Celebrating the 111th Anniversary of Bloomsday

For millions of people, June 16 is an extraordinary day. On that day, 111 years ago in 1904, two residents of Dublin, Ireland, Stephen Dedalus and Leopold Bloom, embarked on their epic converging journeys through the city. Their travels and adventures, both real and imagined, were memorialized in James Joyce's masterpiece, Ulysses, the world's most highly acclaimed modern novel. "Bloomsday," named after Leopold Bloom himself, has become a tradition for Joyce enthusiasts all over the world from Tokyo to Sydney, San Francisco to Buffalo, Trieste to Paris, Sarasota to Miami. Dozens of  cities around the globe hold their own Bloomsday festivities

That's Mary Ann Kerr and Ollie Kerr, playing Molly and Leopold Bloom.

Miami-Dade County will join these cities in observing the Bloomsday 111th Anniversary Celebration with a great event in Coral Gables on Tuesday, June 16. The Celebration will begin at 6 pm at The Coral Gables Museum, 285 Aragon Avenue.

The talented and popular singer, instrumentalist and songwriter Paddy Kelleghan will tell stories of his native Dublin and sing favorite songs of his youth in Dublin. Next Patrick A. McCarthy, Professor of English at The University of Miami and Editor of the James Joyce Literary Supplement, will provide commentary on Ulysses and read his favorite passages from the novel.

The audience is encouraged to come in costume, reminiscent of the 1900 to 1920 era. Bowler hats, waistcoats, stiff collared shirts, dressy hats, flapper dresses and frocks are all welcome. If you do not want to dress up, come anyway.

After the reading, there will be a short odyssey, led by a bagpiper and drummer around the block to John Martin's Restaurant & Irish Pub for the Bloomsday Feast with a special menu and low prices.

Admission to the Bloomsday Celebration is free and open to all. Plenty of parking is available on Miracle Mile and in the City Garage on Aragon Avenue. The South Florida Emerald Society, Inc. and the St. Patrick’s Day Festival Committee, Inc.  sponsor Bloomsday for your enjoyment.

For further information, please call 305-271-2696.