Davy Byrne's pub
| Davy Byrne's pub | |
|---|---|
 Exterior view of the pub on Duke Street | |
  Location within Central Dublin | |
General information | |
| Location | 21 Duke Street, Dublin 2, Ireland |
| Coordinates | 53°20′31″N 6°15′34″W / 53.34185°N 6.25934°W |
| Opened | 1889 |
| Owner | William Dempsey[1] |
| Website | |
| davybyrnes.com | |
Davy Byrne's pub is a public house located at 21 Duke Street, Dublin.[2] It was made famous by its appearance in James Joyce's 1922 novel Ulysses.[3]
History
The pub was originally opened by Davy Byrne, who moved from Wicklow to Dublin, in 1889. He sold the business in 1939.[4]
During the early 1900s, Michael Collins and Arthur Griffith attended cabinet meetings in the rooms upstairs.[4] The pub was substantially refurbished in 1941.[5] The pub was owned by the Doran family for 3 generations from 1942,[4] with Redmond Doran managing the pub in 2001. There is a main bar, back lounge, and "The Arcade" at the back.[5]
Business man, William "Bill" Dempsey, purchased the pub in 2019 from the Doran family for approximately €4.5 million.[6]
Literary history
The pub is featured in Chapter 8 ('Lestrygonians') of James Joyce's 1922 modernist novel Ulysses, set on Thursday 16 June 1904.[3] The main character, advertising canvasser Leopold Bloom, stops at just before 2 pm for a gorgonzola cheese sandwich with mustard and a glass of burgundy while wandering through Dublin.[4][7]
The pub has since become a pilgrimage point for fans of the novel, who, like Bloom, stop and have a cheese sandwich and a glass of wine.[2] The pub is particularly popular on Bloomsday, an annual 16 June celebration of both the book and James Joyce.[5]
Joyce also mentioned the pub in the short story "Counterparts" in Dubliners as a bar visited by the office clerk protagonist named Farrington following an altercation with his senior at the office. It is also mentioned in Green Rushes, a short story collection by Maurice Walsh.
Other literary figures who patronised the pub included Flann O'Brien, Brendan Behan and Pádraic Ó Conaire. Ó Conaire would tether his donkey and cart to the lamp post outside while there.[5]
See also
References
- ↑ "Whole new ball game for Davy Byrnes". Irish Independent. 6 October 2019. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
- 1 2 Tomedi 2005, p. 138.
- 1 2 Crispi 2015, p. 168.
- 1 2 3 4 Murtagh, Peter (26 October 2018). "Davy Byrnes, immortalised by Joyce in 'Ulysses', for sale at €6m". The Irish Times. Retrieved 16 May 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 Malone, Aubrey (2001). Historic Pubs of Dublin. Dublin: New Island. pp. 90–93. ISBN 9781902602493.
- ↑ O'Connor, Fearghal (17 March 2019). "Low-key businessman strikes Davy Byrnes deal". Irish Independent. Retrieved 16 May 2026.
- ↑ Johnson, Margaret M. (25 June 2025). "Tasting Tradition in Joyce's Dublin". Irish Echo Newspaper. Retrieved 16 May 2026.