The latest for literary lovers …
Walking Tours Around Dublin
Now that balmy days are back, I recommend a walk in Baggotonia – that stretch of Dublin along and around the Grand Canal which has inspired the likes of Mary Lavin, Patrick Kavanagh, Elizabeth Bowen, Maeve Binchy and JP Donleavy.
Pick up one of the walking guides at IPUT for the self-led tour which begins in the new Mary Lavin Place which links Wilton Park to Lad Lane where she lived in a converted news and held regular salons with guests such as Frank O’Connor, Eavan Boland and Patrick Kavanagh – who allegedly snoozed on the sofa. I love his sculpture along the bank of the Grand Canal. Other stops en route include the home of Jack Butler Yeats in Fitzwilliam Square and Parsons Bookshop at Baggot Street Bridge, a regular haunt of Colm Tóibin, Brendan Behan and Seamus Heaney. The guide concludes at Wilton Park where exhibitions take place throughout the year and there’s a great coffee truck and deckchairs for reading in the early evening. It’s close to Angelina’s a new Monday Supper Club menu is very tempting too.
Trinity College Dublin has a new visitor experience which will appeal to Oscar Wilde fans. If booking one of the excellent Trinity Trails Literary Walking Tours, the finale is a new theatre performance Oscar Unwritten at the Samuel Beckett Theatre on campus. The 60-minute play explores the life of Oscar Wilde through the eyes of one of his best friends, Robbie Ross. As Ross wrestles with the question of whether to write a full account of Wilde’s extraordinary and turbulent life, memory and imagination blur, and the past comes vividly to life around him. Figures from Wilde’s world appear alongside the characters that made him famous, tracing his journey from dazzling celebrity to devastating downfall. Fans of Wilde should also make a beeline for An Ideal Husband, currently on at The Gate Theatre until July 11.
Women’s Prize Winners
Congratulations are in order to former Trinity College alumna Virginia Evans; she has just been announced as the winner of the Women’s Prize for Fiction 2026 for her novel The Correspondent. Born in the US, Evans relocated to Dublin to study at the Oscar Wilde Centre for Irish Writing, writing under novelist Claire Keegan. In her debut novel, readers come to know the life of 73-year old Sybil Van Antwerp through letters to family and friends. Sybil is stubborn, cantankerous, opinionated, always steadfast in her belief in the power of the written word. Yet as the clock begins to tick, the need for a few post-scripts to the life she’s led becomes apparent. The Correspondent has been described as “a book about great joys, small tragedies and unexpected second chances” – one to add to the reading list. As for the 2026 Women’s Prize for Non Fiction, it was awarded to The Finest Hotel in Kabul: A People’s History of Afghanistan by Lyse Doucet, also of Irish descent. Read more about the winning and shortlisted books here.
Afternoon Tea, The College Green Hotel
“I have begun to think of life as a series of ripples widening out from an original centre,” so said Seamus Heaney and at The College Green Hotel Dublin, those ripples are nurtured during a reflective overnight stay for the culturally curious. The new Wild Earth: A Literary Experience includes elegant accommodation, afternoon tea and admission to the Wild Earth exhibition at MoLI which brings together over 90 texts, from early myth and poetry to contemporary voices.
As part of its Literary Afternoon Tea, served in the light-filled elegance of The Atrium Lounge, there’s a new dark chocolate and orange flower dessert honouring James Joyce’s Ulysses. A highlight will take place on June 16 when guests can enjoy a live recital from 2.30 pm to 3.30 pm, presented in collaboration with the James Joyce Centre and the Bloomsday Festival, bringing Joyce’s words vividly to life in an intimate and evocative setting. @thecollegegreenhoteldublin
Sip and Paint, Bewley’s, Grafton Street
There are multiple events for Bloomsday 2026, one of which is an interesting sip and paint experience at Bewley’s Grafton Street on June 16, from 6.30-8.30pm. This will honour James Joyce and the many literary greats who have crossed the cafe’s threshold. Bewley’s coffee grounds will be used for an evening of coffee watercolour painting on postcards in the venue. Tickets can be purchased at paintbythepints.com and includes all materials and a complimentary drink on arrival. There’s also Salon Rógaire, a bilingual and bisexual literary salon, taking place on June 18 designed to present a fresh perspective on sean-nós, prose and poetry. The salon will feature readings and performances from special guests, incorporating the theme of ‘bodies’ and promises to be an extra special experience. Tickets are available to purchase on Eventbrite.
Group Art Exhibition, Oliver Cornet Gallery
There’s an interesting group exhibition at the Olivier Cornet Gallery, Dublin inspired by the line spoken by Buck Mulligan to Stephen Dedalus in the opening chapter of Ulysses – “God, Kinch, if you and I could only work together…” Some of the artists will be discussing their work and there’s a special performance by Auburn Duo on the evening, June 16 at 6.30pm. @olivier_cornet_gallery
Reading of James Joyce’s The Dead, EPIC Museum
As part EPIC’s Éire to Everywhere: Stories Without Borders series, author Nuala O’Connor will discuss James Joyce’s The Dead, exploring its enduring themes, cultural impact and literary brilliance. Copies of this new edition of The Dead will be available to purchase on the night, followed by a book signing after the event. The Dead has regarded as one of the greatest short stories ever written. Set during a winter gathering in Dublin, it explores memory, identity, and revelation through the lives of Gabriel and Gretta Conroy. The event starts at 5.30pm in the Ireland Never Leaves You Gallery at EPIC and costs €5 which includes a glass of wine. @epicmuseumchq
Dalkey Book Festival
Not long now to Dalkey Book Festival, which opens on June 18 – 21. I’m looking forward to seeing Standing Up to Putin: Nadya Tolokonnikova at 6.30pm in Loreto Abbey. As a founding member of Pussy Riot, Nadya Tolokonnikova is an artist, dissident, refugee and now, exiled member of the Platform of Russian Democratic Forces at the Council of Europe. At 22, she was jailed in a Russian penal colony for two years. Her band, Pussy Riot, shot to international stardom for speaking truth to power. In this special event, Nadya explores the role of the artist, what it means to make art in dictatorship and in exile, the nature of totalitarianism, the danger of silence, her support for Ukraine, feminism, and the power of hope. @dalkeybookfestival
