A Hotel's Limerick Butler

Ireland has a linguistic history distinct from the rest of the British Isles. However, when it comes to the English language, the Emerald Isle seems to have produced a disproportionate number of masters of the language.

Whether prose or poetry; novels or drama; satire or criticism—if it’s written in English, one of the canonical heavyweights is virtually guaranteed to be Irish.

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Dublin, most notably, is a city flocked to by literary fans. Devotees of James Joyce visit for Bloomsday on June 16, the day in which his novel Ulysses is set. Greats such as Shaw, Yeats, Wilde and Swift were all born in the city.

With a grand literary tradition as one of the city’s cultural bulwarks, it seems only natural that visitors to Dublin would find it appropriate to depart with a literary souvenir in hand as a token of their visit to the Irish capital.

Luckily, one Dublin hotel has envisioned exactly such a bespoke souvenir for their guests.

There’s no doubt that the hotel amenity game has been stepped up recently, with hotels offering thoughtful extras like swimming pools with built-in sound systems, in-room guitars to strum, or an afternoon doughnut wall.

Conrad Dublin, however, has newly introduced what may be the world’s first Limerick Butler.

Mind you, Limerick is both a form of poetry and a city in Ireland, but it’s the former that Stephen Clare occupies his days with in service of the hotel’s guests.

Available through the concierge desk, and just in time for Valentine’s Day, Stephen will craft personalized love poems upon request for guests—provided they can provide inspiration in the form of three meaningful words. Lending additional authenticity and Irish charm to the experience are the high-quality paper stock—for yes, the poems are typed on a typewriter and presented in a luxurious keepsake style.

In addition to personalized poems from the Limerick Butler, Valentine’s Day guests may also delight in the Romance in Dublin package, which includes overnight accommodations, a welcome amenity from the hotel’s pastry chef, plus dinner and breakfast for two in the hotel’s restaurant, Coburg. When not reading bespoke poetry or enjoying the hotel’s plush guest rooms, take in St. Stephens Green and the National Concert Hall.

When it’s time to leave, guests will be able to depart the hotel with a free souvenir from a new, fresh generation of Irish wordsmiths, remembering for a long while their visit to one of the English language’s most enduring cultural capitals.