MoLI’s new exhibition celebrates the Dublin Writers Museum Collection
By Brian Bowe
(Credit: Leon Farrell, Photocall Ireland)
The Museum of Literature Ireland (MoLI), located in UCD’s Newman House, south of St Stephen’s Green, opened a new exhibition this past June. City of Words showcases the rich collection of the Dublin Writers Museum, which sadly closed down during the Covid-19 pandemic, in 2020. The collection consists of rare first editions, custom bronze busts, contemporary artwork, as well as personal items and fascinating mementos linked to the renowned writers of the city.
“The Dublin Writers Museum Collection is a fascinating and very unique survey of our city’s literary history through personal items, artwork, sculpture, books and correspondence,” says Simon O’Connor, Director of MoLI. “Here at MoLI we are very proud to be entrusted with this collection, and to make it accessible in perpetuity to Dubliners and visitors from across Ireland and beyond. These precious items are a wonderful addition to the rich literary history on display at MoLI.”
Some trinkets bound to catch your eye include Samuel Beckett’s rotary telephone from his Paris apartment, Brendan Behan’s portable Remington typewriter, and Frank O’Connor’s spectacles. Though, what I found most enlightening were the names I didn’t recognize: mostly those of women, a lack of recognition I attribute to a combination of personal ignorance and the sad truth that these writers have generally been overlooked and underappreciated in comparison to their male counterparts.
typewriter (photo Museum of Literature Ireland)
Tribute is paid to Katharine Tynan, the Dublin novelist and journalist, whose work — over one hundred novels, 12 collections of poetry, and 12 short story collections — was a pivotal building block to the inception of the Irish Literary Revival in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Among the items associated with her on display is a first edition of her book Ballads and Lyrics, 1891, and a print of a pencil sketch of Tynan by W.B. Yeats, who, in his formative years, took great inspiration from the Dublin writer.
You’ll find a few familiar faces at this exhibit: specially commissioned bronze busts of Beckett and Bram Stoker stare you down from both sides of the room — Stoker, burly and distinguished, sits in sharp contrast to Beckett, his face like an Aztec eagle. You could light a match off that mug!
Another exceptional item, in Beckett’s section, is a programme from the first complete English language production of Waiting for Godot in the Pike theatre, 1955.
There’s plenty of personal letters on display, my favourite being Sean O’Casey’s to Vida Henning, 1958, in which he declares he’s a communist, “like GB Shaw.” As well, dotted about the room are rare editions of works by W.B. Yeats, Behan, Edna O’Brien, and Stoker.
“MoLI is connected as much to the living artistic community of today as it is to the rich writing tradition of our past and is a fantastic home for the Dublin Writers Museum Collection” says Paul Keeley, Director of Regional Development at Fáilte Ireland. “Placing the collection here will help bring the unique story of Ireland’s literary heritage to life in new and immersive ways for a broad range of visitors. It will also ensure that these important artefacts benefit from the cultural curation, management and maintenance expertise of the staff at MoLI and their partners in UCD and the National Library of Ireland.”
Entry price for adults is €14.50, but you’ll be happy to hear this grants you access to the whole museum; so after you’re done perusing the small treasures of City of Words, I strongly recommend you explore every nook and cranny of this special institution. Pro Tip: Head to the top floor to gaze upon Copy No. 1 of the first edition of Joyce’s Ulysses. Yep, it’s up there, a priceless piece of history just minding its own business.
