June 16, 1904, is the day in Dublin for all the action described in James Joyce’s novel “Ulysses”. June 16th is celebrated as ‘Bloomsday’ in the Irish capital, and not only there. Major admirers of Joyce’s talent take to the streets on this date, many dressed in Edwardian clothes, playing scenes from the novel in the appropriate parts of the city.
On June 16, 2020, we organized a conference in Latvia – in memory of James Joyce and his “Ulysses”, and a variation on the Bloomsday festive procession in the streets of our capital, Riga. The venue of the conference was The House of Science – the academic centre of the University of Latvia.
After the conference we met for a Bloomsday’s walk from The National Library to “Paddy Wheelan’s” Irish pub guided by Mike Collier, with brief readings from “Ulysses” (in English!).
In the courtyard of the pub we were entertained by Latvian Irish dances of the studio “Ceili Rue”.
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☘️ THE AGENDA OF THE CONFERENCE, 2020 – (page)
☘️ THE SPEECH OF H.E. JIM HENNESSY – THE AMBASSADOR OF IRELAND – (youtube)
☘️ BLOOMSDAY WALK IN RIGA – JUNE 16, 2020 – (youtube)
