It’s the home of an array of towering figures in world of literature, so it is little wonder the island of Ireland is a place of pilgrimage for lovers of language.

With four Nobel laureates (Shaw, Yeats, Beckett and Heaney) and many other world-renowned literary figures including Joyce, Wilde, Swift, Kavanagh, O’Casey, Enright, O’Brien and O’Connor, Ireland boasts one of the world’s greatest literary heritages.  Across the island their legacy can be enjoyed not only in bookshops and great libraries, but in a plethora of festivals, museums, theatres, visual arts and even pub crawls.

Dublin is the place to start. It’s a UNESCO World City of Literature with a thriving cultural scene a host of literary attractions and a dozen literary-themed festivals every year.  On a stroll around the city visitors will encounter statues to Oscar Wilde, Brendan Behan, Patrick Kavanagh, George Bernard Shaw and James Joyce.

Statue of Oscar Wilde, Merrion Square, Dublin. Wilde’s family lived in 1 Merrrion Square from 1855. The statue was created by sculptor Danny Osborne. http://davewalshphoto.photoshelter.com

The Dublin Writers Museum presents the opportunity to delve further into their lives and genius with exhibits of their books, letters, portraits and personal items as well as lunchtime theatre and readings.  Aficionados of Joyce should visit the James Joyce Cultural Centre and make a date in their diary for 16 June, when Bloomsday bursts upon the city in a celebration of the novelist’s life and work.

For a light-hearted literary experience sign up for Dublin’s famous literary pub crawl led by two actors who perform scenes from the works of some of Ireland’s greatest playwrights.  The Chester Beatty Library is another definite must-see. It has been described as “the finest collection of manuscripts and books made by a private collector in the twentieth century.”

Many other places on the island also celebrate their literary heroes.  Northern Ireland honours one of the world’s favourite poets, Nobel laureate Seamus Heaney, in the recently opened Heaney HomePlace in Bellaghy, County Londonderry.

HeanyHomePlace    The IrishTimes.com

The HomePlace takes visitors on a journey through the poet’s life, his experiences and the people who inspired his writing, and features audio recordings of Heaney reading his work.  Literary fans couldn’t forget that County Sligo is Yeats country. The acclaimed poet spent much of his childhood there and is buried, as he famously wrote, “Under bare Ben Bulben’s head” in Drumcliff churchyard.

As well as visiting the graveyard and the many places that inspired him, Yeats’ fans can enjoy the Yeats International Summer School every August.

Some information on Ireland:

• Tourism Ireland is the organization responsible for promoting the island of Ireland overseas as a leading holiday destination.
• Tourism is the island of Ireland’s largest indigenous industry; responsible for in excess of 4% of GNP in the Republic of Ireland and employing approximately 220,000 people.

• Tourism Ireland’s international website is www.ireland.com, 29 market sites available in ten language versions around the world, which attracted about 16.5 million visitors in 2015.

British Irish Visa Scheme

The British Irish Visa Scheme allows for travel to and around Ireland and the UK on a single visa. The recently launched scheme allows visitors from India to travel freely within Ireland and the United Kingdom using either an Irish or UK visa. This will mean that tourists and business visitors will be able, for the first time, to visit both Ireland and the UK, including Northern Ireland, on a single visa.

Ireland’s Ancient East

Ireland’s Ancient East will offer visitors a personal experience of 5000 years of history through a journey of discovery in the beautiful landscape that attracted warring settlers for millennia and illuminated by stories from the best storytellers in the world – the local people.

Wild Atlantic Way

The Wild Atlantic Way is a tourism trail on the west coast, and on parts of the north and south coasts, of the Republic of Ireland. It is a sensational journey of soaring cliffs and buzzing towns and cities, of hidden beaches and epic bays. So whether you drive it from end-to-end, or dip into it as the mood strikes, it’s going to be a once-in-a-lifetime experience.