A major exhibition celebrating the centenary of Ulysses was opened in the National Library yesterday to the joy of scholars, who had feared a copyright dispute would prevent it going ahead.
"James Joyce and Ulysses at the National Library of Ireland" brings together previously unseen manuscripts connected with the epic novel set in Dublin on Bloomsday, June 16th, 1904.
The Government published emergency legislation last month to ensure the exhibition could go ahead after Mr Stephen Joyce, the author's grandson, warned the library it could breach copyright laws.
Among the material on display is the first copy of the first edition of Ulysses, which has been in the library's possession since the 1950s, and papers acquired for €12.6 million in 2002.
The papers, bought from Mr and Mrs Alexis Léon through Sotheby's of London, include some of Joyce's early material, notes and drafts for Ulysses and additions to proofs of Finnegans Wake.
Other material includes the papers deposited by Mr Léon's father, Paul Léon, a close friend of Joyce from 1928. The Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism opened the exhibition yesterday.
"Some people argue that Ulysses is not an easy book to read," Mr O'Donoghue said. "This exhibition makes it clear that it was not an easy book to write either."
Mr O'Donoghue said it was "a wonderful collection of manuscripts, illustrating vividly the processes Joyce went through in getting not only his vision, but his sense of the smell and of the taste and of the touch of Dublin down on paper".
He said the 2002 acquisition made the National Library of Ireland one of the foremost repositories of Joyce material in the world.