The wonderful thing about Dublin pubs though is that the stool you’re sitting on, or the snug you’re snuggled in could well have been used by any one of our great literary heroes.

Dublin Literary Pubs

Dubliners are famed for their storytelling and it’s no surprise that many a tale has been told by a worn bar counter. Dublin’s pubs have set the scene for many of our greatest literary glories too with Leopold Bloom of Ulysses frequenting one or two of the city’s finest establishments.

The wonderful thing about Dublin pubs though is that the stool you’re sitting on, or the snug you’re snuggled in could well have been used by any one of our great literary heroes. Imagine Beckett tracing out the set design for a play or Flann O’Brien chuckling to himself at a freshly written joke.

So draw up a stool and be part of the story and who knows – that person you’re sharing a Guinness with might just be Dublin’s very next literary star.

Brazen Head

Rumour has it that the creator of Gulliver’s Travels Jonathan Swift made this spot his local. Swift was also Dean of the nearby Christchurch Cathedral and so he didn’t have far to walk home after a beer or two. Legend also suggests that Robin Hood crossed the threshold here and seeing as the pub dates back as far as 1198 it doesn’t seem such a tall tale.

Oliver St John Gogarty

Kavanagh was asked by his father to take over the country farm. He kindly declined and instead walked the 120 miles from his home in Monaghan to Dublin city. It’s places like Gogarty’s that made his trip worthwhile. The pub is named after the poet and author Oliver St. John Gogarty who served as inspiration for the character Buck Mulligan in Ulysses. Kavanagh drank here along with his chum, the comic genius Flann O’ Brien. Grab a stool at the bar before exploring Trinity College.

Davy Byrne's

In James Joyce’s Ulysses our hero Leopold Bloom describes Davy Byrne’s as a ‘Nice quiet bar. Nice piece of wood in that counter. Nicely planed. Like the way it curves’. The bar is still as handsome and has hosted its fair share of Dublin’s literary notables over the intervening years. The pub is especially busy and bustling during the Bloomsday Festival that celebrates Joyce and his magnum opus, Ulysses. 

Neary's

Author of the Borstal Boy and general man-about-town Brendan Behan loved this place and you can see why. Either get here early and secure the cosy snug (use the door on the left-hand side) or sneak a seat in the lounge and enjoy the banter of the chatty Dublin locals. After a spot of shopping on Grafton Street you’ll be glad of a comfortable seat.

Toners

The poet and playwright William Butler Yeats was no great fan of pubs so the fact that he visited Toner’s is no small compliment! Decked out in worn wood with its eccentric little nooks and crannies Toner’s is old world at its best. Art fans will be happy to know that the pub is just a two-minute stroll from The National Gallery and The Natural History Museum, making Baggot Street quite the area for culture-vultures!