In A Merrionsquare Mood : Seamus Breathnach : James Joyce 111

James Joyce met Nora Barnacle in Nassau Street on 10 June 1904. Nora , a Galwegian, was then working in Finn's Hotel, at 1 & 2 Leinster Street, which connected with Nassau Street. The couple clicked -- they made a date to meet at the Westland Row corner of Merrion Square, Dublin. They were to meet on the evening of 14 June but Nora failed to appear.

'I maybe blind,' he wrote.

'I looked for a long time at a head of reddish-brown hair and decided it was not yours. I went home quite dejected. I would like to make an appointment but it might not suit you. I hope you will be kind enough to make one with me if you have not forgotten me!'

It has been suggested that Nora could not appear on the 14th because she was more than likely working and unable to get away.

The couple met again on June 16, and so successful was their trip to Ringsend that their relationship blossomed thererafter. Joyce called it 'Bloomsday' and wrote Ullysses to commemorate it.

'In A Merrionsquare Mood' is a song that was inspired by the above events.

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