Joyce was born in Dublin on 2 February 1882, the eldest son of John and May Joyce. John Joyce was from Cork and had come to Dublin after failing in his medical studies in Cork university. He was reasonably wealthy, owning property in Cork and Dublin as well as having an inheritance, but he also liked to drink a great deal and, by the time Joyce was just eleven, his father had lost his property, his money and his last full-time job. He married May Murray in 1880 and they had ten children who survived into adulthood. In spite of the family’s decline and John Joyce’s drinking, Joyce had a good education for the time, going to private schools at Clongowes Wood and Belvedere College, before attending University College Dublin where he studied modern languages.

Press ‘A’ to learn more about Joyce’s relationship with Nora Barnacle Press ‘B’ to learn more about Joyce’s children, Georgio and Lucia

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