The writer and his place in Sandycove.

The James Joyce Tower & Museum is situated in the iconic Martello tower in Sandycove, which has a real-life connection with Ireand's world-renowned author of tomes like Dubliners, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man and Ulysses. 

The tower was commissioned by the British and built by local man, John Murray, in 1804 as part of a serioes of miltary defenses all over Ireland. As time passed, some of these structures were converted for private use. 

In 1904, James Joyce stayed in this tower as the guest of Oliver St. John Gogarty who was renting it. 

At the time Gogarty was a medical student but he later became noted in Irish history as a surgeon, politician and writer.

Joyce only stayed at the tower for a short while but it was enough to provide inspiration for the opening setting of his influential, modernist novel, Ulysses. In the novel, the character, Stephen Dedalus, lives in the tower with a medical student, Malachi ‘Buck’ Mulligan.

The Joyce collection in the museum includes letters, photographs, first and rare editions and personal belongings. In addition, there are items associated with the Dublin portrayed in Ulysses.

From the top of the tower there are breathtaking views of Dublin Bay. The museum is open daily from 10am–6pm (10am–4pm in winter). Admission is free. jamesjoycetower.com

Sandycove andGlasthule and the James Joyce Museum play a central role in the annual Bloomsday celebrations on the 16th June, which is the day in 1904 over which Ulysses takes place. The celebration is named for protagonist, Leopold Bloom.

Events include readings and re enactments of events in the book and they take place all over Dublin, Ireland and the world.

The first Bloomsday celebrated in Ireland was in 1954 when the writers Patrick Kavanagh and Flann O’Brien visited the Martello tower at Sandycove, Davy Byrne’s pub and 7 Eccles Street, reading parts of Ulysses and enjoying high jinx as they went.

For more information on Bloomsday and Joyce, visit jamesjoyce.ie.

To explore more in Sandycove & Glasthule click here.