Rathmines home of James Joyce puts tenants on the tourism trail

Fancy living in a little slice of literary history? Former homes of literary luminaries don’t often become available to ordinary punters, unless of course they’re for rent and 23 Castlewood Avenue in Rathmines is one such exception.

The former childhood home of Ireland's most influential literary son, James Joyce, is seeking tenants. The Joyces moved to number 23 not long after the birth of the writer but his father, John, wanted to live by the sea – and farther from the relatives of his wife, Mary Jane Murray – and by 1887 they had moved to Bray, Co Wicklow.

Joyce lived there between the ages of two and five, and according to the commemorative Dublin Tourism plaque on the front door, this is where he wrote his first words.

Castlewood Avenue links Ranelagh to neighbouring Rathmines, both of which are referred to in Finnegans Wake. Available through Haden Properties for €6,000 per month, the house is probably a little different to the Victorian home that Joyce lived in having been extensively and swishly refurbished by its owner after they acquired the house in 2007.

It hasn’t lost its period features though and the four- bed comes with the added bonus of being on the Dublin Tourism trail.