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Visit the James Joyce Centre


The James Joyce Cultural Centre can be found just around the corner from Dublin’s north city centre, O’Connell Street. It is situated in a stunning Georgian townhouse and offers the visitor historical and biographical information about James Joyce and his influence in literature. See the door to the famous No 7 Eccles Street from “Ulysses”, art exhibitions and more to bring the author and his works to life. With the help of our free audio guides in English, French, German, Italian and Spanish, interactive displays and knowledgeable walking tour guides, you will discover a piece of the literary history of Dublin. Our walking tours appeal to visitors with a casual interest and Joycean experts alike while our shop has a great selection of books by and on Joyce as well as other Joycean memorabilia. We run monthly evening lectures between September and June. Private walking tours and group tours and workshops are available for which advanced booking is necessary. Only the ground floor of the Centre is wheelchair-accessible.

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“Our guide was brilliant- well spoken, knowledgeable, and
very passionate. Such a fantastic experience for anyone
visiting Dublin and I would highly recommend it!”

Trip advisor, Georgia  Feb 2020

Walking Tours


Our walking tours appeal to visitors with a casual interest and Joycean experts alike. They give a wonderful insight into the life and literature of James Joyce and explore our unique location at the heart of Joyce’s Dublin.

  • The usual rate for a walking tour is €12 for adults and €10 for students and seniors.
  • All tours depart from the James Joyce Centre and last 90 minutes.
  • Ireland is known for its rain, so please wear appropriate waterproof clothing.
  • Bookings for walking tours are non-refundable.

Introducing Joyce’s Dublin Walking Tour

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, our guide will explain the real-life inspiration behind some of Joyce’s most celebrated writing and will show 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; North 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. 

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Dubliners Walking Tour

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. This idea found its expression in Dubliners, a short story collection that illustrates the effects of this restrictive atmosphere on the city’s population. Join our guide on a walk that visits some of the key locations from both the collection and the author’s life, discussing all the while Joyce’s critical portrayal of the social, religious and political landscape of his home town. This tour also gives some insight into the publication history of the collection, itself a story that creates a sense of Joyce’s artistic mission and his controversial approach to writing about Dublin. This tour ends around O’Connell Street. 

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Footsteps of Leopold Bloom Walking Tour

The ‘Lestrygonians’ episode of Ulysses sees Leopold Bloom make his way through the city centre on his way from Middle Abbey Street to the National Library. As he begins to feel the rumblings of hunger, his thoughts become centred on the social, political cultural and religious significance of food; as he goes on to think, food underlies all relations to the extent that ‘peace and war depend on some fellow’s digestion’. Bloom’s musings on the importance of food are mixed with a commentary on the architecture that surrounds him, emphasising Dublin’s position as a colonial city. Join our guide as we follow in Bloom’s footsteps and discuss these thoughts, focusing on Joyce’s effort to bring the unsavoury workings of the body into a work of art and use food as the basis of a political and social commentary. This tour ends on Kildare Street. 

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Group Visits


The James Joyce Centre offers various options for group visits. If there are 10 or more of you, why not avail of our group rates? Please find descriptions of the options below as well as rates and terms and conditions for 2020. Due to limited capacity in the Centre, groups must book in advance to ensure availability.

Here is an overview of what is available for groups:

Visits to the James Joyce Centre

The main permanent exhibition is self-guided and focuses on Ulysses, but also deals with other aspects of Joyce’s life and work. The exhibition contains video documentaries, room reconstructions and computer installations. You can also see the door of No 7 Eccles Street, the home of Leopold Bloom in Ulysses, and the furniture from Paul Léon’s apartment, where Joyce wrote part of Finnegans Wake. In addition, we host temporary exhibitions inspired by Joyce, his life and works.

Group admission to the Centre is €3.50 for students/seniors and €4.50 for adults.

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Walking Tours

The Centre offers walking tours to suit all levels of interest in Joyce, from those who have little or no knowledge of Joyce to those who are more familiar with his life and work and want to explore the city he wrote about. We can also tailor tours to specific interests.

Prices start from €10 for students/seniors and €12 for adults. Tours usually last from 60-90 minutes. For more details visit our Private Walking Tours or Student Walking Tours pages.

Workshops

We offer workshops and tours at the Centre for groups studying works by James Joyce. The students will be led in a discussion which will touch on different aspects of the chosen text and we hope to be able to introduce them to unfamiliar aspects, so they go back to the text again with different eyes.

All our group offers can be tailored specifically to the needs and interests of individual groups. You can also combine different elements and we offer special discounted rates for combinations of visits, walks and workshops.

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GROUP RATES 2020


  • Group Admission for self-guided visit to Centre: €3.50 per student or senior (60+); €4.50 per adult; guides/teachers free of charge (see Terms & Conditions below).

  • Group Walking Tours of Joyce’s Dublin. Duration approximately 90 minutes. €10 per student/senior; €12 per adult with a minimum rate of €100. Tours range in suitability from those learning English to those studying Joyce’s works.

  • Student tours comprising of in-house presentation followed by short walking tour. Two student tours are available: “Introducing James Joyce” and “Dubliners.” Duration approximately 60 minutes. €10 per student with a minimum rate of €100 per group.

  • Customised Student Workshops. Duration approximately 45 minutes. From €8 per student with a minimum rate of €80 per group.

    TERMS & CONDITIONS 2020


    • A group consists of 10 or more persons. Groups must be accompanied by a group leader for the duration of the visit/tour. Group leaders are responsible for their group throughout the duration of the visit/tour. Group leaders are free of charge up to a maximum of one leader per ten persons.

    • Groups must book in advance – at least 7 days’ notice is required for group admissions and four weeks’ notice for walking tours or workshops, subject to availability.

    • Maximum group size is 25 persons. Proposed groups over 25 persons will be split into smaller groups to visit separately at different times.

    • The James Joyce Centre reserves the right to refuse admission at its discretion.

    Opening Hours


    October – March

    Mondays: Closed from
    1st October – 31st March
    Tuesday to Saturday:
    10am – 5pm
    Sundays: 12 – 5pm

    April – September

    Monday to Saturday:
    10am – 5pm
    Sunday: 12 – 5pm

    Last admissions are at 4.30pm and our exhibitions close at 4.50pm.


    Admission to the Centre, including temporary exhibitions:
    Adults: €5
    Students/Concession: €4


    Group rates (10 persons or more)
    Adults: €4.50
    Students/Concession: €3.50
    Group payments must be made in a single transaction.


    If you are a tour group that is interested in visiting the James Joyce Centre be sure to contact us on [email protected] or +353 (0)1 8788547 to discuss your visit. Due to limited capacity in the Centre, groups must book in advance to ensure availability.

    How to Get Here

    The James Joyce Centre is located on North Great George’s Street which is close to O’Connell Street in Dublin 1. O’Connell Street is serviced by most main bus routes that pass through the centre of Dublin.

    The centre is also close to Parnell Square and the Parnell Street LUAS stop. Connolly Station is a close walking distance (5 – 10mins) to the Centre for DART and commuter rail users.