A €0 NOTE has been released to commemorate the centenary of the publication of James Joyce's Ulysses.
The Dublin writer's face will be printed on the note in the same facility that presses Euro banknotes for the EU at the behest of Euro Note Souvenir, the exclusive license-holder of zero Euro notes in Ireland.
The company has previously honoured other iconic Irish mainstays, including the city of Dublin, revolutionary political figures like Michael Collins and Bobby Sands, Kilkenny Castle, and the Cliffs of Moher.
The James Joyce Zero Euro Note features a portrait of the iconic Joyce with his cockeyed hat, cane, and glasses, encircled by a ring of stars. Just 5,000 of these limited edition notes will be printed.
"James Joyce’s work and life embodied what it means to be Irish in a way we had not seen before," said Peter Schneider, Founder of Euro Note Souvenir.
"His virtuosity, tenacity, and vision deserve to be celebrated, and the 100th anniversary of ‘Ulysses’ seemed the perfect time to give James Joyce fans the chance to celebrate his struggle and ultimate success."
Ulysses is the modernist retelling of Homer's epic poem The Odyssey. It follows the lives and struggles of ordinary contemporary Irish characters, and at the time of publication ignited intrigue and controversy.
Joyce swore that he would get the book published by his 40th birthday, and sure enough, the first copies of the first edition reached the publisher on February 2, 1922. The threat of the book’s publication led to a frenzy of obscenity legal battles that continued into the 1960s.
Ultimately, the book was allowed distribution. A century later, Joyce’s sprawling epic remains one of the most celebrated literary achievements of its day, and one of the most widely read examples of effective stream-of-consciousness writing.
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