Dublin Bookshops

Being part of the best English School you will be able to find near our school great bookshops.

To all ISI students studying English in Dublin – if you need to take a break, why not have a browse in one of Dublin’s many great bookshops?

As is only befitting for a city with Dublin’s renowned literary heritage, this is a town that boasts many great bookshops. Some (such as the former Waterstones of Dawson Street, now Tower Records) have been forced to close in recent years, others have had to relocate, but either way, Dublin continues to be a city that nurtures and cherishes its readers! If you are looking to improve your grasp of the English language, a bookshop is one of the first places you should go to! Here are just a few of Dublin’s best:

Hodges Figgis of 56-8 Dawson Street, Dublin 2

Hodges Figgis is today perhaps Dublin’s preeminent bookshop. Its origins date as far back as the year 1768 on Skinner’s Row before its relocation to 56-8 Dawson Street, where it proudly stands today. Given its proximity to Trinity College Dublin, it is a natural go-to for all sorts of academic texts, as well as every kind of genre over its four floors (including the basement and ground floor). It regularly plays host to all sorts of book and magazine launches and is an exciting place to be for anyone who loves books!

Books Upstairs of 17 D’Olier Street, Dublin 2

Books Upstairs is Ireland’s oldest independent bookshop. It was originally founded in May 1978 by Maurice Earls and Enda O’Doherty, and was originally situated upstairs (hence the name!) in a hairdressers located above a furrier shop in Dublin’s South King Street. Since then, it has relocated several times, perhaps most notably to 36 College Green opposite TCD, in which site it remained for a solid twenty-seven years. In 2015, they seized the opportunity to relocate to a larger premises located on 17 D’Olier Street, in a very well preserved Georgian building where they may be found today. There is a cafe on the second floor of the premises, and they frequently accommodate all manner of book and magazine launches.

Ulysses Rare Books of 10 Duke Street, Dublin 2

This was originally known as Cathach Books, and, like several other reputable book outlets, originally began back in South Great George’s Street Arcade in 1969, as founded by Enda Cunningham. This shop specialises in rarer and more expensive books, and is a favourite of antiquarian book dealers. If truth be told, most of these books may be outside your price range but it is still well worth a visit, if only to enjoy the atmosphere. Where else can you wander around and fondle rare first editions of books by the likes of James Joyce, Flann O’Brien, Samuel Beckett, Oscar Wilde and W.B. Yeats? In fact, sometimes you can even find a rare first edition of Bram Stoker’s Dracula or Peter Benchley’s Jaws!

International Books of 18 South Frederick Street, Dublin 2

International Books is perhaps the first stop for a student studying other languages. As a specialist international language bookseller, they are undoubtedly Dublin’s foremost international language bookshop, supplying books in a spectrum of languages that ranges from Albanian to Zulu. Their wide-ranging stock includes gifts, literature, college books, children’s books, classroom books and self-study books. They are very centrally located and easy to find.

Chapters Bookstore of Ivy Exchange, Parnell Street, Dublin 1

Chapters is by far Ireland’s largest independent bookshop. It was originally established in 1983 at a site based on Wicklow Street, and since then has moved to subsequent locations at St. Stephen’s Green, Henry Street, Abbey Street, before finding its current home at Parnell Street in 2006. As of today, Chapters is a bibliophile’s dream, the expansive home of countless numbers of both new and secondhand books – you never know what you may find in there if you browse long enough! Chapters also buys books too – if you have some used editions you want to pass on, give them a try!

So there you go, ISI students – just a small sample of Dublin bookshops that you could consider browsing in the next time you’re taking a break from living and studying in Ireland. Happy reading!