Nora Barnacle

Nora Barnacle (March 1884 – April 10, 1951) was the lover, companion, inspiration and eventually wife of author James Joyce.

They met on June 10, 1904 but it was not until June 16, 1904 that they had their first romantic liason. This date would later be chosen as the setting for Joyce's novel Ulysses, and has come to be known and celebrated around the world as Bloomsday. There is much discussion as to the nature of the meeting between Barnacle and Joyce on this day, as some claim that Nora instigated relations of a sexual nature, whereas others maintain that this first meeting was chaste. It is unlikely that one camp will ever be victorious in this debate.

Later in 1904, Barnacle and Joyce left Ireland for Europe. Their first place of habitation was Trieste in Italy.

On July 26, 1907 Nora Barnacle gave birth to a daughter, Lucia Joyce.

Barnacle and Joyce were married in 1931.

In 1988, Barnacle was the subject of a feminist biography by Brenda Maddox, Nora. This in turn was made into a film in 1999, starring Susan Lynch and Ewan McGregor.

In 2004, a somewhat lewd love letter from Joyce to Barnacle sold at Sotheby's for $445,000 (a record amount for a modern-day letter at auction).