Joyce
Though
not Gaelic and sometimes found in England of non-Irish origin,
Joyce may certainly be regarded as a true Irish name, and more
particularly a Connacht one. The first Joyce to come to Ireland
of whom there is authentic record was Thomas de Jorse or Joyce,
stated by MacFirbis to be a Welshman, who in 1283 married the
daughter of O'Brien, Prince of Thomond and went with her by
sea to Co. Galway; there in Iar Connacht, which runs over the
Mayo border, they were at first tributary to the O'Flahertys
but they established themselves so firmly and so permanently
that the territory they inhabited became known as Joyce's Country
and they had a recognized Chief of the Name in the Irish way:
the "Composition Book of Connacht" places that chief in the
barony of Ross (Co. Galway). Statistics of births, deaths and
marriages show that this is still their stronghold: over eighty
per cent of the Joyces in Ireland come from Galway or Mayo.
In Ballinrobe, Co. Mayo, the Joyces are sometimes called Shoye
which is clearly a phonetic spelling of the form of the name
used in the Irish language, viz. Seoighe. A very curious synonym
for Joyce, found at Claremorris, is Cunnagher. Before coming
to the matter of distinguished individuals of the name in Irish
history the fact that the Joyces have always been noted for
their exceptional stature should be mentioned. William Joyes,
or Joyce, was Archbishop of Tuam from 1487 to 1501, and two
of the name were Archbishops of Armagh from 1307 to 1324. Three
Joyces of Galway, two of them priests, were instrumental in
establishing the Dominican College at Louvain in 1648 which
was soon afterwards incorporated in the University. Several
were mayors of Galway City of which the Joyces were one of the
"Fourteen Tribes". The most notable of modern times were James
Joyce (1882-1941), author of Dubliners, Ulysses etc., and Patrick
Weston Joyce (1827-1914), historian and author of Irish Names
of Places. His brother Robert Dwyer Joyce (18301883) was well
known in the U.S.A. as a physician and poet, while Isaac Wilson
descent, made a name in a different field, for he was a Methodist
revivalist preacher.
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