James Joyce's Dublin

The Irish writer James Joyce set much of his works in Dublin. Due to his modernist style of writing which gives a lot of details on the sites where action takes place, you can often trace his characters on a map and identify those places of early 20th century Dublin which still exist.

Understand

Perhaps Joyce's most famous work – Ulysses – famously describes events on a single day in Dublin – June 16 1904 – the anniversary of which has since come to be known as Bloomsday for one of the characters in the book. Many Joyce enthusiasts gather at various sites in Dublin (and elsewhere) on this day, to celebrate the events of the book and Joyce's literary heritage. Apparently, Joyce chose that date as it was his first "date" with his would-be wife and muse Nora Barnacle.

While Joyce would later leave Dublin to live in other major cities of Europe, and is buried near Zurich in Switzerland, he continued writing works set in Dublin, one (a collection of short stories) even entitled Dubliners.

See

• 1 James Joyce's birthplace, 41 Brighton Square, Rathgar. (updated Feb 2019)
• 2 Statue of James Joyce, 2 North Earl Street. (updated Feb 2019)
• 3 St. Stephen's Green. A city centre public park, where a bust of Joyce faces his former university at Newman House. (updated Feb 2019)
• 4 James Joyce Tower and Museum, Sandycove Point, Dún Laoghaire, A96 FX33. 10am-6pm (10am-4pm in winter). James Joyce spent six nights in this tower in 1904. The opening scenes of Ulysses take place here. It contains a museum dedicated to him, that displays some of his possessions and other ephemera associated with the book (e.g., an empty pot of "Plumtree's Potted Meat"). The living space is set up to resemble its 1904 appearance. It became a museum opening on 16 June 1962. It's a place of pilgrimage for Joyce enthusiasts, especially on Bloomsday. (updated Feb 2019)
• 5 Clongowes Wood College, Richardstown, County Kildare, 8868+9J (38 km west). Joyce studied at this boarding school for boys that was founded by Jesuits in 1814. It's featured prominently in his semi-autobiographical novel A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. (updated Feb 2019)
• 6 Anna Livia monument (The Floozie in the Jacuzzi). Sculpture created in 1988, and relocated in 2001, recognising Anna Livia Plurabelle from Finnegans Wake. Bronze sculpture sitting on a small pond. (updated Mar 2019)
• 7 James Joyce Bridge. Bridge spanning the River Liffey built in 2003. "The Dead" is set in Number 15 Usher's Island which faces the bridge. (updated Mar 2019)

See also

• The grave of James Joyce in Friedhof Fluntern, Zurich
• Literary London