An Irishman's Diary on Paddy Joyce - actor and nephew of James Joyce

The actor Paddy Joyce (1923-2000) was a nephew of the writer James Joyce (1882-1941). Born in Trieste in 1923 and brought up in Dublin by his Irish mother, Paddy treaded the boards in Dublin, London and other European capitals. 

He acted in several big budget movies and played parts in a variety of popular television programmes on British TV. I have just written an Irishman's Diary in the Irish Times newspaper about Paddy Joyce. Read it here.

Paddy Joyce. Image source.

After acting in school plays while still a student at Belvedere College (alma mater of his famous uncle James Joyce), Paddy joined singing and acting groups in Dublin. He toured with several of these groups, visiting countries in Europe and north America before trying his luck in London. His list of credits is impressive with the likes of Eastenders, Coronation Street and Z Cars appearing among the list. He also played roles in Father Ted, Auf Wiedersehen Pet, and The Bill.

I first heard about Paddy Joyce at this year's Bloomsday celebrations in Cork. One of James Joyce's grand nephews, who attended the Bloomsday conference (which was organised by Dr Flicka Small), mentioned that Paddy was a nephew of James Joyce and that Paddy had enjoyed a successful acting career. Curious to know more, I did a little digging and my newspaper article is the fruit of that research.