Frank Delaney, an Irish-born author and broadcaster who, like most novices, initially dismissed James Joyce’s “Ulysses” as unreadable but later spent his career making that elusive novel about ordinary people accessible to ordinary readers, died on Tuesday in Danbury, Conn. He was 74.

Mr. Delaney, who lived in Kent, Conn., died in Danbury Hospital, where he was being treated for a stroke he suffered the day before, said Jason H. Wright, a family friend.

While “Ulysses” was his passion — he originated a weekly five-minute podcast to deconstruct the book and wrote a personal Baedeker to Joyce’s Dublin — he was also a literary impresario and interpreter who interviewed hundreds of fellow authors and was often solicited to judge book awards, including the Man Booker Prize.

His impassioned delivery and Tipperary inflection during those interviews, as well as in film documentaries on artists, writers and etymology, once prompted NPR to anoint him “the most eloquent man in the world.” His podcasts on “Ulysses” have been downloaded more than 2.5 million times.