- One of the most important Joycean sites of Dublin - with tangible links to both his life and work.
- Joyce as a person is one of the foci - an often forgotten aspect of the larger-than-life literary gi
- Starting point of Leopold Bloom's odyssee through Dublin.
- Rare opportunity to see a Martello Tower from the inside.
- Exhibition is geared towards those interested in Joyce and "Ulysses" - occasional visitors might pre
- Martello Tower built during the Napoleonic wars to defend Dublin Bay against a naval threat.
- Oliver St. John Gogarty used the tower as a "home away from home" and invited James Joyce as a guest.
- Tower has now been re-invented as a joycean Museum.
- Splendid views of Dublin Bay and the hardy (occasionally nude) bathers at the 40 Foot are a bonus.
Every June 16th Joyceans step out lively from here - as did Leopold Bloom on this day in 1904, the date now known as Bloomsday. But the Martello Tower on a headland at Sandycove does not only have a literary connection to the author of "Ulysses". "James Joyce once slept here" would be a fitting inscription. Better not to mention the fact that Joyce fled the tower after being shot at by his host, Oliver St John Gogarty.
Today the former fortress and latter holiday home has been reinvented as a museum dedicated to James Joyce. An attraction much flaunted by the city he left in disgust. There seems to be a strain of un-cordial good-byes running through this ...
The tower holds a museum dedicated to all things Joycean, a must-see on the list of top Dublin attractions connected to James Joyce. And for some the discovery of Joyce's human side is the best part of a visit to Sandycove.
