Each year on June 16, literature lovers around the world celebrate Bloomsday — a tribute to James Joyce’s modernist masterpiece Ulysses. The novel follows Leopold Bloom, Stephen Dedalus and Molly Bloom across one ordinary, yet extraordinary day in Dublin in 1904.
DATES & DEETS
- 16 JUN
- Worldwide
- www.bloomsdayfestival.ie
From Molly Bloom’s famous soliloquy to Bloom’s meandering thoughts and encounters, Ulysses has become a literary pilgrimage for readers, writers, and academics alike. On June 16, fans step into Joyce’s world through public readings, performances, and other festivities that honour the rich language and structure of the novel.
And while Dublin may be the spiritual home of Bloomsday, Australia is fast becoming one of its liveliest outposts — with events popping up across the country in 2025.
Circe’s Carnival of Vice is a new theatrical production by Bloomsday in Melbourne, diving into the hallucinatory “Circe” episode of Ulysses. It runs from June 11– 22 at fortyfivedownstairs. There will also be a Bloomsday Seminar and Lunch in Melbourne with scholarly talks, conversation, and food. It takes place on Saturday, June 14 at Swiss Club of Victoria. For further info, go to bloomsdayinmelbourne.org.au.
In Sydney this year, there is a whole Bloomsday festival taking place, titled Bloomfest. The Bloomfest Festival Launch, presented by Prankqueans, was held at Waverley Library, Denison Street, Bondi Junction, on Friday, May 30.
On Friday, June 13, at 7pm, the Bloomfest Joycean Soirée, James Joyce’s Feisty Females, will be presented by Prankqueans at Gertrude & Alice, Hall Street, Bondi Beach.
A Bloomfest Re-enactment of Paddy Dignam’s Funeral and Wake will be presented by Prankqueans on Saturday, 14 June. The Funeral will be held at 3.30pm at Waverley Cemetery, and the Wake, at 6pm at The Gaelic Club.
On Sunday, June 15, at 5.30pm, there will be a Bloomfest Closing Concert presented by Prankqueans at High Tide Room, Bondi Pavilion.
For tickets, go to prankqueans.com.
Canberra Irish Club invites you to their celebration featuring music and songs about Dublin. Bloomsday Beats & Ballads brings you an evening of Irish music, spoken word, and pub vibes. Celebrate Dublin, storytelling, and the rhythm of the city.
It will be held on Monday, 16 June from 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM at Canberra Irish Club, 6 Parkinson Street, Weston ACT 2611. Book now at www.trybooking.com.
Adelaide Irish Club will gather for Bloomsday at the clubhouse on Sunday, June 15th. The Club shared: “We have had some wonderful days celebrating the works of James Joyce at the club and this year we shall do the same with our next Gathering. Come and join us to celebrate Bloomsday in the clubroom on Sunday June 15th from 3pm for some great readings from Ulysses. If you feel like sharing some of your favourite readings, we would love to share them with you. Bring a plate, grab a drink from the bar and settle for another great afternoon. Doors open 3pm, admission free.”
For more information, go to Adelaide Irish Club’s Facebook page.
In Queensland, Bloomsday in Brisbane in Queen Street Mall will feature lunchtime readings and live Irish music, hosted by the Queensland Irish Association.
It takes place on Monday, June 16, at 12:30pm at the Queen Street Mall Stage. Further information from facebook.com/QldIrish.
In Toowoomba, the Bloomsday Reading and Lunch 2025 will be held on Sunday, 15th June from 11.30am. It will take place at James Joyce Seat, Railway Street. For details, go to www.darlingdownsirishclub.org.au.
The James Joyce Seat was placed in Federation Park in 2004, a gift to the city from the Darling Downs Irish Club. It contains a brick from a Dublin house occupied by Joyce.
The inscription on the seat includes a quote from Ulysses that refers to the Irish people who emigrated en masse: “Would the departed never nowhere nohow reappear? Ever he would wander, selfcompelled, to the extreme limit of his cometary orbit, beyond the fixed stars and variable suns and telescopic planets, astronomical waifs and strays, to the extreme boundary of space, passing from land to land, among peoples, amid events. Somewhere imperceptibly he would hear and somehow reluctantly, suncompelled, obey the summons of recall” Ulysses, James Joyce (1882-1941).
Anglo&Celtic 