Willie Mulvagh
Encyclopedia
Willie Mulvagh, lover of Nora Barnacle
, 1881 - 195?
Mulvagh was Mary Street, Galway
, and worked in the town's mineral company as an accountant. One day he accosted Nora on O'Brien's Bridge and asked her to go out with him. Initially unattracted, Nora accepted his offer as young women needed to be accompanied to the local dances, and Nora and her friends loved dancing. However, in turn of the century Galway it was not acceptable for Catholic girls to be courted by Protestant boys. Subterfuge was necessitated, aided by Nora's friend, Mary.
Mulvagh has become well-known by readers of Molly Bloom
's monologue
in Ulysses
with the line "Mulveys was the first." What exactly he was the first to do remains unknown. Brenda Maddox
speculates that "it seems as if Willie Mulvagh may have been the first to instruct Nora in the art of pleasing a man without losing her virtue ... posterity is entitled to suspect that the young man from the mineral water factory and Nora Barnacle ventured further in their embraces than Nora revealed to her girlfriend waiting the Abbey Church's pews."
The immediate result of this was a severe punishing of Nora by her uncle Tommy Healy; he beat her with his thorn stick until she fell. Nora later gave this as the main reason for her decision to run away to Dublin.
Mulvagh himself converted to marry his Catholic wife three years later, as did his brothers. However, he never forgot Nora:
Nora Barnacle
Nora Barnacle was the lover, companion, inspiration, and eventual wife of author James Joyce.-Biography:Nora Barnacle was born in the town of Galway, Ireland, but the day of her birth is uncertain. Depending on the source, it varies between the 21st and the 24th of March 1884...
, 1881 - 195?
Mulvagh was Mary Street, Galway
Galway
Galway or City of Galway is a city in County Galway, Republic of Ireland. It is the sixth largest and the fastest-growing city in Ireland. It is also the third largest city within the Republic and the only city in the Province of Connacht. Located on the west coast of Ireland, it sits on the...
, and worked in the town's mineral company as an accountant. One day he accosted Nora on O'Brien's Bridge and asked her to go out with him. Initially unattracted, Nora accepted his offer as young women needed to be accompanied to the local dances, and Nora and her friends loved dancing. However, in turn of the century Galway it was not acceptable for Catholic girls to be courted by Protestant boys. Subterfuge was necessitated, aided by Nora's friend, Mary.
Mulvagh has become well-known by readers of Molly Bloom
Molly Bloom
Molly Bloom is a fictional character in the novel Ulysses by James Joyce. The wife of main character Leopold Bloom, she roughly corresponds to Penelope in the Odyssey. The major difference between Molly and Penelope is that while Penelope is eternally faithful, Molly is not, having an affair with...
's monologue
Monologue
In theatre, a monologue is a speech presented by a single character, most often to express their thoughts aloud, though sometimes also to directly address another character or the audience. Monologues are common across the range of dramatic media...
in Ulysses
Ulysses (novel)
Ulysses is a novel by the Irish author James Joyce. It was first serialised in parts in the American journal The Little Review from March 1918 to December 1920, and then published in its entirety by Sylvia Beach on 2 February 1922, in Paris. One of the most important works of Modernist literature,...
with the line "Mulveys was the first." What exactly he was the first to do remains unknown. Brenda Maddox
Brenda Maddox
Brenda Maddox FRSL is an American author, journalist, and biographer, who has lived in the UK since 1959.Born in Brockton, Bridgewater, Massachusetts, she graduated from Harvard University with a degree in English literature and also studied at the London School of Economics...
speculates that "it seems as if Willie Mulvagh may have been the first to instruct Nora in the art of pleasing a man without losing her virtue ... posterity is entitled to suspect that the young man from the mineral water factory and Nora Barnacle ventured further in their embraces than Nora revealed to her girlfriend waiting the Abbey Church's pews."
The immediate result of this was a severe punishing of Nora by her uncle Tommy Healy; he beat her with his thorn stick until she fell. Nora later gave this as the main reason for her decision to run away to Dublin.
Mulvagh himself converted to marry his Catholic wife three years later, as did his brothers. However, he never forgot Nora:
"Twice a widower, Willie lived on until the 1950's and in his last years made his home in EnglandEnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
with his daughter. He was a silent man who never spoke about his past, never read books and had not the faintest idea that he was in UlyssesUlysses (novel)Ulysses is a novel by the Irish author James Joyce. It was first serialised in parts in the American journal The Little Review from March 1918 to December 1920, and then published in its entirety by Sylvia Beach on 2 February 1922, in Paris. One of the most important works of Modernist literature,...
. His daughter was all the more startled one day, therefore, when Willie looked up from his newspaper, his memory apparently jogged by something he had read, and asked "James Joyce? Didn't he marry a Galway girl by the name of Barnacle?"