AT the official opening of the James Joyce Centre in North Great George's Street, Dublin, and the launch of Bloomsweek, Senator David Norris, acknowledging the truth in the old axiom that brevity is the soul of wit, commented that he has "occasionally been accused of being witty but never accused of being brief.
The President, Mrs Robinson, then spoke and more than one person was heard to comment on her ability to speak fluently and extremely entertainingly.
Everywhere she goes and she does travel a great deal she said there is some Joyce connection. She has recently received copies of Ulysses translated into Icelandic, Chinese and Japanese.
The centre is a Georgian house which has been refurbished at a cost of £1.5 million and there are several Joyce family members involved. The ebullient Ken Monaghan is a director of the centre. His mother, May, was one of Joyce's sisters and he has been known to give impromptu Joycean tours of Dublin, much to the excited astonishment of visiting Joyce fans.
Another director is Bob Joyce whose grandfather Charles was a brother of Joyce. Paul Joyce (Bob's son) is an artist and he lives in the beautifully restored house.