Joyce Family Homes
The father of James Joyce, John Stanislaus Joyce, was a good-looking, raffish gentleman with a fondness for alcohol, good times, intellectual pursuits, and singing (like his son James, he was a tenor of professional quality). At the time of James' birth, he had an annual income of £800 (£300 from residential properties in Cork, £500 from a position with the British government granted as a political favor by the Liberal government). John's gentlemanly disinterest in finances and fondness for pleasure resulted in loss of his job and squandering of his inherited fortune. The financial decline of the Joyce family is illustrated starkly by their change of residences over time; from houses in the upscale southern suburbs, to the middling northern suburbs, then the slums of Northside Dublin, and finally rooms in center-city boarding houses.
n/ Richard Ellmann, James Joyce Rev. Ed. (New York: Oxford Univ. Press, 1982)
Prior to James' birth, John and his wife May (nee Mary Jane Murray) lived in Rathmines & Rathgar Township (Ontario Terrace), Southside Dublin (Emoryville Avenue where they established a friendship with the Powells) and then in Kingstown (Northumberland Avenue). Their next home was at 47 Brighton Square West (Rathmines & Rathgar) where James was born.
n/ John Wyse Jackson with Peter Costello, John Stanislaus Joyce (New York: St. Martin's, 1988).
Below is the famous portrait commissioned by James Joyce of 74-year old John Stanislaus. It was painted by Patrick Tuohy from a photograph. Tuohy trained at the Dublin Metropolitan School of Art and for three consecutive years received competitive scholarships from the Royal Dublin Society. He was the son of a surgeon and like his parents, a committed nationalist. Tuohy unable to make a living in Ireland, emigrated to the U.S. in 1927. In 1930, at age 36, he committed suicide while living in New York City. At the time, he was under medical care for depression.
n/ Neil Collins, Encyclopedia of Art, s.v. "Tuohy, Frederick," www.visual-arts-cork.com.
John Stanislaus Joyce by Patrick Tuohy, 1924 - Library of Congress
The maps on this page locate the Joyce family homes from the birth of James in 1882 to the death of John in 1931. Icons that identify the homes during James' time in Ireland are colored dark purple. The home icons for the time after James left Ireland are colored light purple. The brown lines trace routes taken by characters in Ulysses.
City Homes
Bacon's Plan of Dublin, 1905 - New York Public Library
Map | Address | Municipality | ||
1 | 41 Brighton Square West | Rathmines & Rathgar | Birthplace of James. Incorporated Dublin, 1930. | |
2 | 23 Castlewood Ave. | Rathmines & Rathgar | ||
5 | 14 Fitzgibbon Street | Dublin | James returns from Clongowes Wood. | |
6 | Mill Bourne Terrace | Drumcondra | Incorporated Dublin, 1901. | |
7 | 13 Richmond St. North | Dublin | James enters Belvedere College. | |
8 | 29 Windsor Avenue | Drumcondra | ||
9 | 225 Richmond Road | Drumcondra | James matriculates at UCD. | |
10 | 13 Richmond Avenue | Drumcondra | ||
11 | 8 Royal Terrace | Drumcondra | ||
12 | 32 Glengariff Parade | Dublin | ||
13 | 7 St. Peter's Terrace | Dublin | James' mother May (Mary Jane Murray) dies. | |
20 | 20 Millmount Terrace | Dublin | James in Pola then Trieste. | |
21 | 7 Whitworth Place | Dublin | ||
22 | 44 Fontenoy Street | Dublin | ||
23 | 11 Great Denmark St. | Dublin | A boarding house. | |
24 | 20 Gardiner Place | Dublin | A boarding house; John and 2 daughters. | |
25 | 25 Claude Road | Dublin | A boarding house; John Stanislaus alone. | |
26 | 1 St. Vincent Street | Dublin | Home of Albert Medcalf. |
n/ Ellmann, James Joyce; Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, s.v. "Joyce, James."
Southern Suburbs Homes
Ordnance Survey of Ireland, 3rd Ed. - National Library of Australia
Map | Address | Municipality | ||
3 | 1 Martello Terrace | Bray, Co. Wicklow | James leaves for Clongowes Wood College. | |
4 | 23 Carysfort Avenue | Stillorgan, Co. Dublin | James at Clongowes Wood College. |
Bruce Stewart, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, s.v. "Joyce, James."
From September 1988 through October 1891, James Joyce was a resident pupil in the primary schooling division of Clongowes Wood College, an elite Jesuit boarding school for boys aged 6 to 18. For more on the school, click on the link for the Major Tweedy's Neighborhood webpage on that institution.
Download from Major Tweedy's Neighborhood
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John Stanislaus lists his occupation as "Government Pension" which paid him £132 annually and afforded a spartan, lower-middle class standard of living. Note that James and his brother Stanislaus are the only family members who are fluent in Irish.
n/ Richard Ellman, James Joyce, Rev. Ed. (New York: Oxford Univ. Press, 1982).
At this time John Stanislaus and two of his daughters are boarders with the Sloane family. His pension was then only £66 annually as in 1905 he had commuted (converted to a lump sum) half of it to purchase the house at 7 St. Peter's Terrace. He subsequently mortgaged the property and defaulted on the loan. In 1911, his pension could provide a working class standard of living.
n/ Ellman, James Joyce.