Whether you’re a diehard bookworm or someone who has fallen off the reading wagon, there is something amazing about curling up with a new novel and escaping into someone else’s world for a while.
As much as we enjoy a good read, we get just as much fun out of browsing bookshops to find our next big adventure and Ireland has some great independent book stores that are filled to the rafters with some unusual finds.
Here are our go-to places for a leisurely Sunday afternoon!
Dublin
The capital is home to a number of great bookstores but Chapter’s is definitely a favourite. Located at the Ivy Exchange on Parnell Street, it is Dublin’s largest independent bookstore and is home to thousands of new and secondhand books, dvds and CDs so you’re bound to find something to catch your eye! The Winding Stair on Lower Ormond Quay is another great spot, with amazing character and a coffee dock to boot!
Galway
Galway boasts the daddy of all bookstores – the inimitable Charlie Byrne’s. Officially voted as the 2013 Irish Times Best Bookshop of the Year, this is a bit of a hidden treasure in the Cornstore but definitely worth seeking out. From college textbooks and Irish fiction to random but brilliant novels, we’ve lost hours and hours of our lives in here!
Limerick
If you need a book in Limerick, you’re probably headed to O’Mahony’s. This is a massive independent bookstore with a comprehensive range of books over several floors. If you can’t find what you’re looking for here, you probably won’t find it anywhere. Honourable mention goes to Little Catherine Street Bookshop, where you need a little patience to work through the stacks but the possibilities are endless.
Cork
Vibes and Scribes are open in Cork since 1991 and have become of the city’s best loved bookstores. Rather than take on the big chains, the store focuses on good quality bargain books, secondhand books and tomes on unusual topics such as mind, body and spirit, cult authors, philosophy, art and even erotica!
