Bloomsday Festival
With Bloomsday almost upon us, and the Bloomsday Festival in full swing, we paid a visit to Sweny’s Pharmacy, on Lincon Place yesterday to catch up with some of the volunteers and check out their reading schedule for Bloomsday.
Readings of Joyce at Sweny’s Pharmacy
Sweny’s Pharmacy is featured in James Joyce’s Ulysses, and is described in great detail within the novel, a description which stands to this day. Today, Sweny’s is maintained by volunteers, dedicated to preserving the shop as it was in Joyce’s time. Here you will find a selection of second-hand books and the perfect location for daily readings of Joyce’s works. Not forgetting, of course, the lemon-scented soap that made the shop famous!
Sweny’s is equidistant from ely wine bar and ELY BAR & GRILL, less than a ten minute walk in either direction and is the place to be for Joyce readings this Bloomsday.
Bloomsday is a celebration that takes place both in Dublin and around the world. It celebrates Thursday 16 June 1904, which is the day depicted in James Joyce’s novel Ulysses. The day is named after Leopold Bloom, the central character in Ulysses.
Ulysses at The Abbey
Another wonderful Bloomsday event is Ulysses, playing at The Abbey Theatre from the 11th of June until the 21st of July 2018.
This vibrant version of James Joyce’s classic. Bloom’s odyssey is a pandemonium of live music, puppets, dancing, clowning, bowler hats and kazoos. It’s Ulysses as you’ve never imagined it before, a superbly theatrical homage to Joyce’s chronicle of Dublin life and the greatest novel of all time. Created by Abbey Theatre director Graham McLaren, the show is absurd, brilliant and oodles of fun.
On Bloomsday why not join us at ely wine bar for a nice glass of Burgundy or at ELY BAR & GRILL for some complimentary Prosecco when you dine from our pre theatre before a visit to The Abbey.