Celebrating Bloomsday in Monaco

RIVIERA BUZZ24 May, 20262 Mins read309

Bloomsday in Monaco - photo © Princess Grace Irish Library

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Join the Princess Grace Irish Library for its annual Bloomsday celebration in Monaco, a lively and elegant tribute to Ulysses, James Joyce’s modernist masterpiece.

Each June, readers around the world celebrate Bloomsday, the annual tribute to James Joyce’s literary masterpiece Ulysses. Named after Leopold Bloom, the novel’s central character, the occasion has become a cherished date in the cultural calendar for lovers of Irish literature, modernist writing and storytelling itself.

While Dublin hosts the world’s largest Bloomsday festival, with hundreds of events unfolding across the city over six days, Monaco offers its own elegant and intimate celebration through the Princess Grace Irish Library.

^{Video via Duudeabides2 on YouTube}

A Literary Afternoon on the Rock

This year’s Bloomsday gathering promises an atmospheric afternoon of music, readings and conversation in the heart of Monaco-Ville. Proceedings begin at the library on Tuesday, 16th June at 2.15 pm, before guests stroll through Monaco Ville towards the Jardins St Martin for a series of dramatic readings in a beautiful outdoor setting.

Actors from the Monaco-Ireland Arts Society will perform extracts from Ulysses, bringing Joyce’s celebrated prose vividly to life against the backdrop of the Mediterranean.

The event also offers an opportunity to discover the fascinating story behind the publication of Ulysses in 1922 by Sylvia Beach, the American expatriate bookseller in Paris whose support proved crucial to Joyce.

Programme Highlights

2.15 pm – Guests gather at the library
2.30 pm – Opening music from the library balcony followed by readings at the entrance
Place St Nicolas – Performances around the fountain
Jardins St Martin – Readings in various garden locations
Around 4 pm – Refreshments served back at the library

Ulysees by James Joyce - first edition - photo © Princess Grace Irish Library

^{Photo courtesy and © Princess Grace Irish Library}

Practical Information

Although the event begins at the Princess Grace Irish Library, much of the programme takes place outdoors in the Jardins St Martin on the Rock of Monaco. Visitors with mobility difficulties should note that parts of the walk involve steep inclines.

As temperatures can be high in June, guests are also advised to wear a hat and bring water for the afternoon stroll.

For anyone on the Côte d’Azur with an appreciation for literature, history and Irish culture, Bloomsday in Monaco remains one of the season’s most distinctive cultural gatherings.

James Joyce bust Dublin - photo © RIVIERA BUZZ

^{James Joyse bust, Dublin – photo © RIVIERA BUZZ}

About the Library

The Princess Grace Irish Library is a non-profit institution, under the aegis of the Fondation Princesse Grace in the Principality of Monaco.

It was inaugurated on 20th November 1984, by Prince Rainier III of Monaco as a tribute to his late wife Princess Grace and the attachment She felt for Ireland, the birthplace of her grandfather.

The location of the library is situated five minutes from the Prince’s Palace in the stunning, historic hôtel particulier, a former home of Comte Félix Gastaldi (1821-1906), Mayor of Monaco for 39 years.

If you would like to donate to the Princess Grace Irish Library, further details are available on the library website. All donations go directly to support the library’s mission and to support Irish writers, academics and musicians who contribute to the rich programme of events, residencies and symposia. The library also hosts young students for short and medium-term internships and engages with local schools for workshops and book readings.