Orla Rapple goes on a Dublin literary pub crawl — combining history, literature
and alcohol.
Dublin City is renowned for its literary geniuses, great buildings and
even greater pubs. So what better way to take in these three tourist attractions
than on the Dublin Literary Pub Crawl?
The literary pub crawl starts off upstairs in the Duke, just off Grafton
Street, at 7.30pm, on Thursdays to Sundays during the winter season (November
to March 31) and every night from April to October. While partaking in the
first of many drinks of the evening the audience are introduced to Eithne
and Donnagh, two actors who are our hosts for the night. Eithne and Donnagh
have a wealth of Irish literary information and pass it onto their audience
through well-acted excerpts from plays and letters written by Dublin’s best-known
writers. Eithne gets the audience in the mood with a rendition of the old
Dublin song, Waxie Dargle, a term that would not be familiar to most tourists
but soon they are all singing along to the chorus. Then comes an excerpt
from Samuel Beckett’s masterpiece Waiting for Godot followed by interpretations
of the play and information on the life and times of Beckett. This may all
just sound like a better-situated English lesson but through Eithne and
Donnagh’s wit Beckett’s biography takes on a life of its own. Added to this
are details of the history of The Duke and the first couple of questions
for the literary quiz, a competition with some great souvenirs of the pub
crawl as prizes and with questions that keep the audience on their toes
throughout the tour.
The Dublin Literary Pub Crawl is not just based around pubs and alcohol.
After The Duke the next stop is Trinity College, where Eithne and Donnagh
delve into the lives of Jonathan Swift, Bram Stoker, Oscar Wilde and Oliver
Goldsmith, who were all students of the college at one time. It is mainly
the life of Oscar Wilde that is dealt with during this stop as Eithne describes
his life at Trinity College and his subsequent literary tour of America.
Eithne relives many of Wilde’s letters to family and friends during his
tour with hilarious results. Some pretty interesting details are divulged
about Wilde and the other writers as well. For example, did you know that
Oliver Goldsmith wrote the children’s nursery rhymes Jack and Jill and Hickory
Dickory Dock? Or that Oscar Wilde once boxed for Trinity College?
After all that information it is time for another pint and the tour moves
to O’Neill’s on Suffolk Street, a watering hole for many present day Irish
writers, including Brian Keenan, the Beirut hostage and author of An Evil
Cradling and Brendan Kennelly, the poet and critic and Professor of Modern
Literature at Trinity College. Unfortunately we are given just a 20 minute
break at O’Neill’s before Eithne and Donnagh introduce us to Saint Andrew’s
Church across the road from the pub. Here there are details on the history
of the church as well as an excerpt from a short story by Anne Devlin, the
only female writer dealt with on the pub crawl. Then it’s on to The Old
Stand on Saint Andrews Street for another liquid break.
Before every pub stop either Donnagh or Eithne give a short history of
the establishment we are about to visit with some interesting snippets from
its past. On the way to The Old Stand the audience are advised to look out
for a black and white photographic print from the late 1920s in one corner
of the pub as it captures the funeral cortege of Kevin O’Higgins, the assassinated
Minister for Justice and regular customer of the pub, passing the doors
of The Old Stand on its way to Glasnevin Cemetery.
After our stop at The Old Stand it is back to Duke Street where Eithne
and Donnagh lead their audience down a side street for the literary pub
quiz and prize-giving ceremony. Then we are entertained with a surprising
excerpt from one of Samuel Beckett’s plays before we head into Davy Byrnes-
another pub full of literary history. It got a mention in two of Joyce’s
masterpieces, Dubliners and Ulysses.
The Dublin Literary Pub Crawl is not just for tourists. The tour, which
takes just over two hours, gives so many interesting details about Dublin’s
past that even the most cynical city-dweller could not fail to be impressed
with Dublin’s literary background. For those who would rather take in the
literary and liquid sights of Dublin during the day there is a pub crawl
every Sunday at noon.
There is never a dull moment on this tour, however if you are expecting
to spend a long time languishing in various pubs you may be disillusioned.
There is only time for one drink in each establishment and the tour bases
itself around just four pubs that are all in the general vicinity of Grafton
Street. However the Dublin Literary Pub Crawl cannot fail to entertain you,
as it is the perfect combination of history, literature and alcohol.
Tickets for the Dublin Literary Pub Crawl are priced at 8.89 Euro for
adults and 7.62 Euro for students. Tickets can be booked upstairs at The
Duke before the tour (it is advisable to arrive at The Duke at least half
an hour in advance of the tour) or at Dublin’s Tourism Centre on Suffolk
Street.
More details on the Dublin Literary Pub Crawl can be found by calling
00 353 1 6705620 or by emailing
info@dublinpubcrawl.com
