James Joyce fans to attempt Bloomsday record
Joycean scholars will step back in time today, to June 16, 1904, to be precise.
Each year on Bloomsday fans of Irish writer James Joyce pay tribute to the main character from his most famous work of fiction, Ulysses.
Ulysses by James Joyce chronicles the passage of Leopold Bloom through Dublin during an ordinary day, June 16, 1904.
The date held special significance for Joyce not as a writer but as a husband as it was the day of his first date with his future wife, Nora Barnacle.
As part of the festivities this year, readings from the work will take place around the country including one by the wife of the President Sabina Higgins.
Other events include the recreation of scenes from the book even down to the food Bloom ate and the clothes on his back.
A modern twist this year will be a record attempt in Dun Laoghaire for the biggest number of James Joyce lookalikes.
The only irony is that Bloomsday was never a term used by Joyce himself.
It was invented on the 50th anniversary of the novel, when critic John Ryan and the novelist Brian O'Nolan organised a day-long pilgrimage along the Ulysses route.
