James Joyce Tower

The tower is one of a chain built along the coast around 1804 against a Napoleonic invasion that never came. Oliver St John Gogarty rented it in 1904 and Joyce stayed with him for six nights in September, leaving abruptly after another guest, Samuel Chenevix Trench, fired a revolver at a nightmare and then at a shelf above Joyce's bed. That episode became the opening of Ulysses, with Gogarty as Buck Mulligan and the tower as the setting for the first chapter. It opened as a museum in 1962, with Sylvia Beach, the publisher of Ulysses, performing the opening. Funding was withdrawn in 2012 and the tower closed; a volunteer group reopened it and has run it since, free of charge, on donations. Inside are Joyce's waistcoat, letters, editions and photographs, and the gun room and roof are open. The Forty Foot bathing place is directly below.

History

Joyce's university friend Oliver St. John Gogarty leased the tower from the War Office with the aim of "Hellenising" Ireland, and Joyce stayed there for six days, from 9 to 14 September 1904. The opening scenes of Ulysses, published in 1922, take place in the tower (Wikipedia, James Joyce Tower and Museum).

The main sights

• The living room and gun room - the setting of the opening of Ulysses.
• The roof - where the first chapter's dialogue takes place, over the bay.
• The Joyce items - his waistcoat, letters, editions and photographs.
• The volunteer operation - run free on donations since 2012.

When to go

Any season, though hours are shorter in winter and depend on volunteers. Bloomsday on 16 June starts here with readings and is the busiest day of the year.

Before you go

Volunteer-run, so opening can vary - check before travelling. Small: an hour covers it. The stair to the roof is a tight spiral. Free, with donations genuinely needed.

Nearby

The Forty Foot is directly below; Dalkey and Killiney Hill are south.

Key facts