Joyce Country is a region in counties Galway and Mayo in Ireland. There are about 2,000 people living in the area. About 25 re native Irish speakers. Joyce Country lies west of the Lough Mask area, beyond the isthmus; a hilly region in the north of County Galway, extending into the southern part of County Mayo, traversed by green valleys and lonely roads which takes its name from a Norman Welsh family who settled here in the 13th century during the reign of Edward I. Many people with the name Joyce still live there. The writer James Joyce carries the family name although he was born in Dublin in 1882.