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TR: Solo in DUBLIN for BLOOMSDAY, an Irish literary odyssey

TR: Solo in DUBLIN for BLOOMSDAY, an Irish literary odyssey

Old Jun 21st, 2015, 03:39 AM
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TR: Solo in DUBLIN for BLOOMSDAY, an Irish literary odyssey

BLOOMSDAY - Does it ring a bell? Leopold Bloom is the hero of James Joyce's (1882-1941) inscrutable, controversial novel ULYSSES whose publication was delayed for many years on both sides of the Atlantic because of obscenity issues. The adventures of "Everyman" Bloom are centered in Dublin on one day, June 16, 1904. Innumerable characters and places are referenced in the narrative which Joyce enthusiasts commemorate and revisit in Dublin each year on Bloomsday, and in many other cities throughout the world.

Joyce fled Ireland on a self-imposed exile to the Continent as a young man, yet he continued to choose Dublin as the setting for his fiction throughout his life. Indeed, James Joyce would be stunned to learn that his legacy has become a cottage industry in his native city after his death. Hundreds don Edwardian dress or straw boaters and quote spontaneously from the text to re-create the spirit of ULYSSES on June 16 and the week preceding that date.

WHY: To participate in the fun and frolic of Bloomsday activities, to explore those venues associated with other Irish writers, and to visit those museums/sites of artistic and historical interest in Dublin.

WHEN: Wednesday, June 10 - Wednesday, June 17, 2015

WHERE: Buswells Hotel in central Dublin, with short jaunts to Howth to the north, and Dun Laoghaire and Sandymount to the south of Dublin Bay.

WEATHER: fantastic, cool at times, but I did not open the brully once in seven days.

IRELAND - THE PREQUEL: I have been here before in body and spirit. My maternal grandparents "came out" from Ballinaheglish, Roscommon around 1889 to Lynn, Massachusetts. My grandfather paid for their passage with gold coins he won shearing sheep. My mother, born in the US, was steeped in the traditions and prejudices of the Irish Catholic immigrants which she passed on to me. Some twenty years ago I took my first trip to Europe - a week's bus tour to Ireland with my two young adult daughters. We loved it.

A theme in my mother's stories was one of longing to revisit "the old country" which was beyond the her parents' means. A few years after my first trip, I toured Northern Ireland with a friend enjoying the beauties of the Antrim coast, Donegal, and Belfast. In the late 90s the North was just opening up to tourists. Our guide warned us, "Do NOT take any pictures of military facilities" of which there were many. The "Troubles" were not that long over. I recall thinking, "OMG, my mother would never believe that I was in Northern Ireland."

Then in the summers of 2002 and 2003 I went to the gorgeous west of Ireland with my cousin MJ whose husband's family have a farm in a remote part of Galway. Serendipitously, that property was only about a 20 minute drive from my ancestral seat in Roscommon. We went there, scoured the cemetery where I found the headstones of by forebears, and bought an intriguing book about the history of the parish in the local pub. It felt like home.

On these earlier jaunts I had only passed through Dublin, so I decided to explore the city after these many years, focusing on BLOOMSDAY and Ireland's literary traditions ...
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Old Jun 21st, 2015, 04:13 AM
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Historical note: Sylvia Plath married Ted Hughes in London on Bloomsday,
16 June 1956. Almost 60 years ago.
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Old Jun 21st, 2015, 04:51 AM
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I am so looking forward to your Bloomsday adventure.
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Old Jun 21st, 2015, 04:52 AM
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Hi 29FEB,

Thanks for that historical note about Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes marrying on BLOOMSDAY. Didn't know that. Someday I hope to stroll up to Primrose Hill in Regents Park near where this unhappy couple lived in London.
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Old Jun 21st, 2015, 06:02 AM
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Hi FLPAB, glad to have you along - it was a great trip.
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Old Jun 21st, 2015, 06:34 AM
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Ah good -- I've been waiting for this!
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Old Jun 21st, 2015, 07:48 AM
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Signing up for this.
Did you see a recent thread about Irish literature? I think it was on Fodor's but cant find it....
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Old Jun 21st, 2015, 10:06 AM
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FRA, "I've been waiting for this!" Wow, I am flattered.
Weren't you working on FINNEGAN'S WAKE? Now, that is ambitious!

GERTIE, welcome aboard. I enjoyed your report of Eastern Europe. Are you another solo traveler?

I did see a thread about Yeats so must revisit it...
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Old Jun 21st, 2015, 10:35 AM
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Found it! No thanks to the search function though.


http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...than-joyce.cfm
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Old Jun 21st, 2015, 10:50 AM
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Latedaytraveler

My maternal great grandparents came from farm country West of Dublin - Mullingar - now a mere 45 miles and a bedroom/commute town; back then a world away from the "big city". Saw the play here in the Chicago area in March and loved it - total déjà vu of my growing up years with the Victorian/Irish, in our case Protestant, traditions, mannerisms and humor.

My son and I did a week's tour of Ireland 12 years ago and made sure to view the statue of James Joyce and tour his house. Then, 10 years ago I invited son, future daughter-in-law, daughter (who was early in her pregnancy with my first grand son) and son-in-law to Ireland for a week's visit. I rented a town house in Temple Bar (never again, noisy and possibly haunted) through the Irish Heritage Foundation and during the week's exploring we took the train to Mullingar to spend the day strolling and seeing that colorful little town. As it happened, my son proposed to his future wife one evening as they walked across the Ha'penny Bridge. All in all, it was a memorable and precious time.

Marvelous to read of your Irish adventures. Looking forward to more!
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Old Jun 21st, 2015, 12:34 PM
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Hi again GERTIE,

Thanks for the link to the literary thread. I browsed through it earlier but will re - read. I think there was also one on Yeats to which I responded in the Lounge.

TRAVELCHAT,

"Saw the play here in the Chicago area in March and loved it - total déjà vu of my growing up years with the Victorian/Irish, in our case Protestant, traditions, mannerisms and humor." What play would that be? I did see SHADOW OF A GUNMAN this time at the Abbey.

Thank you for sharing your lovely memories of Ireland with your family. And kudos on becoming a grandmother...
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Old Jun 21st, 2015, 02:04 PM
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Who knew there were west of Ireland connections here on Fodors. My mother is from a small hamlet outside of Castlerea in Roscommon! I was there in November for a cousins wedding, all family so no trip report, looking forward to hearing more about your trip, I'm off to Dublin this Tuesday...

Latedaytraveller - Would you recommend the current show at the Abbey?
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Old Jun 21st, 2015, 02:59 PM
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WTB, welcome back after your recent detour.

I believe we went through Castlerae - the name rings a bell. Small world. What was your mother's maiden name? My mother's was Boland as mentioned above. We even think there may be some connection to the patriot HARRY BOLAND whose family came from South Roscommon. Who knows?

"Would you recommend the current show at the Abbey?" Hard to say, I enjoyed it, but then I am no critic of drama. I did not catch all of the dialogue because of (what we call) the brogue.

My only observation was that the "gunman," presumably the romantic lead, was a bit old for the part. But the play touches on so many aspects of Irish life and was very controversial when first presented.
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Old Jun 21st, 2015, 03:34 PM
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Oops- I was referring to John Patrick Shanley's play "Outside Mullingar", opened on Broadway recently, briefly in Chicago in the Spring. He's known for writing the screen plays for "Doubt" and "Moonstruck". He comes from a small town just outside Mullingar.

Actually, I now have three young grandsons at this point. How time does fly!

Enjoying this thread!
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Old Jun 21st, 2015, 05:51 PM
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Hi TRAVELCHAT,

I am not familiar with "Outside Mullingar" so I must check the play out.

Thanks for following along...
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Old Jun 22nd, 2015, 01:23 AM
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WEDNESDAY, JUNE 10 - exploring the neighborhood, the LITTLE MUSEUM OF IRELAND, a LITERARY PUB CRAWL

We landed in Dublin Airport just after 8 AM. I had booked a shared ride with WORLD AIRPORT TRANSFERS, but was not sure that my purchase had gone through. Nevertheless, my smiling driver Sean greeted me at arrivals, so it all worked out well. An alternative would have been the popular blue AIRCOACH bus into the city for €6 which stopped near my hotel.

I stayed seven nights at BUSWELLS HOTEL, for about € 212 per day for a single with breakfast. One of the oldest hotels in the city, it consists of a series of Georgian townhouses. LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION - a quiet neighborhood, directly across from LEINSTER HOUSE (Irish parliament) and the national museums on Molesworth Street, equidistant between TRINITY COLLEGE and ST. STEPHEN'S GREEN. Could it be any better? Buswells has been highly recommended on this board and on tripadvisor.

http://www.buswells.ie/?r=3708003&gc...FUsXHwodHnUAGA

More good news - my room was ready so I went directly to bed and awakened at 3 PM, freshened up, and left to explore the neighborhood. The weather was delightful. Turning down Molesworth Street, I took a left onto Dawson Street, passing the elegant MANSION HOUSE erected in 1715, home to the Lord Mayors of Dublin. Some important looking people were going in and out of Mansion House as I strolled by. Not sure if it is ever opened to the public, but this video gives a quick overview of the building and its history.

http://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-s...ouse-1.2068451

My destination was the LITTLE MUSEUM OF DUBLIN at 15 St. Stephen's Green and the corner of Dawson Street, steps from the toney Shelbourne Hotel. Opened in 2011, this Georgian townhouse showcases Dublin life in the 20th century with artifacts donated mostly by the public.

Exhibits are displayed chronologically. A few highlights include the 1916 Rising, the visit of JFK, memorabilia of the poet Christy Brown and various Irish rock stars, and a pictorial review of nationalist politician and longtime mayor ALFIE BYRNE (1882- 1956) known as the "shaking hand of Dublin."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Li...nt_room_lo.jpg

Tours through the three floors of exhibits are given every hour, on the hour. Very enjoyable and informative. I then visited the cafe on the lower level, a true "Irish kitchen."

http://www.hatchandsons.co/

Later I sauntered over to the DUKE PUB on nearby Duke Street to join the LITERARY PUB TOUR (€ 12) which starts at 7:30 PM. I got one of the last tickets - I recommend booking ahead this summer since Europe is swarming with tourists, myself among them. The performance starts upstairs in the Duke where participants, glass in hand, are welcomed and treated to excerpts from various Irish greats.

http://www.dublinpubcrawl.com/

That evening a fellow and gal performed a sizable chunk of SAMUEL BECKETT'S (1906-1989) existential, tragi-comic drama WAITING FOR GODOT. Well done. Then the actress did a snippet of Mollie Bloom's sensuous soliloquy from the last chapter of James's ULYSSES which concludes (in recollecting her early love for her husband Leopold):

"...first I put my arms around him yes and drew him down to me so he could feel my breasts all perfume yes and his heart was going like mad and yes I said yes I will Yes."

I would hear that fragment many times over during Bloomsday festivities.

From the Duke, our leader/actor Colm shepherded us through the hallowed grounds of TRINITY COLLEGE, established in 1592 for the sons of the Protestant Ascendancy. He declaimed the eloquence of the statesman EDMUND BURKE (1729-1797) and the poet/novelist OLIVER GOLDSMITH (1728-1774) whose statues grace the entrance to Trinity.

Then Colm did a parody of the flamboyant poet/playwright OSCAR WILDE (1854-1900), reading a letter Wilde had written from a mining town in Colorado highlighting frontier naiveté in America. More contemporary Trinity grads, including Beckett and the poet Eavan Boland (b. 1944), were also quoted. The latter poet interests me since my mother's family from Roscommon were named Boland.

In need of refreshment, our next stop was O'Neill's famous Victorian Pub around the corner. Boy, did their carvery and sandwich bar look enticing! O'Neill's is a labyrinth of dark oak bars - so authentic.

http://www.oneillsbar.com/food/daily-menu

Leaving O'Neill's, we moved outside near the Molly Malone statue where Colm assumed the voice of Irish trade union leader JAMES LARKIN (1876-1947) who led the Dublin "Lockout" of 1913. At that point another actor emerged from the crowd. Together he and Colm recreated the labor tensions of the period. Very effective.

From there we proceeded back to Duke Street to the iconic DAVY BRYNES PUB where Leopold Bloom stops for his gorgonzola sandwich and glass of burgundy in ULYSSES, thus immortalizing the premises. I must say that my first impression of the establishment was unimpressive. Obviously, the interior had been renovated decades ago with chrome countertops and stools, losing the luster of 1904. I changed my mind a few days later though.

Having had only one beverage on this jaunt, I decided to return to the bar at Buswells for a nightcap. It had been a promising first day in Dublin...
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Old Jun 22nd, 2015, 02:07 AM
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Sounds like a lot of fun, incidentally I visited Goldsmith's grave behind Temple church in London a few weeks ago.
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Old Jun 22nd, 2015, 02:53 AM
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Hi again, WTB,

"...incidentally I visited Goldsmith's grave behind Temple church in London a few weeks ago." Interesting.

Let's just say that this literary pub crawl offered more than I had expected. My sense was that Colm's narration may have been a bit more than some wanted, but I enjoyed every minute.
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Old Jun 22nd, 2015, 08:26 AM
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Your literary pub crawl sounds exactly the same as the one we did a few years ago. I thought it was the best I had ever done... and there have been a few! Good that you enjoyed it so much.
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Old Jun 22nd, 2015, 11:08 AM
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GERTIE,

Agree, this literary pub tour was much "deeper" than I expected. And the part about Jim Larkin at the end provided an extra political/historic dimension.
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