The Galway of Nora Barnacle:
Its Influence On and Appearances In the Works of James Joyce
4-5 Sept 2024 | €30

Join us for this wonderful opportunity to see the places where Nora Barnacle lived her life before she fled for Dublin. Galway is much-changed since Nora left, but there are still many places that she would instantly recognise. Our trip will include a visit to the tiny Nora Barnacle Museum, in the house where she grew up in Bowling Green. 

Each participant should arrange their own transport to Galway, plus accommodation and meals. Hotel availability is limited so early booking is strongly recommended.

The planned itinerary is as follows:

Day 1                 Wed 04/09/24
10:45                 Meet at Galway City Library, St Augustine St. (Location)
11:00                  Lecture on Nora, Joyce and Galway by Ray Burke.*
12:30                  Free time – lunch at leisure.
14:00                  Visit to the Nora Barnacle Museum or Walking tour of city centre area.**
15:00                  Walking tour of city centre area or Visit to the Nora Barnacle Museum.**
19:00                  Group meal in local restaurant.
** The group will be split in two for these events.

The locations for the walking tour are those in the city centre that are associated with Nora. Total distance will be about 3kms.

Day 2                 Thurs 05/09/24
10:30                  Bus Eireann bus to Rahoon; short walk to Rahoon Cemetery.
11:00                  Visit the graves of Michael Bodkin, Michael Feeney and Thomas Barnacle.
                           Readings relating to Galway from the works of James Joyce.
13:00                  Bus back to city centre.

Further information will follow. Places are limited because of the tiny size of the museum, so this trip is available exclusively to current Friends of the Joyce Tower Museum.

* Ray Burke is a Galwegian, a graduate of the University of Galway and the author of Joyce County: Galway and James Joyce (2021). A journalist for over 40 years, he was news editor of the Irish Press and chief news editor of RTÉ News. He has written about James Joyce for RTÉ News, the National Library of Ireland, and the Connacht Tribune. He is the author of Press Delete: The Decline and Fall of the Irish Press (2005) and has contributed chapters to four books on Irish newspaper history. Ray is the current chair of the Newspaper and Periodical History Forum of Ireland.