Dublin in Bloom:Bloomsday of course commemorates the day on which Ulyssesis set, but James Joyce wrote poetry too – including Chamber Music, Pomes Penyeach– and his old alma mater, University College Dublin, is marking next week's Bloomsday on the day itself, June 16th, Thursday, with a celebration at noon of Ireland's poetry tradition.
The college’s highest award, its Ulysses medal, will be presented to Seamus Heaney and honorary doctorates awarded to those who’ve held the Ireland Chair of Poetry: John Montague, Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill, Paul Durcan, Michael Longley and the current chair, Harry Clifton. It’s quite a roll-call of some of the cream of Irish poetry. Set up after Heaney received the Nobel Prize in Literature to celebrate and foster poetry here, the chair is held for three years and recipients spend a year attached to each of the participating universities: UCD, Queen’s and TCD.
The poet Ciaran Carson is also being conferred with an honorary doctorate, a degree of doctor of literature, like the others. The same day the Doonesburycreator, Garry Trudeau, long familiar to readers of The Irish Times, among many others, is also being given a degree of doctor of arts honoris causa.
With Declan Kiberd, professor of Anglo-Irish literature and drama, soon to leave UCD and head for the University of Notre Dame, it’s appropriate that he will deliver the citation for Heaney.
Meanwhile, artist Robert Ballagh has just completed a portrait of Joyce for the university. Later on Thursday he’ll take part in a public discussion with Kiberd in honour of the college’s most famous graduate. Ranging over Joyce, art, literature and Dublin, this is free but registration is essential on communications@ucd.ie.
Elsewhere, Bloomsday events are already in full swing in the capital. Today at the James Joyce Centre, 35 North Great George’s Street, at noon, John McCullen, the OPW’s chief superintendent of parks, will give a talk on the Joycean history of the Phoenix Park.
Tomorrow you can bring your bike and join a spin past the northside homes of the Joyce family, through Fairview and Phibsborough, and also to landmarks that feature in Ulysses, including Glasnevin Cemetery. The ticket includes a guided tour of the cemetery. This trip runs from 9.30am to 2.30pm, starts at the James Joyce Centre and costs €32.
On Monday the many links between Joyce and Jewish Dublin will be discussed at the Irish Jewish Museum, Walworth Road, Portobello. Jewish culture in Ireland in Joyce's time will be explored, followed by a lecture on Jewish elements in Ulyssesby the Joycean Terence Killeen. The start time is 6.30pm, tickets €7/€5.
The beautiful bandstand in St Stephen's Green is the location for lots of events. On Wednesday (5pm-7pm ) hallmark songs from Ulysseswill be performed at an event hosted by Barry McGovern, while on Bloomsday itself (11am–2pm) Alan Stanford will be ringmaster at an offering of music, readings and songs from the novel, to which the public are invited to come and read their favourite words from Joyce's masterpiece. Later that day (6–8pm) John Sheahan of The Dubliners is among the musicians at an event presided over by the Joycean Danis Rose. The Eastern Harps trad band will perform ballads from Finnegans Wake.All these bandstand events are free.
Other events next week include a James Joyce bus tour taking in Dublin’s old Jewish quarter, Little Jerusalem; a talk on Joyce and Jorge Luis Borges; afternoon tea at the Westin Hotel with fare featured in Ulysses. But then there are all the impromptu events too. Just remember, in Dublin in the week ahead, to expect the unexpected.
For more, see jamesjoyce.ie.
