Dublin Literary Pub Tour

I did the literary pub door with higher hopes for the "literary" part, and I was not disappointed. The "literary" part of the tour included stops where they would do dramatic readings: a short scene of "Waiting for Godot," a bit of an Oscar Wilde essay, etc. The pub stops were interesting enough and they talked about the history of the pubs a bit. I don't know of any literary tours short of hiring a private guide, but if you find one, please post it here!

I agree with you.
A few years ago, we did the Literary Pub tour in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was part pub stop and dramatic presentation outside the pub as we drank.
We loved the concept and the material covered, but there was one group on the tour that was only interested in the drinking part
and it put a hamper on the rest of us. Instead of just one drink per pub, they had 2 or 3 drinks (which they drank fast) but it prolonged the tour.
At the end of the tour, the tour actors asked if we got anything out of the tour like "can you name any novel by Sir Walter Scott"?
We could name three or four.
The drinking group couldn't care less.
It was tough night for the actors. We left a good tip.

I’m glad that derek got something - drinkers notwithstanding - out of the Edinburgh tour. Twelve years ago, we met at the the beginning of the tour, and the guides/actors/presenters then headed out into crowded Edinburgh (it was Edinburgh Festival and Festival Fringe time) for the next stop, and we lost them in the crowd. They all walked very fast, and I can’t. We got left behind, and that was a real disappointment. I can’t say, then, how “literary” it would’ve been, versus a simple pub crawl.

I don't have a specific tour to recommend, but I do recommend checking AirBnB Experiences.

I've done the literary pub tour and enjoyed it, but I agree it's a bit tourist. Here are other suggestions for a lover of literature:

The Dublin Writers Museum is the best of three such museums I have seen: https://www.dublin.info/writers-museum/. (The other two are in Edinburgh and Chicago.)

The James Joyce Center is also good: https://jamesjoyce.ie/. I met a relative of Joyce's on the staff when I visited the museum in 1997. I believe the man was the grand nephew of Joyce. I later saw him quoted in an Associated Press story about Joyce.

A play at the Gate Theater is definitely worth it: https://gatetheatre.ie/. In 2002, I saw A Christmas Carol at the Gate and was practically in tears because it was done so well. The actor Orson Welles got his start at the Gate.

It's also worth seeing a play at the Abbey Theater: https://www.abbeytheatre.ie/whats-on/. It's a theater associated with such names as John Millington Synge, William Butler Years, Sean O'Casey and Lady Gregory. I saw a play there during my 1997 visit.

Dublin used to be jam packed with book stores, and I imagine it still has quite a few, though the pandemic must have taken a toll -- I was last in Ireland in 2010. The best book store is Hodges Figgis: https://www.hodgesfiggis.ie/

I’m doing this tour tomorrow evening so I will try to give an update before my Rick Steve’s best of Ireland tour starts on Sunday. I did the Folklore and Faires pub night last night, for €24 it was overpriced and I would not recommend. Tonight I did the Irish Musical pub tour and it was a lot of fun. We visited 2 pubs. I would recommend that.

What is referred to above as the Dublin Writers Museum has been replaced (I think) by the Museum of Literature of Ireland (MOLI, get it?) I visited this and it's just excellent. The link to the Dublin Writers Museum reached from the above post leads to a 404 error. You want MOLI. It's a little disconcerting to arrive and see you are going through the Newman Center, but if you enter at the right address, you will find it. moli.ie The theatre suggestions are good too.

Thank you all so much! I think we will give The Literary Pub Tour a try and would love to hear from lynn3374 about your experience!. And just read about MOLI and think we will give it a try--thank you!

I’m not sure when you’re traveling but there’s a literature festival taking place for a couple of weeks in May. There are several interesting sounding literary walking tours throughout the course of the festival, including a James Joyce themed walk and an Oscar Wilde/Bram Stoker walk.