James Joyces’ Ulysses is widely considered to be both a literary masterpiece and one of the hardest works of literature to read.
It inspires such devotion that on one day each year, Bloomsday, people all over the globe dress up like its characters, take to the streets and read the book aloud.
The Ulysses plot, which transpires over a single day, tells the story of three characters: Stephen Dedalus, Leopold Bloom and Bloom’s wife, Molly.
This year the Skehana & District Heritage Group is delighted to bring its own unique celebration of Bloomsday, June 16th, to this locality in what is regarded as a first, for a rural setting within the county.
This year is significant as it is the centenary of its publication and of course James’ wife, Nora Barnacle, was born and spent her formative years living in the heart of Galway.
Joyce met her for the very first time on June 16 1904 and hence the date of Bloomsday.The event will be held at the Owens’ farmyard in Ballaghnagrosheen and the setting will be in the original farmhouse which has been tastefully restored by the family and is regularly used by farming courses and lectures.
In this regard we are most grateful to the Owens family for facilitating our request. While we would like to accommodate all interested persons this is simply not possible and numbers attending will have to be limited.
We acknowledge the moral and financial support that we are receiving from Creative Ireland and we thank Sharon O’Grady, Claire Connolly and Ruth Gordon for their personal involvement.
Further details can be obtained on our website, Facebook page or by email to [email protected].
