Fancy Trying Something a Little Bit Different this Bloomsday?

Bloomsday is nearly upon us again, and we have some interesting suggestions to help you celebrate the occasion.

The 16th of June is officially Bloomsday, commemorating that day in 1904 forever immortalized in James Joyce’s Ulysses. There are numerous events planned for the day itself in and around Dublin that would impress even Leopold Bloom himself!

Some obvious ones to start us off…

Head on up to North Great George’s Street and the James Joyce Centre, the focal point for the annual Bloomsday Festival. Many of the events are ticketed and require pre-booking, but you can still hang out and immerse yourself in the rarified Joycean ambience.

Get yourself out to Sandycove and soak up the atmosphere around the Martello Tower. You will probably end up in some tourist’s video and be forever famous.

Pop in to Stephen’s Green and take a selfie with the James Joyce bust. Remember to use the official hashtag #HangingwithJJSS

Head up to North Earl Street and take a selfie with the James Joyce statue just across from the Spire. The hashtag for all photos taken here will be #HangingwithJJNS

Get your boater on and take part in the Bloomsday Messenger Bike Rally. Fair enough, it does take place on Friday, 12th June, but it’s a great way to enjoy the atmospheric sights and sounds of Dublin whilst cycling a vintage messenger bike. The event is brought to us courtesy of the Irish Youth Foundation and Brennan’s Bread. Good ol’ Mr. Brennan!

Walk around town with a copy of Ulysees under your arm, following, of course, in the footsteps of Leopold Bloom et al. If this proves to be too heavy for you, you can always get the slightly less weighty tome, ‘Ulysses: The Manual’ produced by At It Again for a tenner.

Treat yourself to some lemon-scented soap in Sweny’s Pharmacy. Go on, you know you deserve it!

Hop aboard the Ulysses Express with our friends in Happenings. This is an exclusive Bloomsday Train Tour of Dublin Bay on a specially decorated DART, and will feature the characters from Ulysses and even Mr. Joyce himself. Tickets cost €15 (plus booking fees when purchased online).

And of course, if you don’t feel like going out and prefer your own couch, and have a couple of hours to spare, you could do worse than watching this! Happy Bloomsday to one and all!