Following James Joyce through Dublin
Bloomsday is a delightful annual celebration held on June 16th, to honour the life and works of the famous Irish writer James Joyce and his seminal novel ‘Ulysses’ which unfolds on this date in 1904.
James Joyce wrote Ulysses over a seven-year period from 1914 to 1921.
On Bloomsday, Joyce enthusiasts and people curious about his works immerse themselves in all things "Ulysses." The city becomes a living novel, with participants donning Edwardian costumes, reenacting scenes, and tracing Leopold Bloom’s journey through Dublin’s streets.
Activities Include public readings of excerpts from "Ulysses" take place in various venues throughout the city.
Join walking tours that follow in the footsteps of Leopold Bloom, visiting locations mentioned in the novel.
Watch street performances and dramatizations bring key moments from the book to life.
Take traditional breakfasts of kidneys or Gorgonzola cheese sandwiches and wine are served, mirroring meals from the book.
While Dublin is the heart of Bloomsday festivities, the celebration has global resonance, with events in cities worldwide like New York, Trieste, and Sydney, fostering an international appreciation for Joyce’s genius.
Bloomsday is a joyous melding of literature, culture, and history, making it a must-see for anyone drawn to the vibrant legacy of Dublin’s literary past. It allows you to step back in time and experience Joyce's Dublin as vividly as it breathes through its pages.
Dublin Locations from the Novel
Many walking tours will stop at some of these locations.
Sean Moore Park Strand – Proteus, Nausicaa
One of multiple beach parks along the Sandymount Strand, where Stephen muses over a flux of subjects personal and intellectual in the Proteus episode. In the Nausicaa episode, Bloom leers at Gerty McDowell here while she considers love (or while Bloom fancies that she does). The beach is pleasant in the early morning, especially when it coincides with high tide.
National Maternity Hospital, Holles Street – Oxen of the Sun
Here Bloom visits Mina Purefoy as she gives birth, finally meeting the abandoned Stephen in the process, and boisterous conversation reenacts the history of the English language. It remains a maternity hospital but is slated to be replaced in the coming years.
Sweny’s Pharmacy, 1 Lincoln Place – Lotus Eaters
Bloom stops at Sweny’s for a bar of lemon soap in the Lotus Eaters episode after collecting a love letter from Martha Clifford at the Westland Row post office just north and stepping in to St. Andrew’s (“All Hallows”), a nearby church with a good choir. Sweny’s holds readings in addition to selling used books and lemon soap, making it a good priority stop. At time of writing, they do not open until 11am.
National Library of Ireland, 7–8 Kildare Street – Scylla & Charybdis
Stephen lectures on Shakespeare and Bloom looks for an old ad in this lovely library during the Scylla & Charybdis episode; they cross paths but do not recognize each other. The library has exhibitions pertaining to Irish history and art as well as a lovely reading room; at time of writing, it opens at 9:30am on weekdays.
Davy Byrne’s, 21 Duke Street – Lestrygonians
After being repulsed by some bad eaters, Bloom lunches on a gorgonzola cheese sandwich with a glass of burgundy at this upscale pub, which still operates under the same name. They do not skimp on the gorgonzola, so order accordingly.
If you’ve got a little time before lunch and haven’t already, consider heading a block or two south first to Stephen’s Green. After you leave, you’ll head up Grafton Street and past Frontsquare of Trinity College Dublin.
The Temple Bar
Cassidy’s, 27 Westmoreland Street – Aeolus
The former site of the Freeman’s Journal, a longstanding but declining pro-independence newspaper where Bloom sold ads in the Aeolus episode, is now an eccentric bar in the Temple Bar area.
O’Connell Bridge – Wandering Rocks
Multiple characters cross this prominent city-center bridge over the Liffey, including several in the Wandering Rocks episode. It is a major thoroughfare, and the statue of Daniel O’Connell – “the hugecloaked Liberator” – dates to 1882.
Eden Quay – Eumaeus
Near O’Connell bridge is the cabmen’s shelter where the exhausted and confused Bloom and Stephen linger before returning to Bloom’s home. In another touch of historical continuity, a number of bus routes make stops here.
Ormond Hotel, 7–11 Ormond Quay Upper – Sirens
Bloom eats dinner with Stephen’s uncle and eyes barmaids at this hotel in the Sirens episode amid a variety of musical flourishes. The structure from Joyce’s time, derelict in this century, is being replaced with a new hotel.
Trinity College Long Room
9 Little Britain Street – Cyclops
The former site of Kiernan’s Pub is where a drunken anti-Semite threw a biscuit tin at Bloom in the Cyclops episode. There isn’t much happening here now, making it a low priority stop.
Corner of James Joyce Street and Railway Street – Circe
What is now primarily residential apartments was Dublin’s red light district or “nighttown” at the turn of the century. Much of the neighborhood has been both renovated and renamed, making it a low priority stop. 82 Tyrone Street, “the disorderly house of Mrs Bella Cohen,” is now Railway Street; “the Mabbot street entrance of nighttown” is now, of all things, James Joyce Street.
Bloom Home, 7 Eccles Street – Calypso, Ithaca, Penelope
Bloom begins his day with breakfast at home in the Calypso episode. He returns here late at night with Stephen in the catechistic Ithaca episode, and the novel concludes here in the Penelope episode with Molly’s stream of consciousness while lying in bed. The rowhouses of Joyce’s day were demolished to build the present Mater Misericordiae hospital, but there’s a nice plaque marking its place in Ulysses.
Glasnevin Cemetery, Finglas Road – Hades
This striking graveyard holds the funeral for Paddy Dignam that Bloom attends in the morning during the Hades episode; he meditates on death – his own, his son’s, his father’s – before getting back to life. This is another slightly longer walk; if it’s time for dinner or a drink right before or right after this stop, there are a number of options on Phibsborough Road. The National Botanic Gardens are right next to the cemetery as well.