An Irish-language translation and a visual response to James Joyce’s The Dead are being brought together at the James Joyce Centre in Dublin this evening, Thursday 15 October. The advertised 6:30pm launch presents Irene Duffy Lynch’s Na Mairbh alongside Penny Stuart’s charcoal drawings and accompanying art book. [1]

For anyone considering a visit, there is an important limit: the Visual Artists Ireland listing marks the launch sold out. [2] The event should therefore be treated as cultural news, not a promise of a free seat or walk-in admission tonight.

Two ways of returning to the story

The Centre identifies Na Mairbh as Duffy Lynch’s Irish translation of The Dead, published by Coiscéim in 2026. Stuart will present work inspired by the story and her accompanying book, Penny Stuart Draws The DEAD by James Joyce. The advertised evening also includes guest talks and music from Joyce’s era. [1]

Translation and drawing offer different starting points for a reader. One invites attention to how language carries a story; the other asks what an artist chooses to bring into view. Seeing them discussed together can open a conversation about interpretation without requiring that either version replaces the original.

Stuart’s ongoing Gretta Drawings project takes inspiration from Gretta Conroy in The Dead. The organiser describes charcoal drawing, portraiture and literature as central to her practice. Duffy Lynch has previously translated writers including John McGahern and Chinua Achebe. [1] Those are the contributors’ advertised backgrounds, not a review of the new works.

Read first, then compare

For a book group or an individual reader, a useful response to the announcement is to choose a short passage and consider what draws the eye or ear. Which detail does a drawing foreground? What changes in rhythm when a passage is read in another language? Which parts remain deliberately ambiguous?

These are prompts for discussion rather than judgements about a translation The Press has not assessed. Readers do not need to agree on one interpretation to find a comparison worthwhile. Keep the original story, the translation and the artist’s response distinct when discussing what each contributor has done.

What to check before travelling

The organiser advertises doors at 6pm for a 6:30pm start and says advance booking is required. [1] The booking page identifies the venue as 35 North Great George’s Street, Dublin 1. [3] Existing ticket-holders should use their confirmation for the final joining and admission details.

If you do not have a place, check with the Centre about future opportunities to see the exhibition or obtain the publications. The launch notice does not establish a continuing exhibition schedule, public opening dates for this display or current book stock, so those should be confirmed separately. A sold-out opening does not, by itself, answer any of those questions.