Bloomsday Celebrations

Bloomsday is a day that marks the epic journey taken by Leopold Bloom, the fictional character in Joyce's story.

Joyce's Ulysses, set in Ireland, recounts the hour-by-hour events of the central character Bloom. The entire story takes place during one day in Dublin on June 16, 1904. An ordinary Dubliner, Leopold Bloom, winds his way through the urban landscape while Joyce pays homage to the classic story of Ulysses and the odyssey.

Streets, shops, pubs, churches, bridges something of Dublin pops up on nearly every page. The city is always in our sight no matter how infamously dense Joyce's writing style becomes.

People from Fort Lauderdale to Melbourne gather in order to celebrate Bloomsday every June 16. It is celebrated in more than sixty countries worldwide, but the main attraction is in Dublin. There, the events of Leopold Bloom's day are recreated by anyone who cares to participate, and his original foot steps are followed all across the city.

At lunchtime it's traditional to stop off for a glass of burgundy and a Gorgonzola sandwich at Davy Byrne's Pub on Duke Street, just like Bloom did. In the afternoon the Ormond Hotel is the place for an afternoon beer, where Bloom was tempted by the barmaids in the Sirens chapter.

But much has changed since 1904 and an exact replication of Bloom's route is now impossible. Bloom's home at 7 Eccles Street no longer exists and the red-light district ("Nighttown"), in which the hallucinatory Circe chapter takes place, has been flattened; only the street route remains.

Bloomsday celebrations also include readings of Ulysses, James Joyce look-alike contests, and providing a good excuse for putting back a few Guinnesses. For many people, this proves to be an easier task than actually trying to work your way through the book itself.