with individual audio commentary and there's loads of information on wall panels. The exhitbition starts with Swift and contemporaries and ends with Behan.
There's a giftshop, a cafe and the most beautiful solarium with head busts of famous scribblers.
I hate that I don't agree with pretty much everyone else who has reviewed this place. I hate the fact that, though I am probably the biggest bookworm in the world, and even wrote a thesis on Irish literature and drama, I thought this museum was a big snooze.
I thought the audio guide was a neat idea; each exhibition case was numbered so you just punched in the number and the guide gave you some information about it. The general idea was to go in order, but that was actually kind of a problem. A bunch of people came in directly after us and they were all bunched up right behind us, trying to do the cases in order. But as a result, there was 10 people trying to see into one case... while the others around the room remained free. They kept pressuring my friend and I to move along, giving us exasperated looks. It was so bizarre!
At the same time, I didn't like the audio guide; it kind of seemed weird to go to a museum about writing and not actually read any of the written descriptions of the items, which were full of more information. The collection is really small, mostly first editions, and just takes up a couple of rooms. I was hoping to see more personal items and correspondences, but there were very few of these items. I thought it was just basically a waste of time and money, and that's coming from a huge literary nerd.
As Annie below says, this museum will set you back about 7.50 (as I type this, I'm back home in Pittsburgh, PA so I only have the $$ on my computer). I have to admit that I absolutely love to read. I adore books, both fiction and non-fiction, and my card at the Carnegie Library is so worn out from use, it looks like it went through the rinse cycle in the wash. So when I read about the Dublin Writers Museum in my travel guide, I just knew I had to visit it.
This museum isn't nearly as dry and boring as you may think. Naturally the focus is on famous Irish writers, both on a national and local level. Some of my favorite authors include Oscar Wilde (esp "The Picture of Dorian Gray") and James Joyce. While I enjoyed the movie "Waiting for Godot," I find Beckett to be a difficult read.
But anyway, back to the museum. It mostly occupies an 18th century house. There, you will find the gallery, exhibition area, and library. The museum rooms provide a history of Irish writers throughout history, up until the present. One room showcases writers up until the late 19th Century, the other features 20th and 21st Century authors. I enjoyed the audio tour available, especially in that I could pause the audio as I saw fit.
The annex building has a coffee shop and to me, there is no better way to spend a quiet afternoon than sipping on some Joe while turning the pages of great literature. As far as I'm concerned, http://Amazon.com can keep its Kindle. Nothing beats the printed word and paper.
Entrance to the museum with set you back €7.50 but if you can get a group together, it will pull the price down to €6.50.
It's a very well done tour, not as boring as some people may presume! You have the option of headphones to guide you through the museum. They really have crammed a lot in so you will feel that you have got value for money.
They have a library with first edition and rare books that you can investigate.
It concentrates on the literary greats from the city from past to present, it not only looks at their work but interesting facts about them which you may not of known. The artwork and displays are beautifully presented and you can finish off the tour with some tea in the coffee shop.
The Dublin writers Museum is housed in a building dating from around 1780 and renovated in 1991 by Dublin Tourism and reopened as the Dublin Writers Museum in the winter of 1991.
It houses a collection of rare editions, manuscript items and memorabilia relating to a long list of Irish writers. There is a temporary exhibition room, a gallery and library of rare books, a book shop and an space for readings and lectures.
In the house next door there is an area where writers can meet talk and work.