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Dublin writers' exhibition opens in the Liberties

W.B. Yeats was poor at spelling and Samuel Beckett was born on a Friday 13th…just some of the facts you will learn at the newly-opened Dublin Writers’ exhibition.

Aug 23rd 2011, 1:40 PM 1,105 Views 3 Comments
An old school report on show during the exhibition reveals that WB Yeats was deemed “Only fair. Perhaps better at Latin than in any other subject. Very poor at spelling”.
An old school report on show during the exhibition reveals that WB Yeats was deemed “Only fair. Perhaps better at Latin than in any other subject. Very poor at spelling”.

AN EXHIBITION DEDICATED to the life and times of some of Dublin’s most famous writers has opened in the heart of the Liberties.

The exhibition, entitled ‘Dublin Writers, born here, lived here, wished we were here’, has been organised by the Liberties Heritage Association (LHA) as part of the UNESCO City of Literature celebrations.

The LHA said the exhibit focuses on authors – famous and not so famous – who were born in Dublin, lived in Dublin or wrote about Dublin.

Members of the public can visit the exhibition at the the Nicholas of Myra Parish Centre in Carmans Hall until 16 September. Opening hours: Mon-Fri, 9am to 5pm.

Organisers have sent us an example of what is on show. Have a browse – there are some little known facts and great anecdotes about Ireland’s literary past:

Dublin writers' exhibition opens in the Liberties
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  • Dublin Writers, born here, lived here, wished we were here

    George Bernard Shaw features prominently in the exhibit. We learn that he only accepted the the Nobel Prize for Literature when persuaded to do so by his wife, who felt it would be a tribute to Ireland. Shaw himself said, “I can forgive Alfred Nobel for having invented dynamite, but only a fiend could have invented the Nobel Prize”. The playwright was also an innovative "green" builder. Here he is pictured outside a shed where he wrote many of his works. He created the rotating den which followed the sun and required no artificial heating or lighting.

  • Dublin Writers, born here, lived here, wished we were here

    Brendan Behan with the actor Jackie Gleason. The exhibition tells the story of how Behan's brother, Dominic, once threatened to take Ulick O Connor "by the scruff of the neck and sock him half way around London” for writing a biography about Brendan.

  • Dublin Writers, born here, lived here, wished we were here

    W.B. Yeats before he received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1923. He was honoured for his "always inspired poetry, which in a highly artistic form gives expression to the spirit of a whole nation". Seemingly after hearing he had won, Yeats said, “How Much, How Much?” - a well worn phrase that was his query for any work that he did.

  • Dublin Writers, born here, lived here, wished we were here

    John Ryan, Anthony Cronin, Flann O Brien, Patrick Kavanagh and Tom Joyce on the 50th anniversary of Bloomsday.

  • Dublin Writers, born here, lived here, wished we were here

    Sir Richard Steele's “Apology” for his writings led to his reinstatement to the House of Commons.
  • George Bernard Shaw features prominently in the exhibit. We learn that he only accepted the the Nobel Prize for Literature when persuaded to do so by his wife, who felt it would be a tribute to Ireland. Shaw himself said, “I can forgive Alfred Nobel for having invented dynamite, but only a fiend could have invented the Nobel Prize”. The playwright was also an innovative
  • Brendan Behan with the actor Jackie Gleason. The exhibition tells the story of how Behan's brother, Dominic, once threatened to take Ulick O Connor
  • W.B. Yeats before he received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1923. He was honoured for his
  • John Ryan, Anthony Cronin, Flann O Brien, Patrick Kavanagh and Tom Joyce on the 50th anniversary of Bloomsday.
  • Sir Richard Steele's “Apology” for his writings led to his reinstatement to the House of Commons.

About the author:

About the author
Sinead O'Carroll
@SineadOCarroll
sinead@thejournal.ie

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