Next Sunday will see Dublin turn into a stage for the Bloomsday celebrations – a commemoration of James Joyce’s work named after Ulysses’ Leopold Bloom. So as to prevent you from getting lost in the whirlwind of Ulysses readings on every corner and enthusiasts donning Edwardian dress, we’ve decided to direct you towards ten of the best Bloomsday activities taking place in Dublin – from an early morning breakfast complete with pork kidneys and black pudding, to late pints at the traditional Davy Byrnes pub.
The James Joyce Centre will be hosting an array of activities and celebrations throughout the day, from the Ulyssean Bewley’s Bloomsday Breakfast, to the re-enactment of scenes from Joyce’s masterpiece by a troupe of Joycean players and performances of musical numbers from the book. (Sunday 16th June, The James Joyce Centre, 35 North Great George’s Street, breakfast €25, from 8am)
The obligatory Bloomsday breakfast will also be served at the Mill Theatre Dundrum and will be accompanied by songs and readings. Full Joycean dress encouraged. (Sunday 16th June, The Mill Theatre, Sandyford Road, Dublin 16, 11am, €15)
The Glasnevin Cemetery is the permanent home of many Joycean characters, as well as the author’s father, John Stanislaus; dedicated readers even make the annual trip to the Cemetery in horse-drawn carriages. The Cemetery Museum is joining the celebrations by running a themed breakfast in the Tower Café, a free Ulysses reading, and a Joycean tour of the Cemetery. (Sunday 16th June, 12.30pm, €12/8)
In the National Archaeology Museum Jennifer O’Mahony, Museum educator, will be tracing the steps of Leopold Bloom to discover what the museum would have looked like when James Joyce visited it at the turn of the century. Similarly, the National Museum of Decorative Arts and History will be hosting a special tour of the museum to discover objects that have a special connection with Joyce, his protagonist, and Dublin. (Sunday 16th June, Kildare Street, both at 3pm, free)
In 1914, London publisher Grant Richards re-reads Joyce’s controversial manuscript of racy, comic stories of Joyce’s childhood and young adult love; he now faces the dilemma of whether to reject it once more, or to publish it – risking a breach of obscenity laws, but launching a brilliant genius. The Dubliners Dilemma, Declan Gorman’s one-man tram-hurtle through James Joyce’s “Dubliners”, is staged in the intimate Bewley’s Café Theatre until the 22nd of June. (79 Bewley’s Café, Grafton Street, €15/12/10/8, 1pm)
The National Library, the library where Joyce studied, wrote and set part of the Ulysses, will too be taking part in Bloomsday celebrations. Joycean music and Ulysses readings will be performed all day, and a talk by Prof. Gerard Dineen, “Our Continental Writer: James Joyce and the literature of Europe”, will dwell on Joyce’s connections with Europe (Sunday 16th June, Kildare St, 2pm, free).
One of the many walking tours of the capital, setting of Ulysses, Bloomsday Walk leaves outside the Tourist Office on O’Connell Streets and includes the James Joyce statue, the James Joyce Centre and Belvedere College, his former school, as well as other places featured in the novel, from Westland Row railway station to Davy Byrne’s Pub, the location for Leopold Bloom’s famous lunch. (Sunday 16th June, 11am and 3pm, €12/10)
Read Dubliners By Bike is a guided bike tour that explores the streets, pubs, and historic buildings that are the setting of Joyce’s Dubliners while participants listen to the stories on headphones in situ, as they are told and performed by a large ensemble cast. The two-and-a-half bicycle tour guides the Joycean enthusiasts across the city, from the author’s adolescent years in North Richmond Street, to An Encounter in Ringsend, to Eveline at the North Wall Station, and finally to the Temple Bar of Counterparts. (Saturday 15th June, Café Rothar, 16 Fade Street, 10am, €24,99/29,99)
The Dublin Theatre Company is staging a Joyce-themed play by Tom Gallacher, premiering on Bloomsday. Mr Joyce is Leaving Paris is a play about James Joyce during his Italian stay in the city of Trieste and, later, as an ageing man in 1939 Paris, and a fascinating insight into the author’s life away from Ireland. (The Back Loft Theatre, 7-11 St. Augustine Street, 17th June – 24th August, €15/10)
The first Bloomsday was concocted over drinks at The Bailey in order to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the events in the novel. The then-owner John Ryan and novelist Flann O’Brien organised what was to be a daylong pilgrimage along the Ulysses route. As they progressed through their journey the cortege stopped frequently at pubs and by the time they reached the city centre, exhausted and inebriated, they abandoned the expedition for welcoming warmth of The Bailey. On Bloomsday, the pub will be hosting Ulysses readings (on the hour, 1pm-4pm) and prizes for those donning the best Edwardian dress. (The Bailey, 1-4 Duke St, Dublin 2)
