Taking a Leap into the Unknown… I’ve a feeling Joyce would have loved it.
It’s the morning of May 14th and this time next month we’ll be deep into our long-awaited Royal Canal Odyssey, a 100km journey, on foot back to my home county of Westmeath. This morning, I have to head back home and on impulse at the last minute I chose to take the train to Mullingar, instead of driving, my usual choice. I’m not sure why I did it, but as the train pulls out of Connolly Station at 06:55am, it hit me, I’m retracing the same route James Joyce would have travelled some 125 years ago.
In fact, the view that greeted Joyce on his arrival in Mullingar will be the same one that greets me in just over an hour. Mullingar Station was built in 1848 and was one of the finest railway stations in the country at the time. Structurally, it remains much the same.
The railway line from Dublin to Mullingar follows the curves of the Royal Canal and I found myself staring out the window, filled with anticipation for what lies ahead. It’s oddly fitting, of all days to find myself on this train, taking the same journey we’ll run one month from now.
For the journey, I brought along Edna O’Brien’s biography James Joyce, a book I’m really enjoying. It’s raw, honest and she doesn’t sugar-coat anything, his brilliance, his struggles, his stubbornness, his love for Nora, the weight of fatherhood, and the long slow road to getting published. Joyce started writing when he was twenty but his first book, Dubliners wasn’t published until he was thirty-two.
He spent the summers of 1900 and 1901 in Mullingar with his father, John, who had been hired by Westmeath County Council to update the electoral rolls. James was just 18 at the time, but the experience left a mark. In Ulysses, Milly Bloom, daughter of Leopold and Molly, lives in Mullingar and works for a photographer, Mr. Coughlan, based on the real-life Phil Shaw. That shop is now Fagan’s toy store, a place I visited often as a child with my mother, it was our Disney World and I remember loving the magic look at all the toys. Now, I’m drawn to it for another reason, on June 14th, Fagan’s will be the final literary waypoint on our Royal Canal Odyssey. When we pass that door, we’ll have less than 100 metres to go to our finish line and the out stretched hands of our very own Joe Dolan statue will await us at Market Square.
Will I feel emotional at the end? Almost certainly. Will I feel joy, pride, exhaustion, and relief in equal measure? Without question. But more than anything, I’ll feel lucky. Lucky to be surrounded by friends and family. Lucky to be able to share this kind of journey with people I enjoy being around the most. They say friendship is about sharing things with likeminded people who have things in common. This Odyssey has proven just that.
When we first talked about this idea last November, none of us imagined how far it would grow. Valeria said, “Let’s ask Ted.” Ted said, “Absolutely – I’ve always wanted to run the Royal Canal.” Then Sarah suggested running it around Bloomsday, June 16th, which also happens to be the birthdays of Ted, James and Eoin. A running friend Olwyn has a lovely tradition of running her age on her birthday, a new tradition was born.
So now we had our date – we just needed a hook! And here’s the clincher: the distance from the Joyce Tower Museum in Sandycove to Market Square, Mullingar, following the Royal Canal, is exactly 100k. Our Joyce connection was born! If that’s not a sign this Odyssey was meant to be, I don’t know what is.
We’re so grateful to everyone who’ll come out to join us on June 14th. Whether for 5k or 50k, or just to cheer us on, it means everything. The road ahead may be long, but it’s filled with great company and memories waiting to be made – that’s all we could ever hope for.
See you all on 14 June…. An Odyssey awaits!
