The Literary Connection

An unsuspecting Davy Byrne was cast into literary fame on Bloomsday 1904 when James Joyce immortalised him in the Lestrygonians chapter of Ulysses. On that day Leopold Bloom consumed his Gorgonzola sandwich and glass of burgundy in the pub. Generations of Joycean scholars have ever since retraced the steps of Leopold Bloom in paying literary homage to Davy Byrnes and while Davy Byrnes occupies the social centre of Joycean Dublin the literary fame of this oasis of longevity had, through the decades, found favour with illuminati such as Myles, Kavanagh, Behan, Stephens, Cronin, Gogarty. That tradition continues today through Anne Enright, Claire Keegan and Sara Baume – all winners of the Davy Byrnes Short Story Award.