The acquisition by the National Library of a manuscript of the "Circe" episode of James Joyce's Ulysses has caused much celebration. An understandable note of triumphalism, even of self-congratulation, has been detectable. The Celtic Tiger has pounced again, to the tune of at least £1.4 million.
In the midst of all this complacency, however, it is worth remembering that much of the physical world of Joyce's novel - the Dublin of 1904 - has been destroyed, and that this destruction was largely avoidable. There is a certain irony in the fact that while the "Circe" manuscript is being so carefully guarded in the National Library, the actual area of Dublin in which the episode is set - the Foley Street/Montgomery Street district around Amiens Street and Talbot Street, better known as Monto - has been altered beyond recognition.
Usher's Island
One of the most notable of the few survivals from Joyce's world is the "dark gaunt house on Usher's Island" where his most famous story, The Dead, is almost entirely set. This building, Number 15, has known many vicissitudes down the years but, mainly through sheer good fortune, it is still standing. It dates from about 1775, when it was built as the residence of a merchant, Joshua Pim, who had his business next door in Number 16. Late in the 19th century, it was taken over by a grain merchant, William Smith, and became the base for his operations.
During the 1890s, the upper floors of the building were rented by Joyce's maternal great-aunts, Mrs Lyons and Mrs Callanan, and Mrs Callanan's daughter, Mary Ellen. From there they ran a music school (known as the Misses Flynns', their maiden name) and, most notably, held the Christmas parties that provide the scene for The Dead. Christmas parties
This story is, by common consent, the most tender of Joyce's writings, and it is clear that his great-aunts' Christmas parties at Usher's Island, with their socialibility and hospitality, were some kind of oasis for the writer in the generally harsh and difficult conditions of Dublin life as he experienced them. This was well caught in John Huston's superb 1988 film of the story.
However, while the house might have been an oasis then, it can hardly be so described at present. Although it is structurally intact, it is in a very derelict state, having been allowed go to rack and ruin for the past 30 years. The roof is a temporary one, doors and windows have been ripped out. Fires were lit in the middle of the elegant rooms. No doubt the place was expected to meet the same fate as most other buildings of its type, being finally declared dangerous and then "unavoidably" knocked down. There have been one or two false dawns over those years, with owners, usually companies of one kind or another, occasionally vowing to refurbish the premises, but nothing substantial happened.
A ray of light in this bleak situation burst through about a year ago. A Dublin barrister, Mr Brendan Kilty, acquired the building and is approaching the task of restoration in what can only be called a heroic spirit. He has some idea of the challenge he is facing, having studied quantity surveying in Bolton Street College before taking up the law. Last Bloomsday, June 16th, Mr Kilty opened the house to the public, and was astonished at the reaction he received. Among the visitors was a man who had lived just a few doors down from the house and who said he always used to hurry past it, because his mother had told him it was the house of "the dead". Another caller was a descendant of Mr Fagan, the corn factor who was the prototype for Mr Fulham, mentioned on the first page of the story.
Last December 8th, a combined drama and musical recital took place there, when the actress Bettina Jonic, a close friend of Samuel Beckett, performed pieces by Beckett and the pianist John Paul Gandy played music by Berg. The event was in aid of Father Peter McVerry's work for the homeless and there was a certain piquancy in the sight of dinner-jacketed gentlemen and evening-gowned ladies, along with a grand piano, in these distinctly unsalubrious surroundings.
Remarkably, Mr Kilty is undertaking the restoration of Number 15 Usher's Island without public funding. Over the past year, an archaeological survey of the premises has been carried out. This has found that while it is very possible that the remains of a Viking Dublin quay wall are located underneath the back yard, it is better not to excavate at the moment, and to allow the restoration work to proceed.
Cultural activities
Mr Kilty intends to locate his own legal chambers in the building eventually, leaving the upper floor for cultural activities - an arrangement not unlike that which prevailed in the days of the Misses Flynn. If he succeeds in his goal, he will have rendered a significant service to Dublin and the Joyce world. This house and Newman House in 85/86 St Stephen's Green are by far the most important Joyce-linked buildings in inner Dublin.
On January 6th, the date traditionally assigned to "the Misses Morkans' annual dance" in Joyce's story, Number 15 Usher's Island was silent and empty, as it has been for many the long year now (though the anniversary did not pass unmarked - the James Joyce Centre in North Great George's Street made sure of that, with a celebration of its own). However, if Mr Kilty's plans come to fruition, January 6th 2002 will see a different scene at "the dark gaunt house", and The Dead will truly come back to life in its original setting.