Joseph Patrick Nannetti
The Ulysses reader is introduced to Nannetti in Episode 7 when Bloom approaches him at the premises of The Freeman's Journal and The Evening Telegraph (sister publications). "Through a lane of clanking drums he made his way towards Nannetti's reading closet." "Mr Bloom laid his cutting on Mr Nannetti's desk. Excuse me, councillor, he said."
n/ U (Gabler) 7:74-75; 87-88.
In 1904, the Nannetti of the Dublin Corporation and Parliament was no longer employed by the Freeman's Journal. His son, Joseph Nannetti, Junior; however, was a printer with that newspaper. Joyce simply conflates the two living persons into a single character.
n/ Felix M. Larkin, "The Old Woman of Prince's Street: Ulysses and The Freeman's Journal," Dublin James Joyce Journal 4 (2011): 14-30.
Nannetti appears, or is mentioned, in seven other episodes (8, 10-13,15,17), both under his surname and nickname of "Nannan."
D'Arcy, Illustrated London News, 1907
Who's Who, 1913
"NANNETTI, JOSEPH PATRICK, M.P. (N.) College Division of Dublin since 1900; Lord Mayor of Dublin, 1906-07; b. 1851; s. of an Italian sculptor and modeller; m. 1873, Mary, d. of Edward Egan. Educ.: Baggot Street Convent Schools, and Schools of Christian Brothers, Dublin.
Apprenticed to printing trade; afterwards employed in Liverpool; one of the founders of first Home Rule organisation in Liverpool; first Secretary, afterwards President, of Trade Council of Dublin; is a member of Corporation of Dublin, Catholic Cemeteries Committee and Trustee of the Royal Liver. Friendly Society, etc.
Address: 2 St. Anne's Villas, Dollymount, Dublin.
Joseph P. Nannetti Dead
Member of House of Commons From Dublin and Lord Mayor of City in 1906-07.
London, April 27--Joseph Patrick Nannetti, member of the House of Commons for College Green division of Dublin, died last night.
----
Joseph Patrick Nannetti, born in Dublin in 1851, was the son of an Italian sculptor and modeler. He was apprenticed to a printer and was at one time foreman printer of Freeman's Journal. He was Lord Mayor of Dublin in 1906-07 and was elected to the House of Commons in 1906 as a Nationalist and Laborite.
The Boston Globe
27 Apr 1915, Tue Page 6
Family
Joseph Patrick Nannetti was the first child of Giuseppe (Joseph) Nannetti and Bridget Dempsey. Giuseppe was employed by his uncle, Giacomo (James) Nannetti, who was a statuary manufacturer and owner of decorative and fine art galleries in Dublin, Belfast, and Glasgow. The Dublin establishment advertised itself as "statuary and moulder, manufacturer of artificial stone for decorating gardens, pleasure grounds, grand entrances, etc." Giacomo was a sculptor whose works were displayed at the National Exhibition of the Arts, Manufactures, and Products of Ireland, 1852 and the New York Exhibition of the Industry of All Nations, 1853. After Giacomo's death in 1855, the Dublin business was acquired by William Crean Giblan.
n/ Harald Beck, "J.P. Nannetti and the Lord Mayor's antecedents," James Joyce Online Notes (December 2012); Dublin Almanac and General Register of Ireland, 1847; 'Giacomo Nannetti', Mapping the Practice and Profession of Sculpture in Britain and Ireland 1851-1951, University of Glasgow History of Art and HATII, sculpture.gla.ac.uk; "A Labour Lord Mayor," The Municipal Journal, May 18, 1906.
Works by Giacomo Nannetti Exhibited in New York, 1853
(Items 3, 6, and 8)
Giuseppe and Bridget had four children, Joseph Patrick, Joseph William, James, and Rosanna Maria. Joseph Patrick married Mary Egan in 1873 and they had five children: Joseph Patrick, Jr., Maria, Madeline, Louis, and Bernard. Like their father, Bernard and J.P., Junior were active nationalists. In 1901, Madeline, Louis, and Bernard lived with their widowed grandmother, Catherine Egan. At the time, Madeline worked in a draper's shop, Louis was a boilermaker, and Bernard was in school.
n/ Roman Catholic parish records, Dublin; James McConnel, " 'Out in the cold'?: The children of the Irish Parliamentary Party and the Irish Free State," Irish Historical Studies 42, no. 161 (2018):87-114; Census of Ireland, 1901.
Residences
As shown in Who's Who, 1913, Nannetti lived at the northeastern limit of the City of Dublin in the Dollymount neighborhood of Clontarf. Prior to 1900, Clontarf was an independent township. The Nannetti home was near the estate of beer baron Arthur Guinness (Lord Ardilaun). In 1904, the estate, St. Anne's, had an assessed, annual, net-rental value of £290. Ardilaun's brother, Edward Guinness (Lord Iveagh) lived in a city center mansion with a very large, rear garden, 78-81 St. Stephen's Green South. That home was assessed at £1,400 and was the city's most valuable residential property.
n/ Thom's Directory, 1904.
The Nannettis moved to Dollymount in 1909, leaving their previous residence at 48 Sackville Street. Residing with Mr. and Mrs. Nannetti in Dollymount was their daughter, Madeline, who in 1910 paid 7s. 6d. weekly for room and part board.
n/ Electoral Rolls, Dublin City Libraries and Archives.
Ordnance Survey of Ireland, 6 Inch Map - British Library
Modern Dublin
On Bloomsday, Nannetti's stated residence was 18-19 Hardwicke Street not far from the Blooms. That duplex rowhouse was assessed at an annual rental value of £40; 7 Eccles Street at £28. Apparently, Nannetti was the absentee landlord of the premises. Census returns for 1901 show No. 18 divided into six tenements and No. 19 as the residence of Nannetti's widowed mother-in-law, Catherine Egan. Mrs. Egan reported she was living with her other daughter, Ellen, and three of the Nannetti children. The MP and his wife apparently lived elsewhere and don't appear in the Census of 1901.
n/ Thom's Directory, 1904.
Bacon's Plan of Dublin, 1905 - New York Public Library
Election to Parliament, 1900
In October 1900, Nannetti stood for Parliament against James Laurance Carew. Nannetti was the candidate of both the nationalist Irish Parliamentary Party and the Irish Labour Party. His opponent was a Healyite, independent nationalist. The contested constituency was College Green in South Dublin, which had 10,223 registered voters (electors). Turnout on election day, October 3, was 45.4% and the results follow:
Nannetti 2,467 53.2%
Carew 2,173 46.8%
As Nannetti was a printer and labor leader, the election results were reported in the U.S. labor publication, The Typographical Journal. To view or download the article from Major Tweedy's Neighborhood, click here. The article will open in a new browser window. Note that it includes an editorial of The Freeman's Journal.
n/ Brian M. Walker, ed., Parliamentary Election Results in Ireland, 1801-1922 (Dublin: Royal Irish Academy, 1978); “Correspondence,” The Typographical Journal 17, no. 10 (November 15, 1900), 431 .
Joseph Nannetti, MP for College Green, Dublin
Click on the icon and a transcript of the Parliamentary debate will open in a popup window. The transcript is a page from Hansard's on the UK Parliament's website, hansard.parliament.uk.
Gaelic Athletic Games in Phoenix Park
- Anyhow, says Joe, Field and Nannetti are going over tonight to London to ask about it on the floor of the house of commons.
- Are you sure, says Bloom, the councillor is going? I wanted to see him, as it happens.
- Well, he's going off by the mailboat, says Joe, tonight.
- That's too bad, says Bloom. I wanted particularly. Perhaps only Mr Field is going. I couldn't phone. No. You're sure?
- Nannan's going too, says Joe. The league told him to ask a question tomorrow about the commissioner of police forbidding Irish games in the park. What do you think of that, citizen? The Sluagh na h-Eireann.
n/ Ulysses (Gabler) 12: 850-59.
Sluagh na hEireann (Irish Brigade) was a short-lived, Irish Nationalist athletic organization. It was similar to Na Fianna Eirann, a youth hurling league founded 1902 in Belfast by Bulmer Hobson. The Belfast organization evolved into the Irish National Boy Scouts. It promoted the same qualities espoused by Baden-Powell, but in an Irish nationalist context. The first Dublin chapter was established in 1909, several years after the demise of Sluagh na hEireann.
n/ National Library of Ireland, Sweetman Family Papers Catalogue, Collection List No. 56, 86; Marnie Hay, "The foundation and development of Na Fianna Eireann, 1909-16," Irish Historical Studies 36, no. 141 (May 2008): 53-71.
First Remarks in Commons
Questions on February 18, 1901. Asked about The Fair Wages Act in relation to contracted work at Royal Barracks, Dublin.
British Volunteer Force in Dublin
See, "Part-Time Soldiers of the Black Watch in Dublin" near the bottom of The Army in Dublin on Bloomsday on Major Tweedy's Neighborhood.
Last Remark in Commons
December 31, 1912 debate on the Government in Ireland Bill, re: Suspension of Executive Power in Ireland during State of War. Nannetti interjects "What about the ballot?" after Pole-Carew's remarks reported at Column 230.
Lieutenant-General Sir Reginald Pole-Carew was a Liberal-Unionist MP from 1910 until his resignation in 1916. He represented a Cornish constituency. His final military assignment was general-officer-commanding the Cork Army District (8th Division) 1903-1905. His highest rank was Major-General; however, like all officers he received an honorary step-in-rank upon retirement.
Links to Other Websites
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Note by Harald Beck in the online journal, James Joyce Online Notes.
These digital images are the property of the National Portrait Gallery, London and require a license for commercial use.
A 2018 article by Donal Fallon on the Dublin cultural blog, Come Here To Me!
Ciaran Wallace, "Joseph P. Nannetti, Lord Mayor 1906-08: 'a rather mild sort of rebel'," in Leaders of the City: Dublin's first citizens, 1500-1950, Ruth McManus and Lisa-Marie Griffith, eds. (Dublin: Four Courts, 2013).
Article by John Hunt on the website The Joyce Project. Click on the "Read More" button to display the article.
