Irish Writer's Museum

We got into Dublin at around 12:30 in the morning after a very long train ride from Kilarney. We were exhausted  so the goal was to just find a hostel, good or bad, and just stay there for the night. If we really didn't like it, we could move on the next day. After getting directions from some locals, we found our way to Paddywagon Hostel. It is very close to the bust station in Dublin. We actually ended up staying there for the rest of the trip, because it wasn't that bad of a place and it was just easier. They had a mix up with room bookings so Tiffany and I ended up with a private room for the same price as a 4 person room which was pretty sweet.

Statue commemorating the war for Irish freedom

We were really worn out so we ended up sleeping until like 10:30 that morning. The plan for the day was the Irish Writer's Museum and the National Leprechaun Museum. Neither of which took very long and were easily done in one afternoon.

We arrived at the Irish Writer's Museum just in time to watch a small performance. An actor, who works for the museum, acts out a few excerpts from popular Irish writer's works, such as James Joyce's Dubliners, Seamus Heaney's Digging, and my personal favorite of the hour Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Ernest. It was very entertaining to see this mid-40s man portray two or more characters, with different voices and mannerisms for each. He also gave a small amount of background information about each auther and their works.

The Irish Writer's Museum is appropriately enough in the house that used to belong to the Jameson family, of alcohol fame. It is very ornately decorated to show the family's wealth and good taste. In the room where the performance was done there are four doors, each with a mini series of paintings around the theme of time. One shows months of the year, another shows the four seasons, one shows night and day, and one is astrological signs.

The museum was very informative and had a great many artifacts of Irish writers. I learned a lot about different authors and have added quite a few books to my reading list. For someone who likes to read or who is into Irish history, this museum is a must.