Port draws tourists with help from legendary writers

Some of Ireland’s greatest writers who left its shores by sea were today used to attract holidaymakers on to the waves.

An advertising campaign featuring images and quotes from the country’s most famous authors was unveiled by Dublin Port Company.

It plans to celebrate the arts and tradition of travelling by sea by bringing the works of some of its most famous users to life across the capital.

Brendan Behan, Samuel Beckett, James Joyce, Sean O’Casey, GB Shaw, Oscar Wilde and WB Yeats – who all lived overseas – will feature in the billboard campaign.

Enda Connellan, of Dublin Port Company, said it celebrated the rich heritage of ferry travel through the great writers who left by ship from Dublin’s ports to make good their getaways, and in some cases, their return.

“While some of them never made the return trip, they have all made a lasting impact on Ireland’s cultural landscape,” he said.

“Our campaign will reacquaint Dubliners with the humour, wit, irreverence, vision and insight which has endeared these Irish writers not only to the Irish but to the world at large. Our aim is also to capture the imagination of the travelling public and to encourage them to follow in the footsteps of these great writers.

“The campaign will bring Irish writers to the public in a new light. This is our gift to Dubliners, and to our ferry customers. Here’s to the great life - art, literature and sea travel.”

Artist Sean Lennon was commissioned to create portraits of each writer in a unique Irish Pop Art style, with the images weaved with famous quotes.

Behan, who was one of Ireland’s best-known writers and talkers, will be the first author to be featured with the quote: “I was court-martialled in my absence and sentenced to death in my absence, so I said they could shoot me in my absence!!”

Raised in Dublin’s north inner city, he joined the IRA at 16, went to the UK in 1939 where he served time in Borstal, a juvenile institution in England, and in prison in Ireland. After his release in 1946, Behan moved between Dublin, Kerry and Connemara and spent time in Paris, writing in both Irish and English.

Joyce left Dublin in 1904, with Nora Barnacle his partner and later his wife. He made only made four return visits, the last of those in 1912, after which he never returned to Ireland.

Actor Niall Tobin launched the campaign at Dublin Port Company’s Port Centre, performing from Behan’s Borstal Boy, written after his two years in the institution. Actress Ann Marie Horan also recreated Molly Bloom’s famous soliloquy from Ulysses.

“Dublin Port has played a hugely important role in the economic life of this city as an important access route not only for trade but also catering for millions of ferry passengers who pass through the port,” added Dublin Lord Mayor, Councillor Paddy Bourke.

“In it’s 300th year as the port manager of Ireland’s premier port I congratulate and thank Dublin Port Company for reminding us not only of the great cultural legacy of our great writers but also of the profound connection that sea travel has with this nation’s past.”

Last year 1.2 million passengers travelled on ferry from Dublin Port, with five companies making up the 17 sailings a day to Liverpool, Birkenhead, Holyhead and the Isle of Man.