Radford University Study Abroad Program
Dr. Jolanta Wawrzycka
European Literary Trails
Bliss Mulligan's Web Site 2003
Nora Joyce's House
Nora Barnacle grew up in this house in Galway. The house is tiny and today we would probably only have two people living in it, but Nora lived in the house with a total of seven people. When Nora was 20 years old she left her house after receiving a beating from her uncle and took the train to Dublin. Once Nora was in Dublin she went to work in a hotel. James Joyce spotted Nora one day when she was out walking and fell madly in love with her. Nora and James were supposed to have their first date on June 13, 1904, but Nora stood him up. Only after Nora received a letter from Joyce did she finally agree to go on a date with him. Nora and Joyce had their first date on June 16, 1904. Nora and James were together for almost 30 years before they finally got married in 1931. James did not believe in the tradition of marriage and did not want to conform to what the people of Ireland did and expected.
After Nora left her house at the age of 20, she only returned two times throughout the rest of her lifetime. In 1912 Nora, Joyce, and their two children made a trip to Nora's house. Nora made her second and last trip home in 1922 when the civil war was raging.
Letter to Nora from James Nora and James