The Dublin chemist that James Joyce made immortal — and still sells the same lemon soap today

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There is a small Victorian chemist’s shop on Lincoln Place, a five-minute walk from Trinity College, that has barely changed since 1847. Most Dubliners walk past it without a second glance. But for literary pilgrims arriving from Tokyo, New York, and Buenos Aires, it is one of the most significant addresses in the English-speaking world. This is Sweny’s Pharmacy — and if you know your Joyce, the scent of lemon soap will stop you dead in your tracks.

The scene that made it famous

On the morning of 16 June 1904, Leopold Bloom — the fictional hero of James Joyce’s Ulysses — stepped into this chemist’s and bought a bar of lemon-scented soap for fourpence. The scene lasts barely a page. But Joyce described the shop with such precision that readers a century later walk in and recognise every detail.

That morning became Bloomsday, now celebrated worldwide on 16 June each year. The bar of soap — a “lemon-scented waxen tablet” carried through the rest of the novel — became one of literature’s most beloved objects.

Sweny’s still sells those lemon soaps today. You can buy one for a few euro. Dozens of people do, every single day.

A shop frozen in time

The pharmacy closed as a working chemist in 2009. Rather than let it disappear, a group of volunteers took over the lease and kept it open. Today, Sweny’s runs as a living museum and second-hand bookshop, staffed entirely by volunteers who simply love Joyce.

The Victorian fittings are untouched. Dark mahogany shelves line the walls. Old apothecary jars sit exactly where they always sat. Every surface is stacked with paperback editions of Ulysses in a dozen languages, and a well-thumbed visitors’ book holds notes from people who have come from every corner of the world just to stand in this room.

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Readings every day, without fail

The volunteers don’t just sell books — they read from them.

Every single day, someone sits down in Sweny’s and reads aloud from Ulysses. Visitors are welcome to join in or take a turn. There’s no charge, no booking required, and no expectation that you’ve ever opened the novel. Many of the people who wander in haven’t.

This is what makes Sweny’s unlike any other literary shrine. It is warm and slightly chaotic. Readings spill into debate. Arguments break out about what Joyce really meant. Someone always offers tea.

The lemon soap

The soap is the thing. A small, tangible connection to a work of fiction that feels, somehow, more real for it.

Sweny’s soaps are produced locally and sold at cost. The scent is a clean, soft lemon — exactly as described in Joyce’s text. People buy them as gifts, as keepsakes, as teaching props, as proof they were here. An English teacher from Chicago once told the volunteers she’d been explaining that scene to students for fifteen years without ever having smelled the soap herself. She bought six bars.

This is Dublin at its most quietly extraordinary: a piece of living literature kept alive by people who refused to let it die.

How to visit Sweny’s

Sweny’s Pharmacy

is at 1 Lincoln Place, Dublin 2, around the corner from Trinity College’s Nassau Street entrance. Open daily from late morning, though hours can vary. Entry is free. A bar of lemon soap costs around €2.

If you’re in Dublin on 16 June, Bloomsday transforms the neighbourhood into an open-air festival with actors in Edwardian dress, readings running all day, and Sweny’s at the heart of it all. For more of Dublin’s literary hidden corners, read our guide to six literary spots that will move you, even if you’ve never read Joyce. And if you want to explore what made the city’s writers tick, Love Ireland’s piece on the Saturday-night dish that James Joyce loved is well worth a read.

Frequently asked questions about Sweny’s Pharmacy

Is Sweny’s Pharmacy still open?

Yes. Sweny’s is open daily as a museum, bookshop, and reading space, run entirely by volunteers. Hours can vary, so it’s worth checking their social media before visiting if you’re making a special trip.

How much does the lemon soap cost?

A bar of lemon soap costs around €2 and is made locally. It’s the same scent described in Ulysses — soft and lemony — and is sold at cost price. You can also pick up second-hand copies of Joyce’s work and other literary titles at the shop.

Do I need to have read Ulysses to visit?

Not at all. The volunteers at Sweny’s welcome everyone, including people who’ve never read a word of Joyce. The daily readings are informal and open to all — many visitors say Sweny’s is what finally made them want to pick up the novel.

Leopold Bloom’s Dublin is still out there, tucked into side streets and unchanged back rooms. Sweny’s Pharmacy is proof that this city hasn’t entirely forgotten how to keep its stories alive.

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