A Molly Bloomsday for Derry ~ Donegal
Bloomsday gets turned on its head looking North and going female.
A revealing and revelling in the streets of Derry~Londonderry and the wild landscape of north-east Donegal.
A hundred years on, Ireland gets its first ever Molly ~ Bloomsday as the final day of the inaugural YES 2024.
The June 16 celebratory day will also be the culmination of the 18 European cities two-year journey of the Creative Europe project, ULYSSES European Odyssey’s public events which opened in Athens September 24, 2022. The formal completion of the UEO project however will be at the close of 2024 with the publication of a new epic book involving 18 writers from 18 cities, each writing about their own city and its theme.
Derry ~ Donegal’s Molly Bloomsday transposes the Joycean Bloomsday schema of Dublin scenes and settings to the equally compelling and evocative urban and rural scenery of Ireland’s north-west. Such a transposition of the Dublin-centric epic is not as alien a step as it might at first seem. Joyce himself wrote a novella titled Giacomo Joyce in 1914 in the same year as commencing Ulysses. He is known to have transferred many instances and locations outlined in his novella Giacomo Joyce (such as a graveyard, a classroom, a Paduan brothel) to Dublin for Ulysses. Arguably, he also melded characters he knew in Europe, such as Martha Fleishman in Zürich to create Gerty McDowell and Italo Svevo into Leopold Bloom. Also, several of the precise locations and characters in Ulysses were, surprisingly, not solely Dublin inspired. The reimagining of Bloomsday to Derry~Londonderry’s streets, bars, school and cemetery and to Donegal’s iron age fort, beaches and coastline 100 years later is a bold, if not cheeky, reimagined response for Ireland’s most famous literary date, conceived by Ireland’s preeminent cross-border arts organisation, Arts Over Borders.
Joyce was writing his final 18th episode of Ulysses – Penelope – in mid 1921, at the time of the Government of Ireland Act that divided the island of Ireland into southern and northern. Joyce was acutely aware of this reality taking place in his home country. Most revealing of all in Ulysses’ final episode is our learning of Molly Bloom’s pro-Britishness in contrast to Leopold Bloom’s pro-Sinn Fein sympathies. Joyce chose Molly’s fictional birthplace as Gibraltar, a colony. She grew up in a military family, her father being in the Royal Dublin Fusiliers and her first two lovers were military men. And she loved the sound of marching bands.
Our programming approach for YES 2024 Molly ~ Bloomsday is to pair up parallel north-west Ireland resonant’s settings with the scenes as set out by Joyce in Dublin. The timings are roughly the same, across the 18 hours of one day in the novel. The themes in Derry ~ Donegal will also relate to the Joycean themes but all in a new setting.
NB the 8am (I & IV), 10am (II & V), 11am (III & VI) time slots all have two simultaneous events, just as in the novel.
NB The Roman numerals indicate the episodes of Joyce’s Ulysses.
Event Information Key
Homeric chapter in The Odyssey
Joyce’s roman numeral order of his Ulysses episodes
Time of day set by Joyce in Ulysses
Scene set by Joyce in Ulysses
Derry ~ Donegal setting
YES 2024 artists-participants
Episode event duration | Access
Molly Bloomsday Event Schedule
TELEMACHUS Episode I
To mark the Ulysses Episode I (Telemachus). In the novel 3 young male students breakfast at the Martello Tower in Sandymount and are visited by an old woman selling milk.
Donegal’s The Henry Girls (www.thehenrygirls.com) will open the inaugural Molly Bloomsday, singing on the walls of the Iron-Age sun-fort An Grianan of Aileach with its spectacular views looking out across the estuary of Lough Swilly sweeping northwards into the Atlantic Ocean.
Donegal actor Maura Logue plays the old milk woman and will greet early morning guests with a free paper cup of milk from Donegal Creamery. (Tea/Coffee and pastries can be bought in the car-park).
NB. A free bus will leave from Derry~Londonderry’s Foyle Street at 07.40 for An Grianán of Aileach. Return bus will depart An Grianán at 09.15 with destination Fountain Primary School and stopping on route at ARC Fitness on Bay Road. Tickets must be booked.
CALYPSO Episode IV
To mark the Ulysses Episode IV (Calypso). In the novel Leopold Bloom shops for breakfast and makes breakfast in bed for his wife Molly Bloom..
Everyone across the homes of Derry~Londonderry and Donegal are encouraged to create a Molly Bloomsday breakfast on June 16th.
YES 2024 will publish a list of ingredients mentioned in Molly’s soliloquy by her in Episode XVIII, the food she liked to eat, so that everyone across Donegal and Derry create their own individual Molly Breakfast recipes.
NESTOR Episode II
To mark the Ulysses Episode II (Nestor). In the novel, the headmaster of Stephen’s school, Mr. Deasy, is an Orangeman who speaks of the North and comments ‘For Ulster will fight, And Ulster will be right.’
In the Nestor episode of Ulysses, history is viewed as being all around us, our perception of it changing regularly whilst also taking place before our eyes.
Claire Sugden and Linzi McLaren in conversation with Alison Grundle comsider the role of history in the context of Unionism and Orangeism today.
Claire Sugden is an independent Unionist and was the Minister of Justice in the fourth Northern Ireland Executive from May 2016 to March 2017.
Linzi McLaren represents Holywood and Clandeboye on Ards and North Down Council
Alison Grundle is the Head of Member Services for the Law Society of Northern Ireland
THE LOTUS EATERS Episode V
To mark the Ulysses Episode V (Lotus Eaters). In the novel, life’s drugs and addictions are discussed.
ARC Fitness cultivates hope and fosters a supportive community for individuals impacted by substance use, empowering them to embrace and reach their fullest potential. The gym has a unique approach to addressing substance use, enabling individuals and their supporters to improve their mental and physical well-being through physical activity, professional support, education, and community.
If you’d like to learn more, feel free to come to ARC around 10am for an informal presentation by ARC Fitness’ director along with individuals supported by ARC. A guided tour of the gym will also be available to those interested. Duration: at the visitor’s discretion.
PROTEUS Episode III
To mark the Ulysses Episode III (Proteus). Stephen walks on Sandymount Strand pondering his future and witnesses two cockle pickers.
Join us for a Sunday morning stroll across the spectacular beach at Lisfannon (known in Irish as ‘Lios Feannáin’) to celebrate the poetry and creative inspirations of Donegal poet Annemarie Ní Churreáin. In the Irish language a ‘lios’ often indicates a ringfort or magical dwelling and during this stroll we’ll be hearing poems that weave together folklore, mythology and stories of the Otherworld with family autobiography and Irish history. Lisfannon provides sensational views of the majestic Lough Swilly, Rathmullan and Inch Island.
ANNEMARIE NÍ CHURREÁIN is a poet from the Donegal Gaeltacht. Her books include Bloodroot (Doire Press, 2017), Town (The Salvage Press, 2018) and The Poison Glen (The Gallery Press, 2021). She is a recipient of the Arts Council’s Next Generation Artist Award and a co-recipient of The Markievicz Award. Ní Churreáin has held literary fellowships in the U.S. and throughout Europe. She is the poetry editor at The Stinging Fly magazine. Visit www.studiotwentyfive.com
Guests are asked to dress suitably for the weather. If you are a writer, or botany enthusiast, you may want to bring a notebook to jot down notes of interest!
NB A free bus will leave from the Fountain Primary School at 10.40am for Lisfannon Beach and depart Lisfannon at 11.45am stopping at Hades 12.00pm and on to the YES Hub for 12.10pm.
HADES Episode VI
To mark the Ulysses Episode VI (Hades). In the novel, this scene is set at Glasnevin Cemetery for the funeral of Paddy Dignam.
Mary-Anne McNulty is a freelance journalist and book editor whose recent research into notable female figures from Derry’s past led her to the City Cemetery; inside its walls she uncovered a rich and varied tapestry etched with the fascinating stories of many of the remarkable women -often unsung heroes – interred there.
Derry native Mary-Anne’s eclectic tour will be conversational in tone and will strive to shed light on the contribution these pioneering women made to Derry’s unique social, political and cultural identity as well as highlighting their significance within a wider European context.
Mary-Anne McNulty uncovers a rich & varied tapestry of remarkable women, often unsung heroes, interred in Derry’s cemetery.
THIS TOUR WILL MEET AT THE CREGGAN GATE ENTRANCE TO THE CITY CEMETERY AND WILL BEGIN AT 11AM
Susie Garvey-Williams and Andrew Tinney read Marina Carr’s exchange of letters between Molly Bloom and James Joyce, in which she upbraids Joyce for his depiction of her in Ulysses.
Marina Carr’s plays include Portia Coughlan, By the Bog of Cats and On Raftery’s Hill. Penelope was published in The Book About Everything: Eighteen Artists, Writers and Thinkers on James Joyce’s Ulysses.
AEOLUS Episode VII
To mark the Ulysses Episode VII (Aeolus). This episode takes place in the offices of the Freeman’s Journal and Evening Telegraph.
Women & Media, reporters Orla Guerin, Marion McKeone, Jude Webber and Miriam O’Callaghan consider the particular challenges they face in covering global news stories.
How have women’s role and influence in the media changed over the years and what challenges do they face in covering global news stories. Award-winning journalists Orla Guerin, Marion McKeone and Jude Webber discuss with Miriam O’Callaghan.
Click here for full programme and information on speakers in Women in Media.
LESTRYGONIANS Episode VIII
To mark the Ulysses Episode VIII (Lestrygonians). In this episode, Bloom sits down for lunch with a glass of white burgundy and a gorgonzola sandwich.
All Molly Bloomsians are invited to complete the first part of Molly Bloomsday by joining Lugo’s Lestrygonian Dancers, Spain, in The Craft Village wheer five dancers from Lugo will perform a choreographed reading of Ulysses Episode VIII.
SCYLIA & CHARYBDIS Episode IX
To mark the Ulysses Episode IX (Scylla & Charybdis). In the novel, Stephen gives a lecture on Hamlet in the National Library.
Turning on its head Stephen Dedalus’ talk in the novel about the relationship between Shakespeare and Hamlet, the festival has commissioned Niamh Hargan to explore romance from a young woman’s point of view, echoing the youth of Ophelia in the play. Niamh will read a short piece that she has written specially for the event and discuss how the theme of romance has played out in her fiction.
Niamh Hargan was born and raised in Derry, Northern Ireland. She studied Law and French at Queen’s University, Belfast, followed by a master’s degree at the University of Edinburgh. She is a solicitor and a member of the New York Bar, and now practices entertainment law, acting as production counsel for leading film and television producers around the world.
An alumnus of Curtis Brown Creative, Niamh’s first novel, Twelve Days in May, was published in April 2022 and her second, The Break-Up Clause, in June last year.
WANDERING ROCKS Episode X
To mark the Ulysses Episode X (Wandering Rocks). It consists of a series of min-episodes in the novel, involving a range of characters across Dublin.
8 marching bands from the two traditions and from both sides of the border parade in succession on Derry’s Walls in a display of co-existence, the theme inspired by the Wandering Rocks episode for the city of Istanbul in the ULYSSES European Odyssey project
Strabane Brass Band
Britannia Band
William King Memorial Flute Band
Bannside Fife & Lambeg Drumming Club
Colmcille Pipe Band
Bready & District Ulster Scots Pipe Band
Kildoag Pipe Band
Star Of The Roe Flute Band
This is a Free Public Space event, no booking is requied.
SIRENS Episode XI
To mark the Ulysses Episode XI (Sirens). An episode set in the Ormond Hotel and presented by Joyce as a sound-world.
A highlight of Molly Bloomsday is an outdoor concert hall of up to 200 musicians in American composer’s John Cage’s Musicircus, bringing together all the sounds written by Joyce in his Sirens episode. The Sirens episode was the closest Joyce ever came to write words full of sounds and music. This will be the world premiere of Joyce’s Sirens episode as sound
THIS EVENT IS NOW TAKING PLACE IN THE YES HUB, ST COLUMB’S HALL, DERRY~LONDONDERRY
Prelude with musicians on the Peace Bridge 3.45-4pm.
Audience promenades, comes and goes at any time between 4 pm – 6pm — Duration at the attendee’s discretion.
This is a Free Public Space event, no booking is requied.
CYCLOPS Episode XII
To mark the Ulysses Episode XII (Cyclops). In the novel, an increasingly tense debate on ‘nationalism and nationality’ takes place in Barney Kiernan’s public house.
An opportunity for the citizens of Derry and Donegal to offer their thoughts and shape a discussion around the themes of Nationalism and belonging and its place within contemporary Europe. The event will be open to the floor but the discussion will be prompted by contributions from the film-maker Lilli Kuschel (Germany), visual artist Gethan Dick (France/Ireland) and the Artistic Director of Sollus Highland Dance, Georgina Kee-McCarter (N.Ireland), and moderated by Caitriona Mullan, a specialist in EU Co-operation and Policy.
NAUSICAA Episode XIII
Imelda May: In Conversation and Performance
In a special finale to the inaugural YES 2024, Imelda May discusses in conversation her songwriting and her debut poetry collection, A Lick and A Promise, and performs an acoustic set of some of her favourite songs
The Other Arab Woman
Hanin, in collaboration with Blaagaard Teatre will perform a one woman show entitled, ‘The Other Arab Woman’, for the first time in English in a special translation for YES 2024. This challenging live theatre piece explores the physical and emotional connection of traditional clothing worn by Arab women.
Please note that this show has nudity.
To mark the Ulysses Episode XIII (Nausicaa). In the novel, this scene takes place on the coast, with the Star of the Sea church on the hill, and brings together three girl-friends, Gerty MacDowell, Cissy Caffrey and Edy Boardman.
Film screening by German filmmaker in residence, Lilli Kuschel, made during her residency in the city as a celebration of the women of Derry.
OXEN OF THE SUN Episode XIV
To mark the Ulysses Episode XIV (Oxen of the Sun). In the novel, all the men gather in the hospital waiting room while Mrs Purefoy is giving birth.
A gift of a specially crocheted blanket will be hand-delivered to the mother of whichever child is born closest to 10pm in both Altnagelvin and Letterkenny hospitals.
The design of these specially crocheted blankets is called “Call the Midwife” and have been crocheted by Deirdre Crabtree-Bailie.
CIRCE Episode XV
To mark the Ulysses Episode (Circe) which is set in Nightown, the red-light district of Dublin.
DJ Miss Trouli is a producer and club culture researcher from Athens. She is a true dancefloor aficionada. From house music essentials to seductive breaks and progressive trips, always with a dose of pop millennial nostalgia, she strives to explore a wide spectrum of club music and create sensual, dynamic environments related to desire, hedonism, femininity and togetherness.
EUMEAUS Episode XVI
To mark the Ulysses Episode XVI (Eumeaus). In the novel Bloom and Stephen visit a cabman’s shelter at Butt Bridge.
A final gathering to raise a glass at the Nora Barnacle Bar in the YES Hub, St. Columb’s Hall for artists, audiences and exhausted festival employees and attendees alike, to close the weekend.
ITHACA Episode XVII
To mark the Ulysses Episode XBII (Ithaca). In the novel, Leopold Bloom brings Stephen back to his home at 7 Eccles Street.
At the end of the first ever Molly Bloomsday, the festival audience return to their own homes.
PENELOPE Episode XVIII
To mark the Ulysses Final Episode XVIII (Penelope). Known as Molly’s Soliloquy, Molly Bloom reflects across eight very long sentences on memories of loves and times in her life.
A worldwide premiere digital release took place from 3am until dawn on Monday June 17.
All films are now avialable to watch for 8 days only
Fiona Shaw – Sentence 1 – Click here to watch
Eve Hewson – Sentence 3 – Click here to watch
Adjoa Andoh – Sentence 4 – Click here to watch
Dame Harriet Walter – Sentence 5 – Click here to watch
Siobhan McSweeney – Sentence 7 – Click here to watch