The tower was leased from the
War Office by Joyce's university friend
Oliver St. John Gogarty, with the purpose of "
Hellenising" Ireland. Joyce stayed there for six days, from 9 to 14 September in 1904. Gogarty later attributed Joyce's abrupt departure to a midnight incident with a loaded revolver. The opening scenes of
Ulysses are set the morning after this incident. Gogarty is immortalised as "Stately, plump
Buck Mulligan" (the opening words of the novel). The tower now contains a museum dedicated to Joyce and displays some of his possessions and other ephemera associated with
Ulysses (e.g., "Plumtree's
Potted Meat" pot). The living space is set up to resemble its 1904 appearance, and contains a ceramic
panther to represent one seen in a dream by a resident. It was purchased in 1954 by architect
Michael Scott who had built his house,
Geragh next door in 1937 on a former quarry. In 1962, he donated the tower for the purpose of making it a museum. Michael Scott is co-founder, with financial assistance by
John Huston, of the James Joyce Museum at the Joyce Tower. The Tower became a museum opening on 16 June 1962 through the efforts of Dublin artist
John Ryan. Ryan also rescued the front door to
7 Eccles Street (now at the
James Joyce Centre) from demolition and organised, with
Brian O'Nolan, the first
Bloomsday Celebration in 1954. The James Joyce Tower is open Thursday-Sunday, 10am-4pm Admission is free, though visits can be booked in advance on the website for a small donation. The museum is run by the Friends of Joyce Tower Society on a voluntary basis. File:James Joyce Tower and Museum2.JPG|
Barry McGovern reads
Ulysses,
Bloomsday, 2009 File:Martelo dublin view.JPG|North view from above the tower, 2009 File:James Joyce Tower and Museum, living area (1).jpg|Living area in the tower, 2019 File:Dún Laoghaire sandy cove.jpg|View of
Sandycove,
Michael Scott's 1937 white
Art Deco house
Geragh, and the Joyce Tower ==See also==