Explore the real-world places that appear in The Gathering by Anne Enright. Each location on the map shows what happens there in the novel, the real history of the place, and what's there today. Featured locations include Veronica's House, Grandmother Ada's House, Glasnevin Cemetery, The Shelbourne Hotel, Trinity College Dublin and 7 more.
Terenure — Where the wake preparations begin
Veronica, the narrator, prepares for Liam's wake at her family home in suburban Dublin. Here she wrestles with memories of her drowned brother and contemplates the secret they shared from their childhood. The house becomes a staging ground for family grief, as the nine surviving Hegarty siblings prepare to gather and mourn their wayward brother who drowned in Brighton.
Terenure developed as a middle-class Dublin suburb in the early 20th century, with its tree-lined streets and semi-detached Victorian and Edwardian houses representing upward mobility for Irish families.
Terenure remains a popular residential area south of Dublin city center, known for its family homes, local shops along Terenure Road, and proximity to both the city center and the Dublin Mountains.
Broadstone — Site of the family's dark secret
The house where Ada Merriman lived becomes central to Veronica's memories of the winter of 1968. Here, young Veronica witnessed something traumatic involving her brother Liam and their grandmother's lodger, Lamb Nugent. The house holds the secret that Veronica has carried for decades, the betrayal that connects her to Liam's eventual suicide and shapes the family's tragic trajectory.
The Broadstone area, near the old Broadstone railway station, was a respectable Dublin neighborhood in the early-to-mid 20th century, home to boarding houses and family residences serving the city's growing population.
The former Broadstone station area has been redeveloped, with modern apartments and offices replacing many of the old Victorian terraces, though some period houses remain in the surrounding streets.
Finglas Road — Where the Hegarty family history lies buried
Veronica reflects on the generations of Hegartys buried here, contemplating how family patterns repeat through death and memory. The cemetery represents the weight of Irish family history and the inevitability of death that haunts the novel. She considers how the dead continue to influence the living, and how Liam will join this silent congregation of ancestors.
Established in 1832, Glasnevin Cemetery is Ireland's largest cemetery and the final resting place of many notable Irish figures including Daniel O'Connell, Michael Collins, and Éamon de Valera. It was founded to serve Dublin's Catholic population.
Glasnevin Cemetery remains active as both a working cemetery and a significant tourist attraction, with guided tours highlighting the graves of famous Irish political and cultural figures.
Visit: Glasnevin Cemetery Museum (museum)
St. Stephen's Green — Ada's brief taste of luxury
Veronica remembers her grandmother Ada's stories of once taking tea at the prestigious Shelbourne Hotel, a moment of elegance in an otherwise difficult life. These memories highlight the class divisions and aspirations that ran through Irish society, and Ada's brief contact with Dublin's high society before her circumstances changed dramatically.
The Shelbourne Hotel, opened in 1824, has long been Dublin's most prestigious hotel, hosting visiting dignitaries, writers, and Ireland's social elite. It overlooks St. Stephen's Green and has been witness to much of Dublin's modern history.
The Shelbourne remains one of Dublin's luxury hotels, now part of the Marriott chain but retaining its historic character and reputation as a gathering place for Dublin society.
Visit: The Shelbourne Hotel (historic site)
College Green — Symbol of Protestant Dublin privilege
The university represents the Protestant Dublin establishment that long excluded Catholics like the Hegartys. Veronica contemplates the social barriers and class divisions that shaped her family's opportunities and limitations. Trinity embodies the educated, privileged Ireland that remained largely inaccessible to working-class Catholic families like hers.
Founded in 1592 by Elizabeth I, Trinity College was restricted to Protestant students until the late 19th century. For centuries it represented the Anglo-Irish establishment and excluded the Catholic majority from higher education.
Trinity College is now Ireland's oldest university and welcomes students of all backgrounds. Its historic campus and famous library, housing the Book of Kells, make it one of Dublin's top tourist attractions.
Visit: Trinity College Dublin (historic site)
City Center — Dublin's dividing line
The River Liffey flows through Veronica's memories and the novel's geography, dividing Dublin into north and south. The river becomes symbolic of the family's divisions and the way water—ultimately the sea that claimed Liam—runs through their story. Veronica crosses this bridge in her movements through the city, each crossing a reminder of boundaries and connections.
The Liffey has divided Dublin since the city's founding, with O'Connell Bridge (originally Carlisle Bridge) serving as one of the main crossing points since 1794. The river has long been both Dublin's lifeline and its symbolic divider.
O'Connell Bridge remains one of Dublin's busiest crossings, connecting the shopping district of Grafton Street to O'Connell Street and serving as a central point for tourists and locals alike.
Visit: O'Connell Bridge (landmark)
Parkgate Street — Where Dublin families sought respite
Veronica remembers family outings to Phoenix Park during her childhood, rare moments of happiness before the family's troubles deepened. The park represents the normal childhood experiences that were disrupted by the trauma she witnessed. These memories contrast with the darkness that would later consume the family, particularly Liam.
Phoenix Park, established in 1662, is one of Europe's largest enclosed parks. It has long served as Dublin's main recreational space, housing the residence of Ireland's President and providing green space for the city's residents.
Phoenix Park remains Dublin's largest park, home to Dublin Zoo, the Presidential residence Áras an Uachtaráin, and vast open spaces popular with joggers, cyclists, and families.
Visit: Phoenix Park (park)
Medieval Quarter — Dublin's cultural heart
The narrow cobblestone streets of Temple Bar represent the old Dublin that shaped the Hegarty family's identity. Veronica moves through these ancient lanes while contemplating her family's long history in the city, and how generations of Irish working-class life have played out in neighborhoods like this one.
Temple Bar is one of Dublin's oldest areas, dating to medieval times. Originally a working-class district, it was slated for demolition in the 1980s before being preserved and developed as Dublin's cultural quarter.
Temple Bar is now Dublin's best-known tourist and cultural district, filled with pubs, restaurants, galleries, and street performers, though it retains much of its historic medieval street layout.
Visit: Temple Bar Cultural Quarter (historic site)
City Center — Dublin's Georgian elegance
The Georgian square and its surrounding streets represent the Dublin of Veronica's adult life, more prosperous and settled than her childhood memories. She walks these paths while processing her grief for Liam and reflecting on how far the family has come from their more humble origins, yet how the past continues to haunt them.
St. Stephen's Green was laid out in 1664 and developed with Georgian architecture in the 18th century. It became Dublin's most fashionable address and remains the city's premier Georgian square.
St. Stephen's Green is now a public park surrounded by shops, hotels, and offices. The Green itself is a popular lunch spot for office workers and a starting point for exploring Dublin's Georgian architecture.
Visit: St. Stephen's Green (park)
South Dublin Bay — Connection to the fatal sea
The pier extending into Dublin Bay serves as a symbolic connection to the sea that claimed Liam's life at Brighton. Veronica comes here to contemplate the water and her brother's fate, understanding how the sea that surrounds Ireland both connects and isolates them. The pier represents the family's relationship with departure and loss.
Dún Laoghaire harbour and its famous piers were built in the early 19th century as Dublin's main port for passenger ferries to Britain. The East and West piers became popular promenades for Dubliners.
Dún Laoghaire remains a major ferry port and popular recreational area. The East Pier is a favorite walking spot offering views across Dublin Bay, while the town has become an affluent Dublin suburb.
Visit: Dún Laoghaire East Pier (landmark)
Grafton Street — Dublin's meeting place
The famous café represents the Dublin social life that the Hegarty family occasionally glimpsed but rarely fully participated in. Veronica recalls moments when the family aspired to middle-class respectability, sitting among Dublin's shoppers and students, temporarily escaping their working-class origins and family troubles.
Bewley's Oriental Café opened on Grafton Street in 1927 and became an institution of Dublin life, known for its stained glass windows, cherry buns, and as a meeting place for writers, students, and shoppers.
Though Bewley's closed for several years, it reopened in 2017 as both a café and museum, preserving its role as a Dublin landmark and gathering place on the city's premier shopping street.
Visit: Bewley's Grafton Street (restaurant)
O'Connell Street — Symbol of Irish independence
The General Post Office represents the political Irish identity that formed the backdrop of the Hegarty family's lives. Veronica reflects on how the struggle for independence and the creation of modern Ireland provided both hope and disappointment for working-class Catholic families like theirs, promising a better future that didn't always materialize.
Built in 1818, the GPO became the headquarters of the 1916 Easter Rising when Irish republicans proclaimed independence from Britain. It remains the most important symbol of Irish nationalism and independence.
The GPO continues to function as Dublin's main post office while also housing a museum about the 1916 Rising. It stands as both a working building and a shrine to Irish independence.
Visit: GPO Museum (museum)
More by Anne Enright: All Anne Enright books
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