In Joyce’s “A Little Cloud,” Ignatius Gallaher (who has left Ireland to make his name in London) calls the capital city “dear dirty Dublin” (47). Joyce may have felt similarly about the place. Dublin was often painful for him, but the nostalgia and fondness he has for his home is always present in his works.
There is much to do and see in Dublin for literary enthusiasts. It is a walking city full of sites of scholarly interest. Those in my class….take note. Your 
time in Dublin can help you a good deal in my class. There are places that will resonate easily with those of you who are O’Casey fans, like the General Post Office, Dublin’s Georgian Townhouses, and of course the city pubs. (I swear I’ve been in the pub from the Plough and the Stars.) The Book of Kells and Trinity College will be on any top 10 Dublin list, but there are other sites you should check out as well. Ulysses fans can find Davy Byrne’s, The Ormond Hotel, and a short train ride away, the Martello Tower made famous in the opening chapters of his seminal work. The locations of the Dubliners stories are all here as well. Be sure to note the place in front of Trinity College where Johnny the horse circles “King Billy’s statue” in "The Dead." (The statue is now gone, but the site is there.) Also check out the astounding “bog bodies” at the National Museum of Ireland-Archaeology & History on Kildare Street to get a visual for “The Grauballe Man” by Heaney: “As if he had been poured / in tar, he lies / on a pillow of turf / and seems to weep / the black river of himself” (1-5). Sounds disgusting, I know, but I assure you, you don’t want to miss them. The famous Abbey Theater is here too, where Synge, O’Casey, and Yeats first saw their plays performed. And speaking of Yeats, your time in Dublin 
will also enrich your reading of his “Easter 1916” no doubt. There are a wealth of free museums, great shopping, great libraries and bookshops. The wonderful parks and easy access to things close to the city on the Dart lines will give you the opportunity for a wide diversity of experiences. I’ll be expecting lots of blogging after you return and many stories when I arrive. I'm confident that you will love "dear dirty Dublin." Now go read your Joyce........
time in Dublin can help you a good deal in my class. There are places that will resonate easily with those of you who are O’Casey fans, like the General Post Office, Dublin’s Georgian Townhouses, and of course the city pubs. (I swear I’ve been in the pub from the Plough and the Stars.) The Book of Kells and Trinity College will be on any top 10 Dublin list, but there are other sites you should check out as well. Ulysses fans can find Davy Byrne’s, The Ormond Hotel, and a short train ride away, the Martello Tower made famous in the opening chapters of his seminal work. The locations of the Dubliners stories are all here as well. Be sure to note the place in front of Trinity College where Johnny the horse circles “King Billy’s statue” in "The Dead." (The statue is now gone, but the site is there.) Also check out the astounding “bog bodies” at the National Museum of Ireland-Archaeology & History on Kildare Street to get a visual for “The Grauballe Man” by Heaney: “As if he had been poured / in tar, he lies / on a pillow of turf / and seems to weep / the black river of himself” (1-5). Sounds disgusting, I know, but I assure you, you don’t want to miss them. The famous Abbey Theater is here too, where Synge, O’Casey, and Yeats first saw their plays performed. And speaking of Yeats, your time in Dublin 
will also enrich your reading of his “Easter 1916” no doubt. There are a wealth of free museums, great shopping, great libraries and bookshops. The wonderful parks and easy access to things close to the city on the Dart lines will give you the opportunity for a wide diversity of experiences. I’ll be expecting lots of blogging after you return and many stories when I arrive. I'm confident that you will love "dear dirty Dublin." Now go read your Joyce........
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