James Joyce and his seminal work Ulysses is such an integral part of Dublin and Ireland that it is hard not to encounter some reference to him. So much so that the immortal lines in the book, ‘A good puzzle would be to cross Dublin without passing a pub,’ is used as the award citation for the James Joyce Pub Award to recognise authentic Dublin pubs. Joyce is known to have frequented Dublin’s pubs and drew so much inspiration that many of the characters in Ulysses are considered to be less fictional and drawn more on people he met in the pubs. And the award seeks to reward pubs that exemplify ‘Irish genuineness of atmosphere, friendliness and presence of good company.’