> the narrator encounters a mysterious lady who had visited Dublin in her youth, ie 1885. She recalls a song or piece of music from her youth.

Gulliver, I may be telling you something you already know, but since no one's mentioned it in this thread yet: James Joyce himself was quite a good singer – is it any use having HIM sing this song, which sparks her memories of her youth? (Getting awfully close to the theme of The Dead!! There's a good thread on this if you're interested but I don't think that song is really what you're looking for.)

What subject did Joyce write about in that Fortnightly Review article? And is this scene taking place in the Sheehy house? Only asking in order to focus ideas for possible songs more clearly – not trying to get you to give the plot away! Looking forward to reading it, though -