Housed in Newman House (18C), cradle of the university where the writer James Joyce studied, the museum explores the many facets of the island's creative output in English and Gaelic. As well as the permanent collection, which includes the handwritten notebooks for Ulysses, there is a library and temporary exhibitions. A guided tour of the opulent rooms focuses on the architecture of the premises. As an added bonus, set in a lovely garden with a venerable ash tree by which James Joyce posed, the Commons Café overlooks a hidden park, Iveagh Gardens.