It was approaching 10 p.m. when we at last stopped in front of Davy Byrnes pub, used by Joyce as a backdrop in “Ulysses.’’ This was also one of Behan’s favorite hangouts, where he uttered his famous line about being “a drinker with a writing problem.’’ He began drinking at age 8, we were told, and referred to Irish liquor as “holy water.’’ When he was 16, he joined the Irish Republican Army and was sent to juvenile lockup for possession of explosives. When he returned to Dublin, he learned that the IRA had sentenced him in relation to a shooting. He said: “I was court-martialed in my absence and sentenced to death in my absence, so you can bloody well shoot me in my absence.’’
Through chapter and verse to the next pint
(Page 3 of 3)
On a trip to Canada, Behan was swarmed by reporters firing questions at him. One asked him why he was there. “I saw a sign that said ‘Drink Canada Dry’ so here I am,’’ Behan responded.
Today, the Davy Byrnes is a sleek bar and restaurant catering to a fashionable crowd; Behan would doubtless be appalled. But murals of Joycean Dublin remain, including one painted by Behan’s father-in-law. In “Ulysses,’’ Leopold Bloom described Davy Byrnes: “Nice quiet bar. Nice piece of wood in that counter. Nicely planed. Like the way it curves.’’
The tour over, it was time to grade us all on the trivia quiz. A young man from Chicago won the T-shirt, said thank you, and promptly walked into The Bailey (“Was a great pub frequented by Charlie Chaplin, Peter Ustinov, Richard Harris, has great steaks,’’ said our guides) for a celebratory pint - a fitting end to our crawl. It was a great couple of hours; if only Behan or Wilde had been around to raise a pint with us. “One drink is too many for me,’’ said Behan. “And a thousand not enough.’’
Bella English can be reached at english@globe.com.
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