SUCH is the enthusiasm for Joyce's annual literary bash on June 16th that Bloomsday celebrations are now spilling into the preceding days. With the James Joyce Centre at 35 North Great George's street firmly at the helm, the Bloomstime festivities offer a rich and varied feast for Ulysses diehards and Joycean dilettantes alike.
Unanimously recognised as the essential way to begin the day, the Guinness Bloomsday Breakfast requires a strong palate and an alert mind. Starting at 8 a.m. in the James Joyce Centre, the menu includes the inner organs of beasts and fowl, washed down by glasses of Guinness to the backdrop of readings from celebrities such as: TDs Tony Gregory and David Andrews; the British Ambassador, Veronica Sutherland; Mexican Ambassador, Daniel Dultzin and broadcaster, Carrie Crowley. (Tickets: £25 for sit down breakfast; £15 buffet)
A Bloomsday morning walk through the south city sets off from Newman House on St Stephen's Green at 9 a.m. Stop offs include breakfast at Bewleys. The walk finishes at the James Joyce Centre where participants can listen to readings from Ulysses which continue until noon (tickets £10).
Ken Monaghan, nephew of James Joyce and director of the James Joyce Centre will give a lecture on Joyce and the family at 2.30 p.m. in the James Joyce Centre. This will be followed by a walk through the heartland of Joyce's north inner city with readings by actors and various other entertainment en route (tickets £10).
Readings from Ulysses continue from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the James Joyce Centre. Later, opera singer Nancy Lanmon will be joined by guests in a Bloomsday concert at 8 p.m. in the James Joyce Centre. St Ann's Church, Dawson Street, is the venue for another gala evening of poetry, prose and music with contributions from writers Paula Meehan, Nuala Ni Dhomhnaill, Joseph O'Connor, Dermot Bolger and Pat Boran starting at 8 p.m.
Bloomstime events today include a tour following the Hades chapter of Ulysses, starting at the James Joyce Centre at 11 a.m. Paddy Dignam's funeral procession at 12.45 p.m. will be an elaborate affair with horse drawn carriages and actors in period costume (tickets £10). Rubato Ballet and Dubert Writers' Workshop explore perform Anna Livia Plurabelle at the James Joyce Centre today at 8 p.m. and on Monday and Tuesday at the Samuel Beckett Centre, TCD at 8 p.m.
Sandymount Green and the Sandymount Martello tower are the venues for readings, recitals, music and games throughout the weekend (including a marbles challenge today, 2 p.m. - 5 p.m.).
Ulysses will be brought to life in word, song and performance in a Joycean Concert at 8 p.m. in the James Joyce Centre (tickets £8).
Tomorrow, a coach tour around Dublin sets off at 11 a.m. from the James Joyce Centre passing several former homes of Joyce and many abodes and favourite places of his characters. The tour includes visits to Sandycove Tower, Martello Terrace and a picnic of Gorgonzola cheese sandwiches and burgundy on Sandymount Strand.
A Portrait Of The Artist's Mother by Marion McEvoy offers a glimpse of Joyce's mother at 2
p.m. in the James Joyce Centre. Marion McEvoy will also participate in a free, period show, entitled Bewleysses, hosted by Bewleys cafe, Grafton Street, at 6 p.m. tomorrow.
Advance booking is recommended for all events. Contact the James Joyce Centre, tel 01-8788547, fax 01-8788488 or e-mail joycecen.iol.ie.
MEANWHILE, outside Ireland, Bloomsday will be celebrated across Europe, North America and Australia. The Beaches area at the east end of Toronto will be transformed into Edwardian Dublin (with Lake Ontario becoming the "snotgreen" Irish Sea) on Bloomsday... Readings and Bloomsday lunch at the James Joyce Society in Copenhagen. .. Exhibition and panel discussion on Joyce's work at the Jagellonian Univeristy in Poland. .. Feast of Joyce's favourite food in Trieste, Italy. .. Readings from Ulysses in Rosenbach Museum, Philadelphia, and Nibsy's pub Tipperary Hill, Syracuse, New York State and in Scruffy Murphy's pub, Sydney, Australia...
