On Wednesday, August 12, 2026, 5 p.m. the James Joyce Centre in Dublin hosted a talk on “James Joyce’s Zurich” by Martin Mühlheim, General Manager of the Zürich James Joyce Foundation.
When Joyce decided to leave Ireland in 1904, he and Nora Barnacle intended to move to Zurich. Things didn’t quite work out this way – and yet they would return to the Swiss city on the river Limmat time and again, over the coming years.
The lecture explored some of the stories and historical contexts related to Joyce’s stays in Zurich. In addition, it examined the traces the city has left in Joyce’s poetry and prose. It also focused on Joyce’s Zurich afterlife: his grave at Fluntern cemetery, as well as a few highlights from the unique collection of the Zurich James Joyce Foundation.