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Dublin Writers Museum

Coordinates:53°21′16″N6°15′50″W/ 53.354383°N 6.26401°W/53.354383; -6.26401
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Not to be confused withMuseum of Literature Ireland.

Dublin Writers Museum
Músaem na Scríbhneoirí, Baile Átha Cliath
Dublin Writers Museum is located in Central Dublin
Dublin Writers Museum
Location within Central Dublin
EstablishedNovember 1991
Location18Parnell Square,Dublin
Coordinates53°21′16″N6°15′50″W/ 53.354383°N 6.26401°W/53.354383; -6.26401
Public transit accessDublin Busroute 46E
Websitewritersmuseum

TheDublin Writers Museumwas a museum of literary history inDublin,Ireland.It opened in November 1991, and was hailed as an "iconic" museum in Dublin.[1]It closed during theCovid-19 pandemic,and was brought to an end in 2022 without ever reopening.

History[edit]

George JamesonHistorical Marker concerning the history of the house

Maurice Gorham,journalist and author, proposed the idea of starting a literary museum in the 1970s.[2]The museum was opened on 18 November 1991, run byDublin Tourism.[1]Its aim was "to promote interest inIrish literatureas a whole and in the lives and works of individual Irish writers ".[2]It was located in 18Parnell Square,and consisted of two eighteenth-century buildings.[1][3]The main building, ared-brickGeorgian-stylehouse, had been used by George Jameson, son of the Jameson family, who ownedJameson Irish Whiskey.[1]Michael Stapleton,stuccodorefrom Dublin, decorated part of the main building.[3]Gorham Library, which commemorated its founder Gorham, was also set up on the upper floor.[4]The annexed building had a coffee shop, bookshop, and lecture room.[2]

David Norrislaunched his presidential campaign ahead ofthe Irish presidential electionat Dublin Writers Museum on 5 October 2011.[5][6]

In 2012, Dublin Tourism was merged intoFáilte Ireland,and the musem had also been run byFáilte Irelandsince then.[7]

First Floor

Having opened in 1991, the museum closed in March 2020 due to theCovid-19lockdown.[7]It did not reopen. Set up byDublin Tourism,it was transferred toBord Failtein 2012. Bord Failte commissioned a report on its future in 2020, which concluded that it had become dated relative to modern expectations, so in 2022, the decision to end the operation permanently was made.[7]Two staff retired, two were allocated other Bord Failte duties. Announcements on the future of owned and lent artifacts were to follow.[7]Fáilte Irelandis still in charge of the museum artifacts after its closing.[7]

Stained glass windows

It is proposed that the building in 18Parnell Squareshould be used as a museum to commemorateHarry Clarke,astained glassartist from Dublin.[8]

Exhibitions[edit]

Entrance

The museum collected and exhibited various artifacts related to Irish writers.[1]It owned manuscripts, first editions, portraits, and personal mementos of many writers, includingJonathan Swift,Oscar Wilde,Bram Stoker,George Bernard Shaw,James Joyce,Samuel Beckett,Patrick Kavanagh,William Butler Yeats,Brendan Behan,Seamus Heaney,Brian Friel,Edna O'Brien,Roddy Doyle,Martin McDonagh,andColm Tóibín.[1]It exhibited Jonathan Swift'scoffee pot,the first edition of Bram Stoker'sDracula,Samuel Beckett's telephone, James Joyce'stypewriter,and Brendan Behan's union cards and letter.[3][9]It also had a replica ofBook of Kells.[10]Its exhibition was said to be filled with the belongings of "titans of Irish literature", although "most of those represented here are male and deceased".[11]

References[edit]

  1. ^abcdefKlein, Julia M. (15 November 2011)."Celebrating the Mordant, Witty and Darkly Romantic".Wall Street Journal.ISSN0099-9660.Retrieved1 August2022.
  2. ^abcKilfeather, Siobhán Marie (2005).Dublin: a cultural history.Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 195.ISBN978-0-19-518201-9.OCLC56876802.
  3. ^abc"Dublin Writers Museum | Dublin, Ireland | Sights".lonelyplanet.Retrieved1 August2022.
  4. ^Kilfeather, Siobhán Marie (2005).Dublin: a cultural history.Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 196.ISBN978-0-19-518201-9.OCLC56876802.
  5. ^"Norris: Voters can decide on my credibility".Irish Examiner.Archivedfrom the original on 7 October 2011.Retrieved5 October2011.
  6. ^Carroll, Steven; Nihil, Cían."Norris got TCD disability pay".The Irish Times.Archivedfrom the original on 6 October 2011.Retrieved5 October2011.
  7. ^abcdeÓ Conghaile, Pól."Dublin Writers Museum closed as it 'no longer meets expectation of contemporary visitor'".The Irish Independent.Retrieved11 August2022.
  8. ^"Harry Clarke Museum an ambition for Dublin City Council".RTÉ.19 July 2023.
  9. ^"Dublin Writers Museum".RTÉ Archives.Retrieved1 August2022.
  10. ^"'A group of drinkers with a writing problem': readers' favourite literary haunts ".the Guardian.3 March 2022.Retrieved1 August2022.
  11. ^"How to plan a literary walking tour through Dublin".Travel.19 April 2022.Retrieved18 May2024.

External links[edit]

53°21′16″N6°15′50″W/ 53.354383°N 6.26401°W/53.354383; -6.26401

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