Once the second capital of the British Empire, Dublin is a city of monumental architecture with a history both glorious and tragic. But it's also a city brimming with humanity: home to a friendly, gregarious people, who love to hear and tell stories. The combination has arguably produced more great writers per capita than any other place on earth. And yet, as any Dubliner can tell you, the great writers didn't know the half of it. This unique guide leads you behind the granite facades and postcard-perfect pictures to explore the heart and soul of the city through all its eccentricities and foibles. Encounter a whiskey-soaked windmill guarded by St. Patrick or visit a shrine for lovers with the relics of St. Valentine; pay your respects to the grave of a much-decorated four-legged war hero or stop in for a pint at a haunted pub called the Gravediggers; discover a House of the Dead on an island you can reach on foot or explore a literary micro-museum where everybody buys soap. 111 Places in Dublin takes you on an intimate, insider's tour of the Hibernian metropolis, at the end of which, you'll be an insider too.

Frank McNally is a newspaper reporter and columnist. Born in County Monaghan, near the Irish Border, he moved to Dublin in his late teens, working for a number of government departments. He later studied journalism at Dublin City University and in 1996 joined the staff of The Irish Times, where he is now the Chief Writer of the daily "Irishman's Diary" column.