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The first of architect Richard Cassels’ notable Dublin houses, sadly the only part that now remains of the original is the first-floor saloon. Sir Benjamin Guinness linked two houses into one in the 1870s. His grandson, the second Earl of Iveagh, later presented the house to the Irish Government.

A very civilized place for lunch or dinner overlooking Trinity College. The food is a mixture of classic Irish and French.

The writer who most prolifically put Dublin on the literary map, Joyce (1882–1941) was born and educated in the city. He met Nora Barnacle on 16 June 1904 and, although they did not marry for 30 years, it became the date for events in his epic work Ulysses , published in Paris in 1922. Dubliners (1914), Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man (1916) and Finnegan’s Wake (1938) are among his other works.

James Joyce spent much of his early life living to the north of the Liffey so it is a fitting area to house a museum dedicated to the Irish writer. The house, built in 1784, was leased at the turn of the 20th century by Denis J Maginnis, who makes several appearances in Joyce’s epic work Ulysses . There is a fascinating display of the biographical details of 50 of the 300 characters from Ulysses based on real Dubliners.

Seminars, tours and musical events.

This large modern shopping centre contains shops selling food, household goods, fashion and sports gear. British chains such as Boots and Argos cater for most consumer needs.

A Dublin institution, JJ Fox’s cigarette and cigar emporium is definitely a place for connoisseurs. Specializes in Cuban and other fine cigars, and a wide range of smoking accessories.

The Literary Editor of the Irish Times , Banville (b.1945) is also a novelist – The Sea (2005) won the prestigious Booker Prize.

Some 4,500 international species of trees and shrubs – all carefully labelled – grow in this delightful 600-acre arboretum, created in memory of the former US president. Just below the arboretum stands the humble thatched cottage where the president’s great-grandfather was born.