ALTMAN THE SALTMAN', LEOPOLD BLOOM AND JAMES JOYCE - History Ireland
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FEATURE—LITERATURE
After almost a century, readers of Ulysses are many publications, the latest being
Joe Duffy’s Children of the Rising. In
still learning about how and why James Joyce conversation with the writer, former
Taoiseach Liam Cosgrave recalled his
created one of the most complex and father, W.T. Cosgrave, speaking
provocative Jewish characters in literature. fondly of ‘Altman the Saltman’ of
Usher’s Island. Padraic Colum
opined that James Joyce did not
‘ALTMAN THE
know any of Dublin’s Jewish com-
munity. Nonetheless, as an avid
reader of newspapers Joyce could not
SALTMAN’, but have been aware of the Altmans,
who were Dublin’s leading Jewish
politicians. While Ireland’s Jews
LEOPOLD were, by and large, pro-Empire, the
Altmans were notable exceptions:
they were Irish nationalists.
BLOOM AND The Invincibles
James Fairhall suggests that ‘the
JAMES JOYCE Phoenix Park murders lie at the cen-
tre of Ulysses’, and readers are often
mystified by Bloom’s muddled
thoughts on James Carey and the In-
By Vincent Altman O’Connor vincibles. In 1881 the Altmans were
associates of Carey in the Irish Home
Manufacturers’ Association, and dur-
ing the trial the Invincible Joe Brady
W
hile Leopold Bloom merchants Albert Altman (1852?– cited Altman in his evidence. After
is the most renowned 1903), his brother Mendal Altman Brady was hanged, his brother James
Irish Jew of all time, (1860–1915) and Mendal’s son fled to Paris, where he associated
it is generally Emanuel Altman (1889–1963) have with the Fenian Joseph Casey, a
accepted that the character was contributed parts of the composite cousin of the movement’s founder,
modelled on Joyce’s Jewish friends that is the fictional Leopold Bloom? James Stephens. Casey was an ac-
in Trieste, including, most promi- Until recently Joyceans were quaintance of John Joyce, and dur-
nently, the novelist Ettore Schmitz. unaware of the Altmans, although ing his son’s sojourn in Paris the
Could, however, the Dublin salt they have been documented in impoverished writer dined with and
borrowed money from ‘Casey the Fe-
nian’. In 1909 another Invincible,
James Mullet, attended the funeral
of Mary Ellen Callanan, a cousin of
Joyce and the model for Mary Jane
in his short story ‘The Dead’. The
Callanans lived at 15 Usher’s Island,
near Altman’s imposing residence at
11 Usher’s Island, and in 1896 Mul-
let supported Altman in his bid to be
elected to Dublin Corporation.
David Sheehy MP, a close friend of
the Joyces, was a frequent visitor to
the Altman house.
Left: Albert L. Altman & Co. Salt Stores, 1–6
Bridgefoot Street, c. 1895, opposite St
Catherine’s Church, Thomas Street, where
Robert Emmet was executed in 1803.
Emmet was a preoccupation of Leopold
Bloom’s in Ulysses.
30 /HISTORY IRELAND/ May–June 2017
sobriquet coined by Barrow Belisha, predicted, the gathering ended in a
who is opaquely cited in Finnegans fist fight. Jane Edelstein, a descen-
In the beginning Wake. Readers of Ulysses will recall dant, informed the writer that Joyce
Moritz Altman, his wife Deborah and that Leopold Bloom’s political views and Edelstein were acquainted.
their infant son Albert arrived in 1 were inspired by, amongst others, In 1901, after many unsuccess-
Ireland in the early 1850s. Moritz Lalor, Mitchel, Parnell and Davitt, ful attempts, Albert was elected to
was a talented milliner and was but ‘the man that got away, James Dublin Corporation, where he repre-
sometimes referred to as ‘Moses the
Stephens’, is never far from his sented the Usher’s Quay ward. He
Tailor’2. He also sold ladies’ undergar-
thoughts. Intriguingly, Susan was succeeded by Mendal in 1907.
ments and Chaco paper. Examples of
O’Reilly, Albert’s wife, was a relative Although the Altmans were mem-
Altman’s creations can be viewed at
the British Post Office Museum and of Denis F. Burke, a member of the bers of the United Irish League, they
the Imperial War Museum in IRB Military Council, who master- were supported by the Labour Elec-
London. In 18773Albert was expelled minded the cunning escape of toral Association, much to the cha-
from Mary’s Abbey synagogue for Stephens from prison in 1865. grin of John Redmond. Albert’s
having ‘married out of the pale of John O’Hanlon, later parish political ally was the prominent Sinn
Judaism’, and in 1881 it was reported priest of the Star of the Sea Church Féiner Alderman Thomas Kelly. Kelly
that his father, Moritz, had died after in Sandymount, had officiated at was one of the chief mourners at Al-
ingesting poison. Luca Crispi of the Stephens’s wedding, and before his bert’s funeral and, as we know from
James Joyce Research Centre at UCD
capture Stephens lived at ‘Fairfield’, his letters, Joyce was familiar with
opines that Joyce must have recalled
Newbridge Avenue, a house later oc- Kelly’s political activities. Kelly lived
this fairly uncommon fact when he
cupied by Philip McCann, godfather at 23 Longwood Avenue, which
crafted the story of the unfortunate
‘death by misadventure’ of Rudolph, to James Joyce. In Ulysses, Paddy abutted the birthplace of Leopold
father of Leopold Bloom. The Dignam lived at 9 Newbridge Av- Bloom at 52 Upper Clanbrassil
Altmans were fervent supporters of enue. Street.
the Temperance Movement, where The Altmans’ activities in the In Ulysses the Citizen, an alco-
one of their comrades was a Mr Land League were widely reported, holic land-grabber, abuses Leopold
Dignam. Ironically, the brothers and William Morris, the libertarian Bloom, yet John Wyse reminds the
drank wine ‘because of their reli- Marxist, noted Albert’s membership barflies that ‘Bloom gave the idea for
gion’, it is recalled. In an obvious of the Irish Labour League. The Sinn Féin to Griffith’. Joyce’s asser-
parody, Joyce reveals that the fic-
brothers were also shareholders in tion that the temperate Bloom is the
tional Paddy Dignam is a drunkard.
the Freeman’s Journal and, together inspiration for Sinn Féin has con-
with the Fenian John Kelly, were piv- founded scholars and has resulted in
otal in the release from prison of
tenant Thomas Moroney. Ellmann
and Costello have suggested that Below: Denis F. Burke, a member of the IRB
Kelly, also a member of the Irish Military Council, who masterminded the
Home Manufacturers’ Association famous escape of James Stephens in 1865.
In Ulysses ‘the man that got away, James
and godfather to Florence Joyce, is Stephens’, is never far from the thoughts of
the model for Mr Casey in Portrait of Leopold Bloom. Intriguingly, Susan O'Reilly,
the artist as a young man. wife of Albert Altman, was Burke’s cousin.
Arthur Griffith and Sinn Féin
In 1896 Altman’s manifesto was
published in The Nation. It prefigures
that of Sinn Féin yet there is no evi-
dence to suggest that the Altmans
were involved in the party’s forma-
tion. According to Emanuel, the
Above: Albert Altman’s younger brother,
family was distressed by Arthur Grif-
Mendal, also referred to as “Altman the
Saltman”‘. fith’s early anti-Semitism.
These were tumultuous years
for the Jewish community, as they
struggled to come to terms with the
James Stephens and the Fenians demand for Home Rule. Councillor
Lily Kierans, a member of the ex- Mendal Altman facilitated a meeting
tended Altman family and a friend in the Mansion House of the Judeo-
of Maude Gonne, claimed that Al- Irish Home Rule Association, whose
bert Altman was occasionally re- secretary was the controversial Joe
ferred to as the ‘Jewish Fenian’, a Edelstein, but, as might have been
HISTORY IRELAND/ May–June 2017/ 31
on a fresh vitality. In the 1970s, the tion. Reference was made to the
Joyce scholar Hugh Kenner stumbled rates books of 1893, the year in
across a rumour in Dublin which which John Joyce had been dis-
suggested that Griffith had ‘a Jewish missed from the Rates Office in con-
advisor-ghost writer’, but he was un- troversial circumstances. In what the
able to identify Griffith’s mysterious press described as a ‘crushing defeat
Jewish mentor. for the Lord Mayor’, the case
brought ‘Altman the Saltman’ once
‘Ivy Day’ more to the attention of the Irish
Mendal Altman shared a house in public, and his part in the downfall
Queen’s Street with a Joe Hynes, of M’Coy would not be forgotten. In
who appears as a character in Joyce’s Ulysses, Bloom has little time for the
short story ‘Ivy Day in the Commit- character M’Coy and considers him
tee Room’ and in Ulysses. Mendal dishonest.
also had an address at 12 Saint Also in Ulysses, the enigmatic
Kevin’s Parade, but the family even- Mrs Emily Sinico dies in Sandy-
tually settled in 28 Arbour Hill, mount on 14 October 1903, the very
Stoneybatter. In an obvious coded al- day when it was reported that Albert
lusion, Joyce locates Moses Herzog, Altman, yet again, accused members
the moneylender, at 13 Saint Kevin’s of the Corporation of being tardy in
Parade and Geraghty, the debtor, at paying their rates. As the Irish Times
29 Arbour Hill. headlines screamed ‘Altman’s Reve-
During the municipal elections lations’ and ‘Corporation Scandal’,
of 1902, both Albert Altman and the Rates Office was besieged by
many fanciful interpretations. Once James Connolly were endorsed by lawyers attempting to regularise
‘Altman the Saltman’ is factored into Griffith in the United Irishman. their clients’ affairs. While Dubliners
the equation, the confrontation be- Emanuel Altman claimed that John held their breath in anticipation of
tween the Citizen and Bloom takes Joyce canvassed for Albert ‘to return further revelations, ‘Altman the Salt-
a favour’, and Charlie Joyce con- man’ was reported dead. With mem-
firmed that his family was, indeed, ories of Lord Mayor M’Coy still
Above: This photo of Emanuel Patrick in debt to an individual known cryp- topical, this sensational affair and
Columbanus Altman (1889–1963), Albert’s tically as ‘the man at the top’. Altman’s sudden demise set Ireland
nephew, who, like Bloom, worked in
Dublin’s Cattle and Sheep Market, was taken In 1903 Albert Altman and Al- alight with rumours which lasted
in the City Arms Hotel, where Leopold and derman Kelly voted against an ad- until the 1960s.
Molly Bloom once resided. (Name of the dress of welcome to King Edward The route taken by Albert’s fu-
sheep and the young woman unknown.)
VII. Some years later, Mendal was as- neral to Glasnevin Cemetery is al-
saulted by the DMP as he and Dick most identical to that of Paddy
Carroll (Richard O’Carroll) entered Dignam’s, and Altman’s grave is a
City Hall to vote against an address few metres from that of Matthew
of welcome to King George V. Coun- Kane, on whom Dignam is partially
cillor Carroll, a Poor Law guardian, based. The saltman rests with his
was secretary of the Bricklayers’ wife Susan, his son Bertie4, who died
Union and a founder member of the in infancy, and their only daughter,
Irish Labour Party. He was elected to Mimi. Readers of Ulysses will recall
Dublin Corporation in 1907 but was that Rudy is Bloom’s son who also
murdered by Captain Bowen- died in infancy, and their only
Colthurst in 1916. Carroll may be daughter is Milly. The late Shane
the model for the off-stage character MacThomais, historian at Glasnevin
of ‘Colgan’ in ‘Ivy Day’. Cemetery, remarked that the fic-
tional grave of the Blooms is almost
The scandal of 1903 indistinguishable from the factual
In 1896 Albert Altman claimed that grave of the Altmans.
Dublin’s Lord Mayor M’Coy was
dilatory in paying his rates. Ques- ‘Am I walking into eternity along
tions were asked as to how Albert Sandymount Strand?’
had acquired such confidential de- Shortly after Albert’s second mar-
tails from the Rates Office, but he riage5, his daughter Mimi (1884–
was unwilling to identify the clerk 1943) left the family home in
from whom he received the informa- Pembroke Road. Mimi, a beautiful
32 /HISTORY IRELAND/ May–June 2017young woman of independent
means6, was a talented singer and pi-
anist7 and, notwithstanding her
schooling at Loreto on the Green8,
was known as the ‘Jew’s daughter’.
In 1902 she moved to 35 Strand
Road9, a few metres from Sandy-
mount Strand. Next door would be-
come the residence of James and
Gretta Cousins, where Joyce spent
the night of 16 June 1904, and per-
sistent rumours in the Altman fam-
ily10 suggest that Mimi spurned the
advances of James Joyce. Mimi is un-
doubtedly part of the composite that
is Emma Clery, the muse of Stephen
Dedalus, Joyce’s literary alter ego.
Until the papal ban on female
choristers, Mimi sang in the choir at
the Star of the Sea Church, Sandy-
Above: Calling card for ‘Albert L. Altman &
mount11, where Canon O’Hanlon Co., Salt Manufacturers & Exporters’. Note
had offered Joyce the position of Emanuel had no interest in Joyce’s ‘Lot’s wife’ (to the left), a minor motif in
tenor, which he declined in favour ‘smutty book’. It later emerged that Ulysses.
of his brother Charlie. After her fa- Sheridan had been in correspon- material to the indelible memories
ther’s death, Mimi was consoled at dence with a Sister Mary Gertrude in of his formative years in Dublin. We
Strand Road12 by her cousins Cissy New Zealand. She was Margaret might say that, as part of those
(1880–1956) and Edy (1885–19??), Alice, known as ‘Poppie’, a sister of memories, Leopold Bloom would
daughters of Mendal. In Ulysses, James Joyce. Recently, Seán Latham not be the same character without
Bloom observes Cissy (Caffrey) and opined that ‘if Bloom had some sort the mental portrait of ‘Altman the
Edy (Boardman) on Sandymount of clear historical antecedent or even Saltman’ that Joyce took with him to
Strand as Canon O’Hanlon cele- some tenuous connection could be the Continent in 1904.
brates Benediction for the Temper- drawn to a living person, then the
grounds for a defamation suit would Vincent Altman O’Connor is a civil
ance retreat in the Star of the Sea
have been quite strong, particularly servant in the Department of
Church nearby.
Agriculture, Food and the Marine.
since the text delves so deeply into
Dublin’s Cattle Market his sexual habits and private
Cissy and Edy’s brother, Albert thoughts’. FURTHER READING
Joseph (1881–1949), had known Emanuel, who lived in Phibs- L. Crispi, Joyce’s creative process and
Joyce in O’Connell’s Schools, and borough, recalled how he would the construction of characters in
another brother, Emanuel, an expert meet John Joyce in Brian Boru Ulysses: becoming the Blooms
on foot-and-mouth disease, worked House. He considered ‘old Joyce’ a (Oxford, 2015).
at Dublin’s Cattle and Sheep Market ‘decent chap’ but added, sotto voce, N.R. Davison, James Joyce, Ulysses
‘My sister Cissy who knew the Joyce and the construction of Jewish iden-
as a health and sanitation inspector.
girls heard he was a brute’. Speaking tity (Cambridge, 1996).
His great adversary was Mr Cuffe,
N.R. Davison, V. Altman O’Connor
the cattle dealer who was once of the the part played by his family
& Y. Altman O’Connor, ‘“Altman
Leopold Bloom’s employer, and in the Irish separatist movement,
the Saltman” and Joyce’s Dublin:
Emanuel recalled many a stormy Emanuel said ruefully, ‘The Altmans new research on Irish-Jewish influ-
confrontation with Cuffe in the City never got the credit because they ences in Ulysses’, Dublin James
Arms Hotel, where Leopold and were Jewish and nobody remembers Joyce Journal 6/7 (2013–14).
Molly once resided. them now’. J. Wyse Jackson & P. Costello, John =
In the 1960s the writer John D. The Altmans were one of Ire- Stanislaus Joyce (London, 1997).
Sheridan, a conservative Catholic, land’s most important twentieth- Notes (numbred in red above)
implored Emanuel to read Ulysses. century Jewish families. They made Response of Family members regarding
Sheridan had been animated by the their political impact on the city of the information in this History Ireland
case of Ruben J. Dodd, who won Dublin during the era when its most Article submitted by Irene Gavin
renowned son and author was on (Granddaughter of Mim Altman and
damages in Dublin’s High Court
spokesperson for other direct descendants
when the BBC broadcast excerpts the cusp of creating some of the cen- of Mim) can be found on the following
from the novel. Sheridan advised tury’s greatest literary works. Joyce’s page.
Emanuel to take legal advice but entire canon owes much of its raw Dated 26.04.2021
HISTORY IRELAND/ May–June 2017/ 33Response of family members regarding Response: fact that Joyce was “infatuated” with
the information in the History Ireland arti- a) the dates for Mim (not Mimi) should her...particularly as we do not believe that
cle submitted by Irene Gavin (granddaugh- be born 21st November 1884 and died she was the one living in Sandymount (see
ter of Mim Altman and spokesperson for 24th June 1933 above for where she was living in 1903).
other direct descendants of Mim). b) Mim was 12 when her father remar-
22 April 2021 ried and she did not leave home in 8. At school in Loreto on the Green known
1897 or even shortly thereafter. as the Jew’s daughter:
1. Moritz Altman, his wife Dorah, and Response: this is totally disputed - Mim
children Albert and Sarah arrived in There are three sources that prove that she never attended Loreto on the Green- she
Dublin in the early 1850s. did not leave home in 1897 or shortly went to Eccles Street.
thereafter as mentioned in the article
2. Moritz known as Moses the Tailor i. Ireland 1901 Census: she is shown as 9. Mim moved into 35 Strand Road:
Response: no one in our family had ever living at 108 Pembroke Road Response: there is no proof that Mim ever
heard of Moritz being referred to as Moses ii. For her father’s interment in Glas- lived on Strand Road- in Thoms it simply
the Tailor. nevin in November 1903 Mim stated mentions a Miss Altman.
that her address was 108 Pembroke
3. 1877 Albert expelled … Road. 10. … persistent rumours in the Altman
Response: the date is incorrect- he was iii. In her father’s will it states “that in family –
expunged in 1880. the event of his said daughter not Response: there were no such rumours in
agreeing to live there” (i.e. 108 Pem- Mim’s own (ie my) family!
4. Albert rests with Susan, his wife, his son broke Road) and this Will was dated
“Bertie”, and Mimi…. 13th November 1903. 11. Mim sang in Sandymount
Response: the first Albert junior was Response: This is just supposition with no
never known as Bertie (he only lived for 6. Mim – of independent means basis in fact. There is no proof that she
three weeks)- and Mim was never known Response: We do not know where this ever set foot in Sandymount Church. The
as Mimi….. The second Albert born in comment came from. Certainly not after family went to Haddington Road Church –
1897 lived in England, was known to his her Dad died as this was always a major as evidenced by the Haddington Road
family as Albert throughout his life, (never issue for her throughout her life, that she priests who attended Albert’s funeral.
Bertie) and is buried in the UK; there is no never got what she thought she was due
“Bertie” in the Glasnevin grave. from her father’s Estate. 12. after her father’s death Mim was con-
soled at Strand Road …….
5. Shortly after Albert’s second marriage- 7. Mim – a talented singer and pianist: Response: As mentioned previously –
Mimi (1884-1943) - left the family home Response: There is no proof that Mim ever there is no indication anywhere that she
…. sang in the choir in Sandymount, nor the ever lived on Strand Road.
The author Vincent Altman Estella Solomons. Lil was also acquainted
O’Connor comments on the above: with members of the Joyce family and her
anecdotes are archived in the Folklore
Author’s response Collection at UCD. An appreciation was
My article on Altman the Saltman’should published in the Irish Times 21 April 1988.
not be read as family history. Rather, my
objective with this thumbnail sketch was One can only go on the best evidence
to stimulate debate as to whether the available at the time of writing while
Altman brothers might be considered part remaining open to the possibility of new
of the composite that is the fictional facts emerging. It is hardly surprising,
Leopold Bloom. therefore, that since my article was
published four years ago, new information
Altman’s association with the Invincibles, has come to light. For example, we are
the Fenians and Arthur Griffith has, indebted to Irene for sharing a recently
indeed, piqued the curiosity of scholars discovered photograph and we are now
and articles include: Altman the Saltman assured that the image once thought to be
by N. Davison, V. Altman O’Connor and that of Albert is, in fact, his brother
Y. Altman O’Connor in the Dublin James Mendal (now correctly captioned in the
Joyce Journal and, also, Ivy Day by N. online version—Ed).
Davison in the Journal of Modern
Literature. Various members of the Altman family are
engaged in research which will, no doubt,
As a genealogist, Irene will appreciate that shed more light on this colourful Hiberno-
family members may recall events Jewish family. I am anxious that this
differently thus making it difficult to project remain a collaborative venture. As
construct a narrative acceptable to all. always, I’m happy to grant access to my
Much of my research is based on the own archive to anyone who might wish to
reminiscences of Lil Kierans, one of the compare notes. Contact details are with the
extended Altman family and a friend of editor.You can also read
