James Joyce Tower

James Joyce Tower

This is perhaps the most famous of all the Martello Towers, owing to the fact that James Joyce stayed there in 1904 with Oliver St. John Gogarty. He had a falling out with Gogarty and only stayed for a week. The tower is mentioned in 'Ulysses'. Today the tower houses the Joyce museum containing many of Joyce's personal possessions as well as letters, portraits and photographs.

James Joyce Tower

James Joyce Tower

This is perhaps the most famous of all the Martello Towers, owing to the fact that James Joyce stayed there in 1904 with Oliver St. John Gogarty. He had a falling out with Gogarty and only stayed for a week. The tower is mentioned in 'Ulysses'. Today the tower houses the Joyce museum containing many of Joyce's personal possessions as well as letters, portraits and photographs.

Enlarge image

The James Joyce Tower is an example where a Martello Tower was later adapted and used for another purpose, when it was no longer needed as a defence against Napoleon and his army. It has been turned into a museum and houses personal items belonging to the poet, as well as letters, photographs and portraits. There are first editions of his works including some of his broadsides and an edition of Ulysses, illustrated by Henri Matisse.

The tower was rented by the British War Department, when after one hundred years the threat of invasion from Napoleon had long since passed. In 1904 Oliver St. John Gogarty took up residence there. He invited James Joyce to stay with him, however the two quickly had a quarrel following Joyce's writing of the poem 'The Holy Office', which insulted amongst others Gogarty. Joyce moved out a week later and in 1922 mentioned the tower and Gogarty in the opening part of Ulysses.

James Joyce Tower postcard

This tower has now become famous. It was mentioned in James Joyce’s famous work ‘Ulysses’ and today it houses a collection of Joyce memorabilia. The museum opened in 1962 on Bloomsday and was renovated in 1992. The gun platform and tower remain very much as they were described in Joyce’s work.

Courtesy of Ken Finlay

James Joyce Tower postcard
Courtesy of Ken Finlay

James Joyce Tower postcard

This tower has now become famous. It was mentioned in James Joyce’s famous work ‘Ulysses’ and today it houses a collection of Joyce memorabilia. The museum opened in 1962 on Bloomsday and was renovated in 1992. The gun platform and tower remain very much as they were described in Joyce’s work.

Courtesy of Ken Finlay

Enlarge image

This led to a great interest in the tower and Michael Scott, an architect living next door, bought the tower in 1954 and established the Joyce Tower Society with a view to converting the tower into a museum.

Following a generous financial contribution from film director John Huston the museum opened on Bloomsday in 1962. The tower was run by a varied group of enthusiasts for a couple of years and was then sold to the Irish Tourist Board, after being beset by financial difficulties.

In 1965 the museum was taken over by the Eastern Regional Tourism Organisation, today known as Dublin Tourism. The tower's popularity has grown over the years and in 1978 an entrance hall was added, followed by a more thorough renovation in 1992.

Both the gun platform and the tower are very much as they were described in 'Ulysses'. Instead of being left disused or derelict the tower now houses a valuable collection of Irish historical and cultural importance. The tower is part of our cultural heritage and should be preserved as such.