Bloomsday – Jun. 16, 2027

Expected Bloomsday Deals

For Bloomsday, expect independent bookstores and literary societies to offer special promotions on James Joyce’s works and related Irish literature. Look for discounts from online retailers like Barnes & Noble and Bookshop.org, as well as local indie shops. Cultural institutions and Irish pubs may host themed events, readings, and special menus. Keep an eye out for university presses such as Oxford University Press and Princeton University Press to feature academic texts or new editions of modernist literature. Dubray Books in Ireland often has special displays. We will update this page with confirmed live deals as June 16 approaches.

History of Bloomsday

The first mention of a Bloomsday celebration was found in a letter written by Joyce himself to Miss Weaver in 1924, which refers to “a group of people who observed what they call Bloom’s Day on June 16.” The story was originally serialized in parts in the American journal, “The Little Review,” where the events in “Ulysses” tend to parallel that of Homer’s epic, “The Odyssey.” While in “The Odyssey” Odysseus has a 10-year journey home to his wife, Penelope, in contrast, the story of Leopold Bloom is about him trying to avoid going home to his wife. Although the story does not contain mythical gods, goddesses, or sirens, it does follow an average man dealing with everyday life in what can be described as somewhat grotesque realism. “Ulysses” has, on the one hand, been called “the most prominent landmark in modernist literature,” a work where life’s complexities are depicted with “unprecedented, and unequaled, linguistic and stylistic virtuosity” by T.S. Eliot and, on the other hand, “a heap of dung, crawling with worms, photographed by a cinema camera through a microscope” by Virginia Woolf. It has been reinterpreted in a number of different ways across the world and still is referenced as a classic piece of literature that cannot be forgotten. 

While the fictional June 16, 1904, follows the dysfunctional life of the character, Leopold Bloom, the day in James Joyce’s life was quite a pleasant one. It was the first outing he went on with his future muse and wife, Nora Barnacle, with whom he shared a loving and passionate relationship throughout his life.

Famous artist John Ryan and popular novelist Brian O’Nolan came together to organize the first official Bloomsday back in 1954. They celebrated the day in Dublin by taking a pilgrimage along the routes mentioned in “Ulysses.” They were accompanied by James Joyce’s cousin, his brother Tom Joyce, and Patrick Kavanagh. A.J. Leventhal and Anthony Cronin also joined the journey as they were the ones steering the two horse-drawn carriages inside which the rest of the group were sitting.

Every member was assigned a character from the novel and they all participated in a sort of role-playing. A.J. Levanthal portrayed Leopold Bloom, Brian O’Nolan portrayed Simon Dedalus, John Ryan portrayed Martin Cunningham and Anthony Cronin portrayed Stephen Dedalus.

Starting from Martello Tower, their plan was to end at Nighttown just as it has been described in the novel. Sadly, they didn’t complete the pilgrimage and cut it short at the midpoint due to them all getting too drunk to even take a step further. 

Since that day, National Bloomsday has been celebrated as one of the biggest festivals in Ireland and is also commemorated all over the world by Joyce enthusiasts.

How Businesses Can Celebrate Bloomsday