Get an insight into historic Joycean Dublin via the James Joyce Centre Walking Tours, which take in some of the sights and sounds of the city in which Joyce staged all his works.
There are two different walking tours available:
Introducing James Joyce’s Dublin – Though Joyce lived most of his life outside of Ireland, Dublin would provide the backdrop for virtually all of his work. On a stroll around the north inner city, the guide explains the inspiration behind some of Joyce’s most celebrated writing and shows just how central the streetscape of the ‘Hibernian metropolis’ is to the author’s life and art. The tour visits stops such as Joyce’s alma mater, Belvedere College; Hardwicke Street, the setting of the short story ‘The Boarding House’; the Gresham Hotel, the setting of the final and most memorable scene of the short story ‘The Dead’; and the James Joyce Statue on North Earl Street, affectionately known as the ‘Prick with the Stick’. The tour also includes a visit to the site of one of the most famous addresses in English literature, No. 7 Eccles Street, and retraces the steps of Leopold Bloom’s celebrated journey to buy a pork kidney in the fourth episode of Ulysses. This tour ends on O’Connell Street.
In the Footsteps of Leopold Bloom – This tour explores the background to Joyce’s Ulysses and to Bloom’s thoughts as he crosses the city in search of something to eat in the ‘Lestrygonians’ episode. In Bloom’s footsteps, food becomes the central issue of social, cultural and political life in Dublin in 1904. The tour starts from the James Joyce Centre and finishes at the National Museum.
A third tour option was previously offered, but is not currently available:
Dubliners – Joyce once referred to Dublin as the ‘centre of paralysis’, a city that he felt was backward and repressive in contrast to the modern capitals of Europe. Joyce’s “Dubliners” is a short story collection that illustrates the effects of this restrictive atmosphere on the city’s population. The tour visits some of the key locations from both the collection and the author’s life, discussing Joyce’s critical portrayal of the social, religious and political landscape of his home town. The tour also gives some insight into the publication history of the collection. The walk ends at O’Connell Bridge.
Scheduling:
Introducing Joyce’s Dublin, runs every Thursday and Saturday at 11am.
Footsteps of Leopold Bloom, runs every Friday at 11am.
Each tour lasts approximately 2 hours and covers about 2 km.
Contact & Pricing:
jamesjoyce.ie/book-a-walking-tour
[email protected]
James Joyce Centre, 35 North Great George’s Street, Dublin 1
Tel: 01 878 8547
Adults €20 (plus booking fee); concessions
