The Best Literary Spots

Glasnevin Cemetery (County Dublin): Besides being the setting for part of the sixth episode of Ulysses, this is the resting place of James Joyce's parents and several other members of his family. The English-born poet Gerard Manley Hopkins is buried here, in the Jesuit plot. Maud Gonne, the Irish nationalist and longtime Dublin resident who is said to have inspired Yeats's play Cathleen ní Houlihan, is buried in the Republican plot.

Newman House (County Dublin): Cardinal John Henry Newman was the first rector of the Catholic University in Dublin, which was housed in two buildings on St. Stephen's Green in the center of the city's south side. He worked in that capacity from 1852 until his retirement in 1859. The Catholic University later became University College Dublin, where Gerard Manley Hopkins began teaching in 1884, as a professor of Greek; after 5 years of teaching here, Hopkins died at the age of 44. James Joyce studied here from 1899 to 1902.

North Dublin: The streets north of the Liffey are home to many of the characters in James Joyce's stories and novels; Joyce lived in this part of Dublin and had a special affinity for it. Much has changed since his time, and Bloom's house at 7 Eccles St. has been replaced by a new wing of the Mater Private Hospital. Still, many mementos of the city as it was in 1904 survive. Tours of the area begin at the James Joyce Centre.

St. Patrick's Cathedral (County Dublin): Jonathan Swift was born in Dublin in 1667 and entered Trinity College in his 15th year. He later became dean of St. Patrick's Cathedral, and is buried alongside Hester Johnson (Stella) in the cathedral's south aisle.

The Aran Islands: John Millington Synge set his play Riders to the Sea on Inishmaan, and wrote an account of life on the islands, titled simply The Aran Islands. Liam O'Flaherty, known for his novel Famine, is from the island of Inishmore.

County Sligo: It seems at times that every hill, house, and lake in the county is signposted in recognition of some relation to W. B. Yeats. The poet's writing was shaped by the landscape, mythology, and people of this region. Many of Sligo's natural and historic monuments -- including Lough Gill, Glencar Lake, Ben Bulben Mountain, and Maeve's tomb atop Knocknarea Mountain -- appear in Yeats's poetry. There are also several museums housing first editions, photographs, and other memorabilia, and Yeats's grave is in Drumcliffe.

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