‘Yes I will Yes’ – Edinburgh marks Bloomsday

Consul General Bourne hosted an event in the Consulate to mark Bloomsday – the date on which the events of James Joyce’s renowned novel Ulysses take place across Dublin.

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Guests gathered to discuss the book and its legacy in the presence of a special exhibition on Joyce developed by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

The evening also featured readings of excerpts from Ulysses by special guests.

CG Bourne introduced the evening and the speakers, with Hayden Murphy reading 18-self-composed couplets reflecting on the novel.

BBC journalist Brian Taylor read from the first chapter, regaling everyone with Stephen Dedalus’s frustration and Buck Mulligan’s detailed shaving, looking out over the snotgreen sea.

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Author Bernard MacLaverty introduced the principal character of Leopold Bloom and his machinations on his cat and his breakfast.

Professor John Coyle of the University of Glasgow brought to life the famous lunch scene, where Bloom eats his gorgonzola sandwich and drinks burgundy, distracted by Nosey Flynn.

The penultimate reader was author Ian Rankin, on the conversation about Ireland and the world between Bloom and Dedalus in late evening.

Finally, the actress Anne O’Neill spoke Molly Bloom’s soliloquy, dancing around fleeting thoughts of everyday life and memories of her husband.

See more pictures from the night.