About
Bloomsday gets turned on its head looking North and going female. A revealing and revelling in the streets of Derry~Londonderry and the wild landscape of north-east Donegal. A hundred years on, Ireland gets its first ever Molly ~ Bloomsday as the final day of the inaugural YES 2024.
18 bespoke events from 8:00am Sunday 16th June to 3:00am Monday 17th June that transpose the Ulysses 18 episodes to Ireland’s north-west.
Episode I: TELEMACHUS
8:00am - 9:00am / An Grianán of Aileach / Free / Bus Ticket Required
The Henry Girls
Breakfast at An Grianán of Aileach - To mark the Ulysses Episode I (Telemachus). In the novel 3 young male students breakfast at the Martello Tower in Sandymount and are visited by an old woman selling milk.
A free bus will leave from Derry~Londonderry’s Foyle Street at 07.40 for An Grianán of Aileach.
Return bus will depart An Grianán at 09.15 with destination Fountain Primary School and stopping on route at ARC Fitness on Bay Road.
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/free-bus-ticket-for-breakfast-at-an-grainan-of-aileach-molly-bloomsday-tickets-904965956537?aff=oddtdtcreator
Episode II: NESTOR
10:00am - 10:45am / Fountain Primary School / Free / Ticket Required
Women in Unionism Debate - In the Nestor episode of Ulysses, history is viewed as being all around us, our perception of it changing regularly whilst also taking place before our eyes. In a discussion involving two women panellists and a chairwomen, the role of history is considered in the context of Unionism and Orangeism today.
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/women-in-unionism-debate-tickets-892727551137?aff=oddtdtcreator
Episode III: PROTEUS
11:00am - 11:45am / Lisfannon Strand / Free / Ticket Required
Annemarie Ní Churreáin (poet-guide)
A Sunday morning stroll across the spectacular beach at Lisfannon to celebrate the poetry and creative inspirations of Donegal poet Annemarie Ní Churreáin. To mark the Ulysses Episode III (Proteus). Stephen walks on Sandymount Strand pondering his future and witnesses two cockle pickers.
A free bus will leave from the Fountain Primary School at 10.40am for Lisfannon Beach and depart Lisfannon at 11.45am stopping at Hades 12.00pm and on to the YES Hub for 12.10pm.
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/a-proteus-poetry-walk-on-lisfannon-strand-with-annemarie-ni-churreain-tickets-892759205817?aff=oddtdtcreator
Episode IV: CALYPSO
8:00am - 9:00am / Your Own Home
YES 2024 will publish a list of ingredients mentioned in Molly’s soliloquy by her in Episode XVIII, the food she liked to eat, so that everyone across Donegal and Derry create their own individual Molly Breakfast recipes.To mark the Ulysses Episode IV (Calypso). In the novel Leopold Bloom shops for breakfast and makes breakfast in bed for his wife Molly Bloom..
Episode V: THE LOTUS EATERS
10:00am - 11:00am / ARC Fitness / Free / Ticket Required
ARC Fitness cultivates hope and fosters a supportive community for individuals impacted by substance use, empowering them to embrace and reach their fullest potential. To mark the Ulysses Episode V (Lotus Eaters). In the novel, life’s drugs and addictions are discussed.
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/arc-fitness-molly-bloomsday-tickets-904984171017?aff=oddtdtcreator
Episode VI: HADES
11:00am - 12:00pm / Derry City Cemetery / Free / Ticket Required
Mary-Anne McNulty (tour guide)
Dialogue with the Dead - Mary-Anne McNulty uncovers a rich & varied tapestry of remarkable women, often unsung heroes, interred in Derry’s cemetery. To mark the Ulysses Episode VI (Hades). In the novel, this scene is set at Glasnevin Cemetery for the funeral of Paddy Dignam.
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/dialogue-with-the-dead-mary-anne-mcnulty-tour-guide-tickets-892950828967?aff=oddtdtcreator
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11:00am - 11:30am / Church Bastion (City Walls) / Free / Ticket Required
Susie Garvey-Williams, other actors TBC
Penelope by Marina Carr - A reading by two actors of Marina Carr’s exchange of letters between Molly Bloom and James Joyce, in which she upbraids Joyce for his depiction of her in Ulysses.
Episode VII: AEOLUS
12:15pm - 1:30pm / YES Hub, St. Columb's Hall / £10 / Ticket Required
Orla Guerin and Marion McKeone, chaired by Miriam O’Callaghan
NO ORDINARY WOMEN: Women & Media - A panel discussion which explores the role of women in today’s media and the challenges they may face. Participants include the award-winning foreign correspondents Orla Guerin and Marion McKeone and is chaired by RTE’s Miriam O’Callaghan. To mark the Ulysses Episode VII (Aeolus). This episode takes place in the offices of the Freeman’s Journal and Evening Telegraph.
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/women-media-no-ordinary-women-tickets-891768522657?aff=oddtdtcreator
Episode VIII: LESTRYGONIANS
12:00pm - 7:00pm / Guildhall Square / No Ticket Required
A Legenderry Lystrogonians Lunch - All Molly Bloomsians are invited to complete the first part of Molly Bloomsday with a visit to Derry’s highly acclaimed street food vendors in the city’s central Guildhall Square. To mark the Ulysses Episode VIII (Lestrygonians). In this episode, Bloom sits down for lunch with a glass of white burgundy and a gorgonzola sandwich.
Episode IX: SCYLIA & CHARYBDIS
2:00pm - 2:50pm / Little Acorns Bookstore, Great James Street / Free / Ticket Required
Niamh Hargan
Sweet Sweet Sin - The festival has commissioned Niamh Hargan to explore romance from a young woman’s point of view, echoing the youth of Ophelia in the play. Niamh will read a short piece that she has written specially for the event and discuss how the theme of romance has played out in her fiction. To mark the Ulysses Episode IX (Scylla & Charybdis). In the novel, Stephen gives a lecture on Hamlet in the National Library.
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/sweet-sweet-sin-molly-bloomsday-tickets-892960267197?aff=oddtdtcreator
Episode X: WANDERING ROCKS
3:00pm - 4:00pm / The Derry Walls / Free / No Ticket Required
8 marching bands from the two traditions and from both sides of the border parade in succession on Derry’s Walls in a display of co-existence, the theme inspired by the Wandering Rocks episode for the city of Istanbul in the ULYSSES European Odyssey project.To mark the Ulysses Episode X (Wandering Rocks). It consists of a series of min-episodes in the novel, involving a range of characters across Dublin.
Episode XI: SIRENS
4:00pm - 6:00pm / Ebrington Square / Free / No Ticket Required
SIRENSCIRCUS - Ebrington Square will become an outdoor concert hall of up to 200 musicians in American composer’s John Cage’s Musicircus, bringing together all the sounds written by Joyce in his Sirens episode. To mark the Ulysses Episode XI (Sirens). An episode set in the Ormond Hotel and presented by Joyce as a sound-world.
Episode XII: CYCLOPS
5:00pm - 6:00pm / Memorial Hall / Free / Ticket Required
The Citizens' Debate - A panel will offer initial thoughts on themes around Nationalism and belonging and its place within contemporary Europe but primarily this event will be opened to the floor, to the citizens of Derry and Donegal to offer their thoughts and shape the discussion. To mark the Ulysses Episode XII (Cyclops). In the novel, an increasingly tense debate on ‘nationalism and nationality’ takes place in Barney Kiernan’s public house.
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-citizens-debate-molly-bloomsday-tickets-893071098697?aff=oddtdtcreator
Episode XIII: NAUSICAA
To mark the Ulysses Episode XIII (Nausicaa). In the novel, this scene takes place on the coast, with the Star of the Sea church on the hill, and brings together three girl-friends, Gerty MacDowell, Cissy Caffrey and Edy Boardman.
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9.30pm – 10.30pm / Volta Cinema, St Columb’s Hall / Free / Ticket Required
Lilli Kuschel
Film screening by German filmmaker in residence, Lilli Kuschel, made during her residency in the city as a celebration of the women of Derry.
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7:30pm / Millennium Forum / ~£26.50 / Ticket Required
Imelda May
O Rocks! - In a special finale to the inaugural YES 2024, Imelda May discusses in conversation her songwriting and her debut poetry collection, A Lick and A Promise, and performs an acoustic set of some of her favourite songs.
https://www.millenniumforum.co.uk/shows/imelda-may/
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8:00pm - 9:00pm / Balor Arts Centre, Ballybofey / ~£5.58 / Ticket Required
Hanin Georgis
The Other Arab Woman - Hanin, in collaboration with Blaagaard Teatre will perform a one woman show entitled, ‘The Other Arab Woman’, for the first time in English in a special translation for YES 2024. This challenging live theatre piece explores the physical and emotional connection of traditional clothing worn by Arab women.
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-other-arab-woman-the-sixteen-nations-balor-tickets-904841163277?aff=oddtdtcreator
Episode XIV: OXEN OF THE SUN
10:00pm / Altnagelvin and Letterkenny Hospitals
A gift will be hand-delivered to the mother of whichever child is born closest to 10pm in both Altnagelvin and Letterkenny hospitals.To mark the Ulysses Episode XIV (Oxen of the Sun). In the novel, all the men gather in the hospital waiting room while Mrs Purefoy is giving birth.
Episode XV: CIRCE
10:00pm - Closing Time (~Midnight) / The Guildhall Taphouse / Free / No Ticket Required
DJ Miss Trouli is a producer and club culture researcher from Athens. She is a true dancefloor aficionada. From house music essentials to seductive breaks and progressive trips, always with a dose of pop millennial nostalgia, she strives to explore a wide spectrum of club music and create sensual, dynamic environments related to desire, hedonism, femininity and togetherness. To mark the Ulysses Episode (Circe) which is set in Nightown, the red-light district of Dublin.
Episode XVI: EUMEAUS
10:00pm - 1:00am / YES Hub, St Columb's Cathedral / Free / No Ticket Required
A final gathering to raise a glass at the Nora Barnacle Bar in the YES Hub, St. Columb’s Hall for artists, audiences and exhausted festival employees and attendees alike, to close the weekend. To mark the Ulysses Episode XVI (Eumeaus). In the novel Bloom and Stephen visit a cabman’s shelter at Butt Bridge.
Episode XVII: ITHACA
2:00am / Your Own Home
At the end of the first ever Molly Bloomsday, the festival audience return to their own homes. To mark the Ulysses Episode XBII (Ithaca). In the novel, Leopold Bloom brings Stephen back to his home at 7 Eccles Street.
Episode XVIII: PENELOPE
4:48am / Digital Release / No Ticket Required
A world-wide digital release will take place of all of The Molly Films in succession, 1-8, with all 8 female actors. To mark the Ulysses Final Episode XVIII (Penelope). Known as Molly’s Soliloquy, Molly Bloom reflects across eight very long sentences on memories of loves and times in her life.
