Stately plump Buck Mulligan

SANDYCOVE: Ulysses famously begins in the Martello Tower on the east coast of Ireland, about half an hour by train from Dublin, and it was here that I headed the morning after my arrival. I found my way to the small town easily enough, and once off the train soon discovered the strand that led to the tower. I find these solitary journeys quite rewarding; they make me feel vaguely competent as a traveler.

The bay was a blustery affair, the sea a thick spumey mess, and yes, ‘snotgreen, scrotumtightening’ to boot. For some strange reason I was surprised to find that the Forty Foot Pool (in which Buck Mulligan swims) was indeed about forty feet across – and given the temperature of the water, it would’ve taken quite a few shots of Jamesons (the 12 year old, if you don’t mind) to get me in there.

So I found myself standing on the rocks where the sea buffets Ireland more violently than I expected, thinking of shipwrecked sailors in days gone by, and also, for some strange reason, of South Head, Sydney. The tower was somewhat smaller than I expected, and the entrance fee, at seven euros, somewhat steeper.

Among the many items on display was a letter from Joyce written to his sweetheart, Nora – in which he apologized for his ‘cruelty’ toward her while indignantly professing his undying love. This, together with his scratchy handwriting, made the literary colossus seem painfully human to me.

It was easy to imagine Joyce and Gogarty (Buck Mulligan) in the Oval Room, the sleeping and living room of the Tower. The highlight, however, was the parapet, which affords a good view over the bay. It is here that Buck Mulligan shaves, at the opening of the novel, and since there was no-one else there at the time, I felt a bit like Buck himself...

('Is that, no, it couldn't be... is that sky...blue?')