Joyce treasure trove to go on show
The James Joyce and Ulysses exhibition in the National Library of Ireland will be launched by Arts Minister John O'Donoghue on June 14 and will open to the public the next day.
Among the exhibition's Joycean trove is the No 1 copy of the first edition of Ulysses, which chronicles the fictional meanderings of Leopold Bloom through his native city on June 16, 1904 Bloomsday. It was published in Paris in 1924.
The Government paid €12.6 million in 2001 for more than 500 sheets written by Joyce, including drafts of eight episodes of Ulysses as well as proofs of Finnegans Wake.
Late last month, the Government used emergency legislation to ensure a row over copyright didn't scupper its plans to celebrate Joyce's legacy.
The French-based grandson of the author, Stephen Joyce, has built up a fearsome reputation for protecting the copyright of his illustrious ancestor's work.
His reputation as being a thorn in the side of Joycean scholars and promoters forced the passage of the emergency legislation through the Oireachtas.
As holder of the writer's estate, Stephen Joyce last year warned the organisers of the Bloomsday centenary festival, ReJoyce Dublin 2004, and the Government that he would sue for any breach of copyright.
The legislation removed any doubt as to the right of any person to place literary or artistic works protected by copyright or copies of such works on public exhibition without committing a breach of copyright.
On Bloomsday, a breakfast on O'Connell Street will get the day off in the prescribed Joycean manner.
The five-month Joyce culture festival, Joyce in Art, will bring together 60 internationally acclaimed artists at Dublin's RHA Gallery. All of them claim to have been inspired or influenced by Joyce.
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