35 North Great George’s Street was built in 1784 for Valentine Brown, 1st Earl of Kenmare, who used it as his townhouse. In the eighteenth century, this area of Dublin was very fashionable but it fell into decline in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
By 1982, twelve houses on North Great George’s Street had been demolished by the City Council, including the house next door. No. 35 was saved from demolition by Senator David Norris, a Joycean scholar who also lives on the street. With the help of many others and with funding from a variety of sources the building was renovated and the Centre opened in June 1996. For over ten years the Centre was run by members of the Joyce and Monaghan families, descendants of Joyce’s brother Charles Joyce and sister May Monaghan.
It is now run as a limited company with educational charity status and the support of the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Fáilte Ireland, The Ireland Funds, and Dublin UNESCO City of Literature.