Dublin Writer’s Museum

I learned of the Dublin Writer’s Museum during my first visit to Ireland in 2012. I could hardly believe it, a whole museum dedicated to writers! It was too late to go, as my Topdeck Tour was sailing for Wales the next day. When I returned five years later, it was at the top of my list of places to go.

I visited the Dublin Writer’s Museum on my second trip to Ireland in 2017. Situated in an 18th century mansion in the north city centre, the collection featured the lives and works of Dublin’s literary icons over the past three hundred years, including Jonathon Swift, Oscar Wilde, W.B. Yeats, and James Joyce, presented through their books, letters, portraits, and personal items. Through their writing, these authors challenged the standards of social acceptance of their time, as well as the political landscape.

I’m so glad I visited Dublin Writer’s Museum upon my return, because sadly, the museum closed in 2022. Perhaps one day, it or something similar will return, perhaps with a modern edge featuring Ireland’s contemporary writers.

Dublin is a UNESCO City of Literature

The Irish literary tradition is one of the most illustrious in the world, famous for four Nobel Prize winners and for many other internationally renowned writers. Dublin is one of 53 UNESCO Cities of Literature in the world, belonging to a cluster that represents six continents and 39 countries, with a combined population of over 26 million. Melbourne, my favourite city in Australia, is one of those 53 cities.

To this day, storytelling-be it through music, song, dance or poetry-is stitched into the daily lives of the Irish people and culture. A ‘seanchaí’, a traditional Irish storyteller and bearer of “old lore”, served as a custodian of history, genealogy, myths and legends within Gaelic culture. Originating from a highly respected, learned class, they were essential to maintaining oral tradition, often passing down tales, local history, and ancestral records for generations.

Australia also has a rich and long literary history, dating back over 60,000 years, with Indigenous oral traditions and developing a distinct written culture since European settlement in 1788. Like Ireland, our culture was founded on storytelling, but somewhere along the way, we lost that foundation. I’m sure many factors have contributed to this over the years, including colonisation and the sheer size of the country.

From a very young age, I knew I wanted to be a writer. Growing up in Australia, I came to believe that my passion for the written word was largely unimportant to the society in which I lived. A nice hobby, maybe, but nothing to be taken seriously, unless I planned to use it to earn money somehow. Although the creative industries contribute $67.4 billion to the national economy, it still feels like the arts and their creators are considered extremely optional to Australian culture.

To come to Ireland and visit places like the Dublin Writers Museum was a pivotal experience on my writer’s journey. Finally, I felt like writing was more than just a hobby. I felt important, that I had something significant to contribute to the world. It was incredible to see the difference in value two different countries place on their arts community.

And this is why I love Ireland. There, I feel embraced as a writer in a way I have yet to experience in Australia.

Having experienced this, I truly hope that one day Australia will value its creatives as much as Ireland and other Celtic countries. I hope we might see support like Ireland’s Basic Income for the Arts scheme implemented here. Until then, I bring this renewed sense of value as a writer home to Australia, to encourage my fellow wordsmiths and other creators.