Old Troy of the DMP

The "old Troy of the D. M. P." mentioned at the beginning of Cyclops was a real person, Denis Troy, who worked for most of his adult life as a constable for the Dublin Metropolitan Police. Since he was born on 10 August 1853, he would have been 50 years old in June 1904. It is not altogether clear, then, why Joe Hynes should ask, "Who's the old ballocks you were talking to?," or why the chapter's narrator should reply that it was "Old Troy" who "was in the force."

John Hunt 2020

Denis Troy and his wife Bridget, née Murphy, in a photographic portrait ca. 1890.  Source: Michael O'Connor.

Denis Troy with his grandson Dermot O'Connor, in a photograph taken behind number 8 Arbour Hill ca. 1940. Source: Michael O'Connor.

Gravestone in the Mount Jerome cemetery commemorating Denis Troy (d. 1943), his wife Bridget (d. 1945), their son Gabriel, Gabriel's wife Alice, and Mary Kathleen's son Vincent O'Connor. Source: Michael O'Connor.