Follow in the footsteps of famous Dubliners with an excursion around
the city.
Our walk starts at Portobello College on South Richmond Street. This building was originally a hotel on the Grand Canal when it was on a busy network from Dublin to the River Shannon. Jack B.Yeats, the famous Irish impressionistic painter, lived there from 1950 till his death in 1957, when the Portobello House had become a nursing home. Turn right into Richmond Row and left at the end to Lennox Street. No.6 Lennox Street was the home of John McCann, a playwright and Lord Mayor of Dublin.
We next turn right into Synge Street and at No.33 we find the birthplace of one of the great names of Irish letters, George Bernard Shaw. Shaw spent the earlier part of his life here and his experiences in this modest middle-class home were to make an indelible imprint on his literary work. Shaw was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1925 for his play, Saint Joan. In 1993 the house was restored in all it's Victorian glory and now houses the Shaw Museum.
Heading back up Lennox Street, turn left up Kingsland Avenue and right into Walworth Road. At No.4 we find the Jewish Museum, which charts the history of the Jewish community in Ireland. No.1 is the birthplace of famous Irish actor, Barry Fitzgerald who made his debut in Hollywood at the age of 49. Fitzgerald appeared in such memorable films, as How Green is my Valley and The Quiet Man.
Turn left into Victoria Street and a right into St Kevin's Road and you will find Bloomfield Avenue. A right turn will bring you to No.33, the home of Ireland's first Chief Rabbi, Isaac Herzog and his son Chaim Herzog, recent President of Israel. Continue to the end of the street, turning right onto South Circular, until you find Heytesbury Street. No.33 was the birthplace of Cornelius Ryan, author of The Longest Day, The Last Battle and A Bridge Too Far. Turn right onto Grantham Street and right again onto Synge Street. Here we find the Synge Street School run by the Christian Brothers foundation with an array of past pupils including TV presenters, Gay Byrne and Eamonn Andrews and actors, Noel Purcell and Cyril Cusack.
Turn left onto Grantham Street and left again onto Camden Street. Across the road is The Bleeding Horse pub, which the Irish poet, James Clarence Mangan used to frequent. Head up Charlotte Way to Harcourt Street, where you will find a large stone building which used to house the Harcourt Street Railway Station. As we walk down Harcourt Street we find No.6 the residence from 1854 of John Henry, Cardinal Newman, the first rector of UCD and No.4 was the birthplace of Edward Henry Carson, the founder of modern unionism in Northern Ireland.
Walk straight onto St Stephen's Green West and just after Glover's Alley, at No.124 is the birthplace of Robert Emmet. Turn left onto York Street and right onto Aungier Street to No.12, J.J. Symths pub. This is the birthplace of the famous Irish composer and poet, Thomas Moore. Continue down South Great George's Street; turn right into Exchequer Street and left into Dame's Court. Here we find Adams Trinity Hotel in Dame Lane, which has one of the most colourful bar interiors in Dublin, The Mercantile Bar. This is a suitable place to end our literary perambulations with a bit of light refreshment.
For more information check out Famous Dubliners
|
