Dublin may hold the monopoly on Leopold Bloom, but his Molly's musings were marked in Galway last night at the alternative Bloomsday celebrations.
Once again, sisters Sheila and Mary Gallagher hosted the annual event in Nora Barnacle's house, which they restored over 10 years ago on Bowling Green. The tiny two-storey terraced dwelling was once the Barnacle family home, and is now a museum supported by many friends, including James Joyce's grandson, Stephen, and his spouse, Solange.
"A good voice, a Joyce book, a good brolly" were the only required items for the evening - and those without a text were furnished with same from the museum's extensive library, which includes some recently contributed works of Stanislaus Joyce.
Participants were invited to read a line, a verse or a passage, with the obvious choice for the venue being excerpts from She Weeps Over Rahoon and The Dead. Young Sonny Bodkin, Nora Barnacle's first real love, lived at Prospect Hill in Galway, and it was his death that inspired the latter work.
Bowling Green is currently under threat from a proposed multi-storey car-park development, which was granted planning permission by Galway Corporation and appealed to An Bord Pleanala. The Gallagher sisters are among the appellants, along with the Bowling Green Residents' Association.
The Nora Barnacle House is open from mid-May to mid-September, from Monday to Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
