Bloomsday Festival 2024

16 June 2024 at 3pm

It’s time to don that boater hat and join us for an afternoon of readings and songs from Ulysses as part of the Bloomsday Festival’s flagship event Readings and Songs at Meeting House Square in Temple Bar, 3pm – 6pm on 16 June 2024.

A long-standing and treasured tradition, this afternoon of songs, readings and performances from Ulysses in the heart of the city is an essential part of the Bloomsday experience.

This year, we have actor and writer Tara Flynn at the helm in Temple Bar, to introduce a fabulously chaotic cast of noted Irish actors, musicians, pundits and everyone in between, who will read extracts from Ulysses. The readings will bring to life Joyce’s immortal words, from his description of Dublin’s “snotgreen sea”, to Molly Bloom’s famous “yes”.

This year’s esteemed readers are acclaimed actors Nora-Jane Noone, Gerry O’Brien,  Eimear Keating, Geraldine McAlinden, Rachel Wren, Margaret McAuliffe, Steve Hartland, David Mulcahy, Sinead Murphy, and Mary Murray and writers Conner Habib and Dermot Bolger. The event will also feature the celebrated singer-songwriter David Keenan and the comedic brilliance of  Katherine Lynch and Goblins, Goblins, Goblins.

Musicians Bryan Mullen, Brian Gilligan and Camille O’Sullivan will grace the stage, bringing the music that inspired Joyce back to life. The celebrations will culminate with a reading by beloved Irish author Marian Keyes, as she breathes life into Molly Bloom’s legendary “Yes.”

*This is an outdoor event (the Meeting House Square Umbrellas are currently undergoing maintenance) so rain or shine please dress for the weather.

The running order is as follows:
1. Telemachus— Eimear Keating
2. Nestor— Dermot Bolger
3.Proteus— David Keenan
4. Calypso— Katherine Lynch
5. Lotus Eaters — Camille O’Sullivan
6. Hades— Conner Habib
7. Aelous — Margaret Mc Auliffe
8. Lestrygonians— Geraldine McAlinden
9. Scylla and Charybdis — David Mulcahy
10. Wandering Rocks— Brian Gilligan
11.  Sirens— Mary Murray
12. Cyclops— Gerry O’Brien
13. Nausicaa— Steve Hartland
14. Oxen of the Sun— Sinead Murphy
15. Circe— Goblins, Goblins, Goblins
16. Eumaeus— Rachel Wren
17. Ithaca—  Nora-Jane Noone
18. Penelope— Marian Keyes

The Bloomsday Festival is organised by the James Joyce Centre in partnership with Fáilte Ireland, Dublin UNESCO City of Literature, and the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media.