Walking tours, dramatic readings, plays and pork kidney breakfasts will be among the Bloomsday celebrations taking place this weekend as James Joyce devotees retrace the much-celebrated steps of Leopold Bloom across Dublin.
The annual celebration of Ulysses, Joyce’s enormous, ground-breaking work set on a single day in Dublin, June 16th, 1904, is back, as 120 years later, the novel is as popular as ever.
So what events are on and where?
Songs from Joyce
Friday, June 14th, Newman University Church, Dublin 2, 7pm, free
The Keough-Naughton Institute for Irish Studies and the Kylemore Abbey Global Centre will have a Songs from Joyce concert at 7pm on Friday in Newman University Church. Singer Simon Morgan and Barry McCrea, Notre Dame professor and Joyce scholar, will explore key moments from Joyce’s work that draw on song, from Italian opera and Edwardian parlour-music to traditional Irish lament and Moore’s melodies.
Grace by James Joyce
June 10th-16th, Bewley’s Café Theatre, Dublin 2, various times, €10-€15, see bloomsdayfestival.ie
Bewley’s Café Theatre, in association with the Bloomsday Festival, will be showing Grace by Joyce, performed by Terry O’Neill and directed by Michael James Ford. There will be an extra show on Bloomsday itself at 3pm.
Re-enactment of Paddy Dignam’s funeral procession
Sunday, June 16th, Glasnevin Cemetery, Dublin, 11am, free
On Sunday, Glasnevin Cemetery will stage a free re-enactment of the funeral procession of Paddy Dignam from the Hades episode at 11am, followed by a Joycean-themed tour of the cemetery at 12pm, costing €14.
Yes Festival
June 13th-16th, various locations, times and prices. See visitderry.com
The Yes Festival, or Molly Bloomsday, will take place at locations across Derry and north Donegal. The all-female international arts festival inspired by Molly Bloom, Leopold Bloom’s wife, includes family-friendly and free events in theatre, dance, visual arts, film, textiles and music, and will also premiere The Molly Films.
Bloomsday at Sweny’s Pharmacy
June 10th-16th, Sweny’s pharmacy, Lincoln place, Dublin 2, various times, free, see bloomsdayfestival.ie
A performance and reading will take place each day in Sweny’s pharmacy on Lincoln place in Dublin 2, as well as bars of lemon soap for sale at 12.30pm from Lotus Eaters.
On Sunday, there will be merriment in this hidden Joycean gem throughout the day and into the evening, starting with a Bloomsday breakfast from 10am at Kennedy’s Pub across the street, at which there will be readings and performances.
Balloonatics Bloomsday
Sunday, June 16th, various locations and times, €13 plus booking fee, see bloomsdayfestival.ie
The Balloonatics Theatre Company is putting on several free theatrical walks to key spots over the morning and afternoon, followed by its traditional evening show of readings in Wynn’s Hotel in Dublin 1 at 7.30pm (tickets €13).
Bloomsday breakfasts
Sunday, June 16th, Belvedere College, Dublin 1, from 8.30am, €50
Belvedere College is hosting two Bloomsday breakfasts in association with the James Joyce Centre at 8.30am and 10.30am on Sunday. The full-Irish breakfast includes Bloom’s beloved kidneys, dramatic readings and performances from Ulysses, and songs from Ulysses and Joyce’s other works.
TU Dublin Conservatory tour
Thursday, June 13th, TU Dublin, Grangegorman Campus, 11am, free
TU Dublin is presenting a rooftop tour at the TU Dublin Conservatory where a Joycean guide will point out various places and landmarks mentioned in the novel.
Musical celebration of Ulysses
Friday, June 14th, the National Concert Hall, Dublin, 1pm, €20-€22
A musical celebration of Ulysses will take place at the National Concert Hall, and acclaimed actor Mary McEvoy will read extracts from the novel.
Monto walking tour
Sunday, June 16th, starting at the James Joyce Statue, North Earth Street, Dublin, 11am, €10
Dublin historian Terry Fagan will be leading a two-hour walking tour around the Monto, one of the most notorious red light districts in all of Europe at the turn of the 20th century, which Joyce immortalised as Nighttown in the Circe episode of Ulysses.
Joseph Chester’s Fragments of Lucia
Sunday, June 16th, Smock Alley Theatre, Dublin 2, 4pm and 8pm, €15-€17
Joseph Chester will perform a solo guitar performance, titled Fragments of Lucia, based on his highly acclaimed album LUCIA, a suite of 10 pieces inspired by fragments of the life of Lucia Joyce, James Joyce’s daughter.
Bloomsday swim
Sunday, June 16th, Sandycove beach, Dublin, 10am, free
The Dublin Sea Swimming Club is having a Bloomsday swim at Sandycove beach in the south of the capital from 10am. The final lines of Molly Bloom’s soliloquy will be read by the entrance of the James Joyce Tower and Museum beforehand, and afterwards, the adventure will continue at a local cafe.
Joycean walking tours
Sunday, June 16th, St Francis Xavier’s Church, Upper Gardiner St, Dublin 1, 10.25am and 2.55pm €15
Joycean guides Dr Michael Quinn and Billy Fitzpatrick will lead a walking tour through Dublin’s north city following the exact route of “the superior, the very reverend” Fr Kohn Conmee SJ in the Wandering Rocks episode of Ulysses. The meeting point for this tour is in front of St Francis Xavier’s Church, Upper Gardiner St, Dublin 1.
Historian Pat Liddy is also running walking tours of the city on Sunday, retracing the steps of Leopold Bloom.
Breathe and Bloom
Sunday, June 16th, Brighton Square, Dublin, 11am, €10
Breathe and Bloom is a unique Bloomsday celebration of health, wellness and yoga in Brighton Square, the birthplace of Joyce himself. It starts with yoga in the park’s regularly scheduled class (€10) with Jo Collins and is followed by a talk about fitness, wellness and Joyce by Dr Conor Heffernan, lecturer in sports sociology at ulster university, and Jo Collins. Afterwards the park will host free music and readings of Ulysses.
Drumcondra Joycean Jaunt
Sunday, June 16th, starting from Our Lady’s Park, Drumcondra, Dublin, 12pm, free
Drumcondra Joycean Jaunters will convene at the current day shrine of the Blessed Virgin in Our Lady’s Park on the banks of the Tolka, across from Fagan’s, and will follow the short route taken by Stephen Dedalus to his home on Millbourne Avenue. There, under the shadow of Drumcondra Library, they will celebrate the day in the spirit of the first Bloomsday “jant” held 70 years ago in 1954.
Bloomsday at Davy Byrnes
Sunday, June 16th, Davy Byrnes, Duke Street, Dublin, from 12pm, free
Davy Byrnes pub, which is featured in the Lestrygonians episode of Ulysses, will be hosting an afternoon of festivities on Sunday to mark the day with music, performances and readings, bringing Ulysses to life.
Joyce and the Jesuits
Sunday, June 16th, Jesuit Church of St Francis Xavier, Gardiner St, Dublin, 12.30pm, free
Actor, writer and broadcaster Gerry McArdle has put together a programme of readings from Dubliners, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man and Ulysses which highlights the Joyce-Jesuit connections at the Jesuit Church of St Francis Xavier. McArdle will be joined by Raphael Kelly and singer Suzanne Mangan. The event will be hosted and narrated by Eileen Dunne.
A Taste of Joyce
Sunday, June 16th, James Joyce Tower, Dún Laoghaire, Dublin, 2pm, free
You can join Lua McIlraith and The Lilliput Players for A Taste of Joyce outside the James Joyce Tower on Bloomsday for an afternoon of readings, poems, dramatisations of Joyce’s works and songs associated with him. Immerse yourself in the world of Joyce as his words are brought to life at a unique location.
Bloomsday at Blooms
Sunday, June 16th, Belvedere Hotel Dublin, Denmark Street Great, Rotunda, Dublin, 1.30pm, €30
Bloomsday at Blooms is an offering of afternoon tea (€30pp) at the Belvedere Hotel’s Blooms restaurant, where people can enjoy Gorgonzola sandwiches, banbury cakes, rhubarb tarts, and more sweets and treats inspired by Ulysses whilst tasting fine loose-leaf teas. Add a glass of prosecco with orange Curacao liqueur (Joyce’s favourite drink) for an additional €8.
Bloomsday at the Museum of Literature Ireland
Sunday, June 16th, Museum of Literature Ireland, St Stephen’s Green, Dublin, from 5pm, €18-€24
The Museum of Literature Ireland, situated in Newman House, will have their annual lecture delivered by journalist, author and Irish Times columnist Fintan O’Toole at 5pm. Afterwards, the Bloomsday Garden Party kicks off in partnership with the Dublin Liberties Distillery. Expect live music from Offica, Celine and Emmy Shigeta.
Joycean Evening at Dalkey Castle
Sunday, June 16th, Dalkey Castle, Castle St, Dalkey, Dublin, 3pm, €22.95
Dalkey Castle will be bringing the Nestor episode from Joyce’s renowned novel to life in a dramatisation. There will also be a guided Joycean walk led by Joyce expert Joe Dunne, where surprising Dalkey connections with Joyce will be uncovered.
For more information, see bloomsdayfestival.ie
- Sign up for push alerts and have the best news, analysis and comment delivered directly to your phone
- Find The Irish Times on WhatsApp and stay up to date
- Our In The News podcast is now published daily – Find the latest episode here
