Joyce had a lifelong interest in music and his writings contain numerous musical references. His parents were both musical, and met while they were singing in a church choir together. His mother had learnt music at the school run by her aunts at 15 Usher’s Island, the location for the Misses Morkan’s Christmas party in Joyce’s story ‘The Dead.’ Joyce sang with his parents in a public concert when he was only six years old and by the age of nine he was taking piano lessons. In 1904 Joyce tried to earn money as a concert singer, singing at garden parties and other occasions, and he also won the bronze medal in the Feis Ceoil singing competition that year. He might have had a chance at the gold medal but he didn’t attempt the sight reading part of the competition. He was friendly with the tenor John McCormack and sang on stage with him in a concert in August 1904.

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