The Darlin' Dublin of James Joyce

The Darlin' Dublin of James Joyce

If Joyce fans make one pilgrimage in their lives, let it be to Dublin on June 16th for Bloomsday. June 16th, of course, is the day Leopold Bloom toured Dublin in Ulysses, and commemorative events take place all week long leading up to the big day (and night).

Grown men and women stroll the streets attired in black suits and carrying fresh bars of lemon soap in their pockets, imitating the unassuming hero of what is arguably the 20th century's greatest novel. Denounced as obscene, blasphemous, and unreadable when it was first published in 1922 (and then banned in the U.S. until 1933), this 1,000-page riff on Homer's Odyssey portrays three characters—Leopold Bloom, a Jewish ad salesman, his wife, Molly, and friend Stephen Daedelus—as they wander through Dublin during the span of one day, June 16th, 1904. Dedicated Joyceans flock to the weeklong event, now called "Bloomstime," for Bloomsday breakfasts (where they can enjoy, like Bloom himself, "grilled mutton kidneys.. which gave to his palate a fine tang of faintly scented urine"), readings, performances, and general merriment.

But don't despair if you miss Bloomsday, because you can experience the Dublin that inspired the author's novels year-round. James Joyce (1882-1941) set all his major works—Dubliners, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, Ulysses, and Finnegan's Wake—in the city where he was born and spent the first 22 years of his life. Joyce knew and remembered Dublin in such detail that he bragged (and that's the word) that if the city were destroyed, it could be rebuilt in its entirety from his written works.

Begin in the heart of the Northside, on Prince's Street, next to the GPO (General Post Office), where the office of the old and popular Freeman's Journal newspaper (published 1763-1924) was once located and where Bloom once worked. Head north up O'Connell Street down Parnell Square before turning right onto Dorset Street and then left onto Eccles Street. Leopold and Molly Bloom's fictional home stood at 7 Eccles Street, north of Parnell Square.

Head back to Dorset Street and go east. Take a right onto Gardiner Street and then a left onto Great Denmark Street and Belvedere College. Between 1893 and 1898, Joyce studied at Belvedere College (01/ 874- 3974) under the Jesuits; it's housed in a splendid 18th-century mansion. The James Joyce Centre (01/ 878- 8547 www. -jamesjoyce.ie), a few steps from Belvedere College on North Great George's Street, is the hub of Bloomsday celebrations.

Go back to Gardiner Street and then south until you come to Railway Street on your left. The site of Bella Cohen's Brothel (82 Railway St.) is in an area that in Joyce's day contained many houses of ill repute. A long walk back down O'Connell Street to the bridge and then a right will take you to Ormond Quay. On the western edge of the Northside, the New Ormond Hotel (Upper Ormond Quay 01/ 872- 1811) was an afternoon rendezvous spot for Bloom.

Across the Liffey, walk up Grafton Street to Davy Byrne's Pub (21 Duke St., 01/ 671- 1298). Here, Bloom comes to settle down for a glass of Burgundy and a Gorgonzola cheese sandwich, and meets his friend Nosey Flynn. Today, the pub has gone very upscale from its pre-World War II days, but even Joyce would have cracked a smile at the sight of the shamrock-painted ceiling and the murals of Joycean Dublin by Liam Proud.

After a stop at Davy Byrne's, proceed via Molesworth Street to the National Library —where Bloom has a near meeting with Blazes Boylan, his wife's lover. Walk up Molesworth Street until you hit Trinity. Take a right and walk to Lincoln Place. No establishment Mentioned by Joyce has changed less since his time than Sweny's Pharmacy (Lincoln Pl.), which still has its black-and-white exterior and an interior crammed with potions and vials.