Join the James Joyce Centre for a talk about the links between the Solomons family and James Joyce by former diplomat and historian Francis Jacobs on Tuesday, 3 November 2026 at 6.30pm . While Leopold Bloom was not directly modelled on any member of the Solomons family, they all lived in the same circles in Dublin. Along with portraits of each of the Solomons family, the lecture will look at the links they have, the friends and acquaintances they had in common and their strong social and cultural connections. Francis will also discuss his personal links to the Solomons family being their only direct descendant still living in Dublin. The pre-independence era in Dublin from the 1890s to the 1920s was one of cultural revival and intellectual ferment, the period of the “Vivid Faces” of Roy Foster. The protagonists were insiders/outsiders, often Protestants and Quakers. Jews, like the members of the Solomons family, fitted into this tradition and were part of the world Joyce would also have known before his own exile and subsequently remembered and of whom there are so many references in Ulysses . Doors open at 6pm. Tickets €5. Francis Jacobs is a historian and former staff member of the European Parliament. Francis worked for the European Parliament from 1979 to 2016. Since his retirement, Francis writes about and gives lectures on the European Union in Ireland and in Italy. He is an Adjunct Senior Research Fellow at University College Dublin. He is the co-author of a book on the European Parliament, with its 10th edition published in May 2024. His other books include The EU after Brexit: Political and Institutional Implications and Jacobs EU Guide Book: the Landmark Sites of European Integration. Francis is a keen traveller and is the chair of the Michael Jacobs Foundatio

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