The repatriation of James Joyce's remains for reburial in Ireland is being considered.
Writer James Joyce left Dublin with Nora Barnacle for continental Europe in 1904 and lived in Pula, Trieste, Paris and finally Zurich, where he died in 1941 and was buried there.
The Joycean Museum in Sandycove now houses his death mask as well as some of the writer's personal belongings, donated by friends and relatives.
Plans are at present underway to mark the centenary of the birth of James Joyce in 1982. Chairman of the International Joyce Symposium Committee David Norris has proposed the possibility of the repatriation of James Joyce’s body from Zurich for reburial in Glasnevin cemetery.
A complex combination of factors including censorship of his books, the cultural, religious and political situation in Ireland along with two World Wars meant that James Joyce never returned to live in Ireland.
Ireland is a different place now, says David Norris,
We can recognise him, as our society has matured, as one of the greatest artists in the century.
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 25 November 1977. The reporter is Colm Connolly.
