Alcoholic Family: The Sobering Reality of the Joyces

Alcoholic Family: The Sobering Reality of the Joyces is a lecture at the James Joyce Centre in Dublin on Friday, 23 October 2026, at 18:30. Author Christine Dwyer Hickey delivers a talk about alcoholism and the Joyce family. The lecture considers the Joyces as an 'Alcoholic Family' as defined by psychologists and medical professionals, and discusses the influence on the work and life of the eldest son, James. It looks at the roles family members take on to protect the family unit: Hero, Enabler, Scapegoat and Lost Child, Clown. Tickets are €5. The talk is followed by a wine reception. Christine Dwyer Hickey is a novelist and short story writer who has published nine novels and a short story collection. Her novel Tatty deals with the effects of alcoholism on the life of a Dublin family. She won the Walter Scott Prize 2020 and the Dalkey Literary Award for The Narrow Land, and she is a member of Aosdána.