YOU MIGHT know all about George Bernard Shaw’s award-winning plays, but did you know he constructed a rotating shed in the early 1900s that followed the sun and required no artificial heat or light?
Or what about Seán O'Casey, well known for writing The Shadow of a Gunmanand The Plough and the Stars, but less well known for his talent as an uilleann pipe player and founder of the St Laurence O'Toole Pipe Band?
What have these writers and playwrights in common?
They all lived in Dublin or wrote about the city, and feature in a new exhibition highlighting the depth and breadth of literary connections with the capital.
The exhibition, Dublin Writers: Born Here, Lived Here, Wished We Were Here,is the work of the Liberties Heritage Association and represents its contribution to Dublin as Unesco City of Literature for 2011.
John Gallagher, founder of the association and director of St Nicholas of Myra Parish Centre in the Liberties, said: “The top writers in the country have all been recognised internationally – so we wanted to do something different, to make sure the dozens of others are also recognised.”
Bernard Warfield, a supervisor with the project, said the exhibition had been put together by dozens of locals, many of whom were unemployed or taking part in training in computers and history.
The exhibition was formally opened last night by lord mayor Andrew Montague, who praised the work of locals in helping to get people more interested in the city and its literature.
“Training is a very important part of our collective futures, especially in the current times, and given Dublin’s rich cultural and literary heritage, this particular scheme is making a strong contribution in this area,” he said.
The exhibition continues for the next month at the Nicholas of Myra Parish Centre in Carman’s Hall, just off Francis Street in Dublin.
