Celebrate the birthday of Irish poet W.B. Yeats with this very special walking tour focusing on his tumultuous relationship with the young James Joyce. James Joyce and W.B. Yeats are indisputably the two most recognisable and pivotal figures of twentieth-century Irish literature. Though contemporaries, they represent very different cultural, religious, political and artistic traditions, each playing a distinct role in the history of Irish art. While the elder Yeats emerged from an Anglo-Irish Protestant background and committed himself to the idea of the Irish nation, Joyce emerged from the newly assertive generation of middle class Catholics and went on to reject nationalist politics in favour of the pursuit of artistic independence. Despite their differences, the relationship that existed between Joyce and Yeats was highly significant, oscillating from oedipal struggle and dismissal to mutual respect and active support. Join our guide on a tour that traces this relationship through the streets of the city, visiting such sites of interest as the Abbey Theatre, the GPO and the National Library. This tour ends at Merrion Square.