By Niamh Holohan
The story of Bloomsday invites your spirit and being to perpetually partake in the greatest expression of love. It is a covenant that vows to never die which has given rise to the creation of James Joyce’s epic saga; Ulysses. Bloomsday is the celebration of the love exchanged between James Joyce and Nora Barnacle. This is a testimony of their explosive, feral and inexplicable, enthralling love affair that lasted for almost four decades until Joyce’s death in Zurich on January 13th 1941. He was only in his 59th year. They were ahead of their time. Following an initial encounter on June the 10th 1904 they had a romantic liaison on June16th and that is why Ulysess is set on that day. One that Joyce wanted to be immortalized and preserved throughout the ages into eternity and he has succeeded so far. The couple eloped to the continent namely to Triest, France and Zurich a mere four months after they met. This was received with revolt, disgust disapproval and scandal. Although they remained unmarried for twenty years their relationship had more strength and passion than most marriages. In their hearts they were wed and had become one. They had two children Gorgio and Lucia. They married after twenty years for the sheer purpose of financial security in 1931.
Taxing
Nora was the bosom of Joyce’s musings. He revered her. She kept him stable although this was a taxing vocation. Joyce was troubled, and struggled throughout his life with many issues including degenerative blindness which is astonishing as he never ceased to write and his love was never blind. Whenever the couple were apart the most blazing and erotic letters were exchanged as proof of their romance and love. Nora was undoubtedly the template for the Character Molly Bloom; the wife of Leopold Bloom. Certain topics in Ulysses could only be articulated and explained from a woman’s heart. I believe that Nora offered her own feminine experience and relayed it to Joyce. Bloomsday would never have existed without the relationship or encounter of Joyce and Nora. The book certainly would not appear in its form without these two souls that are bound together inextricably. This is proof that fate will be fate and what’s meant to be will always prevail.
As I am writing this piece I gravitate to my memories – the many memories that I, like Molly Bloom had. I dwell upon the majestic moments where I touched the immortal on Bloomsday in Dublin. Dressing in the period attire, reciting Ulysses and walking in the footsteps of James Joyce, Nora Barnacle and the chief protagonists Leopold Bloom and Stephan Daedalus who is fashioned autobiographically from Joyce himself. One cannot walk the entire Ulyssess Voyage or ‘the Joycean Camino’ as I like to call it. It is glorious to be a part of the breakfast scene in Martello tower in Sandycove as morning sets the opening chapter every Bloomsday. Or to venture with Leopold Bloom for his Lemon soap in Sweeny’s Chemist in Licoln Place. A spot of Lunch in Davy Byrnes ‘moral pub’ might repulse you if you opt for Bloom’s Lunch which is Burgundy wine, with gorgonzola cheese and mustard on sliced bread. It’s a bit of an acquired taste much like his breakfast of kidney which ‘he ate with relish’ in Eccles street in the second part of the novel.
We could journey through the book together but the Molly Bloom stream of consciousness that is set in the early hours of the morning is beautifully crafted, exquisite, contemplative, bizarre, obscene.
Youth
She dwells on every conceivable theme – the loss of a child, love, infidelity, anxiety and fleeting thoughts of the everyday and her past where she was a flower of the mountain reminiscing on her own preponderances with a dynamic explosion with which she draws you in ‘the sun shines for you’. This is the dialogue she revisits from her youth; her day on Howth head when Bloom proposed to her. This is perhaps my favorite chapter of the book. Not because the night sets in or because it is the last, but because it is the greatest expression of love and honesty. It makes you think and it is vivid and real. There is much to say about Bloomsday. That is why it is celebrated every year throughout the globe. There are links to Kilkenny through Joyce. Fonsie Mealy auctioneers at Castlecomer sold a rare first edition copy of Ulysees ..
Bloomsday is the greatest celebration of a love. It is extended to all be it in Dublin, Paris, Berlin or Kilkenny. This year marks its 122nd year. It is a spectacular timeless affair that will continue to bloom year after year which is its promise. It will live in our hearts and inspire many more generations long into the future. It invites us to say yes I will be like Molly Bloom. And by seizeing every day, we should arise and be thankful to find the extraordinary in our lives for that is its integral message.
Niamh Holohan’s educational background is in journalism and the humanities and has long been a lover of the writing of James Joyce. Bloomsday is very close to her heart.
