The purpose of this paper is to illustrate the importance of reading Joyce in the context of Irish language and literature. It is often mentioned that Joyce`s knowledge of the Irish language and literature was not sufficient to give him incentive to write his work. By looking at the actual examples in the Irish literature, I want to maintain that this idea should be reconsidered. And more than that, Joyce had enough insight into the Irish language and literature and reading his work in terms of this perspective will give us a deeper understanding of his work.