A BLOOMSDAY LIKE NO OTHER FOR LOCAL FANS
COMMEMORATION GOES ON BEHIND CLOSED DOORS
IT may have even been beyond the imagination of James Joyce to predict the times in which we are living, but even a pandemic lockdown couldn’t quell the enthusiasm of local Ulysses fans on Bloomsday!
June 16th is traditionally the day people all over the world celebrate the day Joyce’s 1922 novel Ulysses takes place in 1904, the date of his first outing with his wife-to-be, Nora Barnacle, and named after its protagonist Leopold Bloom.
And this year, with its challenges, was no different for local Joycean Tony Weldon, as he took his usual commemoration behind closed doors with a handful of close friends who share his passsion for the epic tale.
“If you invite the right people, any event can be a success,” he told the Drogheda Independent with his customary aplomb. “Everyone made the effort to don the clothes and made a contribition, whether it was through stories or poetry, and even song, as Joyce was a great singer and friend to John McCormack, and could have been a professional.”
Looking especially authentic was Tony himself - who has depicted Joyce on the small and big screen - looking resplendent in his cream suit and dashing panama hat. He was chosen to play the lead character in the 2014 film Shem the Penman Sings Again is an imagined archive of the actual and much fabled, friendship of Joyce and McCormack.
The climate was truly kind to the gathering too, as the sun shone brightly on their celebrations of this extraordinary man. “The weather was magnificent, and we started at 12.30, with the traditional fry-up courtesy of my wife Marie, and the day went beautifully, thanks to my extraordinary friends,” he explains.
“We did readings, with my sister Rosaleen, who is an historian, telling me what page to read, and I sang with Bux Mulligan, with my best friend Sean Nulty supplying wonderful music.”
Tony, a former hair stylist, has a fine array of period costumes, from his own annual Bloomsday celebrations, especially authentic hats, which he is more than happy to supply to his guests, as long as they respect their heritage! “Everyone got into the spirit of it, and we practiced good social distancing throughout the day, with the exception of the one group photograph for posterity,” he explained.
“My friend Des Clinton took some fantastic photographs and it really will be one for the album this year.”
And what, pray tell, does Tony think Joyce would have made of the strange times in which we find ourselves? “He would have given it the two fingers and said ‘carry on’!