History of the Ormond Hotel and Quays

Ormond Quay was the first of Dublin's quays, reclaimed from the Liffey c. 1675 by Sir Humphrey Jervis who developed the Ormond Market there which thrived through the 18th Century. This quay represents the genesis of the character of the quays which was defined by the building line setting well back from the parapet of the stone quay walls providing a generous thoroughfare. The concept of prividing a quay to the riverside was carried through the city subsequent to this and it is one of the most distinctive aspects of the character of the city.

Images of plans (see planning page) for No12 and No 13 show remnants of 20th century, 19th century, 18th century and 17th century fabric on the site.

James Joyce

More than any other writer, James Joyce placed Dublin on the map of world literature. An exile for most of his life, he has become the world's most famous Dubliner and is celebrated annually on the 16th June, the day on which all the events of "Ulysses" take place and which is now known as "Bloomsday".

Ulysses, a modernist masterpiece

Ulysses to this day remains a modernist masterpiece, in which the author takes both Celtic lyricism and vulgarity to splendid extremes. It is funny, sorrowful, and even (in a close-focus sort of way) suspenseful. And despite the exegetical industry that has sprung up in the last 75 years, Ulysses is also a compulsively readable book.

William Blake saw the universe in a grain of sand. Joyce saw it in Dublin, Ireland, on June 16, 1904, a day distinguished by its utter normality. Two characters, Stephen Dedalus and Leopold Bloom, go about their separate business, crossing paths with a gallery of indelible Dubliners. We watch them teach, eat, stroll the streets, argue, and (in Bloom's case) masturbate. And thanks to the book's stream-of-consciousness technique--which suggests no mere stream but an impossibly deep, swift-running river--we're privy to their thoughts, emotions, and memories. The result? Almost every variety of human experience is crammed into the accordian folds of a single day, which makes Ulysses not just an experimental work but the very last word in realism

THE SIRENS - set in the Ormond Hotel

The “Sirens” episode is generally seen to represent a turning point in Bloom’s attitude toward Boylan and Molly’s impending affair. Bloom coincidentally sees Boylan for the third time today. Instead of hiding, as he has done on the previous two occasions, Bloom resolves to follow Boylan and even to enter the Ormond hotel and watch his movements. Though the two men do not actually have a confrontation in Episode Eleven, the emphasis on the off-stage drama of Molly and Boylan’s rendezvous, combined with the love-and-war themed songs, lends a climactic feel to the episode.

Unesco City Of Literature

Literature is in the fabric of Dublin, in its river – Joyce’s Anna Livia, in its conversation and in its very cobblestones. Three of the city’s newest river bridges are named after literary giants - James Joyce, Sean O’Casey and Samuel Beckett. No other city in the world boasts such an all-pervading sense of literary heritage and creative impetus – supported by bursaries and a benevolent national tax regime, which enables artists and writers resident in Ireland to avail of exemptions on income derived from their creative work.

It is important to preserve the essence, the fragrance and the DNA of the locations and sites of James Joyces masterpiece Ulysses. One only has to think of religious relics, fragments of ancient texts, fossils that connect us to great things and events. All too often we are hell bent on bulldozing and demolishing great buildings of great significance. The good is in the memory of the bone. The physical city and its memory is all around us. It connects us to the past generations and our ancestors and to great events. The events that got us here today.

To simply demolish the entire present structure of the Ormond Hotel and replace it with a modern structure with no connectivity to the uniqueness and global significance of Joyces work would be an act of disregard and recklessness. To stand idly by as the citizens of the city and let this happen without some measure of opposition or challenge would be unforgiveable. Every aspect of Joyce and what he stood for was unique. "

Oh Mr Joyce, please hear my voice,

I'm calling out to thee.

They're planning to demolish the Ormond Hotel,

with the aid of a JCB"