Dublin celebrated Bloomsday with its usual fervour, beginning with an early dawn rendition of the initial scenes from Ulysses by James Joyce in Sandycove, extending throughout the metropolis to a late afternoon garden gathering at Áras an Uachtaráin, with a wealth of other events sandwiched in-between. The day, named in honour of Leopold Bloom, the main character of Joyce’s iconic 1922 novel, pays tribute to the precise day on which the book is set, namely June 16th, 1904. The Crumlin residents Raychel O’Connell and Johan Slattery, with their infant son Tadhg, were received by James Joyce, personified by John Shevlin, at Belvedere College in Dublin for the customary Bloomsday breakfast. The cast for this event included actors Sean McDermott, pianist Tomos Watkins, Baritone Simon Morgan, Elaine Reddy, soprano Suzanne Savage, Les Doherty and James Joyce once again performed by John Shevlin. The 120th anniversary of Bloomsday was commemorated at the James Joyce Museum in Sandycove, where a recitation of the opening episode of Ulysses, Telemachus, took place on Sunday. During an oration of Telemachus at the James Joyce Museum, Oliver Flitcroft played Buck Mulligan. Mary Milne, Kathleen Marshall and Tina Buckley were amongst the attendees at the James Joyce Museum’s Telemachus reading in Sandycove. The JoyceStagers, including Blaise Reid, Paul Maher, Ian Blackmore, Val O’Donnell and Peter Prior, carried out a performance of The Funeral of Paddy Dignam at Glasnevin Cemetery. Paul Maher, Tim Casey, Ian Blackmore and Peter Prior of The JoyceStagers warmed up before their performance of The Funeral of Paddy Dignam at Glasnevin Cemetery.
Spectators came to Glasnevin Cemetery in Dublin to witness the JoyceStagers stage a performance to commemorate Bloomsday, captured by photographer Dara Mac Dónaill. Additionally, a trip to Matthew F Kane’s burial site was included in a Joycean walking tour through the Glasnevin Cemetery, hosted by tour shepherd Daniel Carey, also captured by Dara Mac Dónaill’s photographic eye.
Dermot Lynskey took on the role of James Joyce, celebrating the 120th Bloomsday on Duke Street, which surrounded Davy Byrnes pub in Dublin. This was beautifully immortalised by Nick Bradshaw’s photography commissioned by The Irish Times.
The event in the vicinity of Davy Byrnes pub on Duke Street was filled with people enjoying the 120th Bloomsday celebration. The buzz of the festivities, which included the President Michael D Higgins enjoying an entertaining Bloomsday garden party at Áras an Uachtaráin, was also documented by Nick Bradshaw’s lens.
For those unable to attend the celebration, Maxwell’s Fingal Mummers showcased a performance at the James Joyce Centre in Dublin as a part of the Bloomsday festivities. This was photographed by Stephen Collins for Collins Photos.