Bloomsday celebration in Riga
News
19 June 2022
To celebrate Bloomsday and the 100th anniversary of Ulysses by James Joyce, the Embassy organised the first Bloomsday Bike Ride and Picnic in Riga.
This was also our third event in the series "Women and Literature" aiming to highlight Irish women writers and Irish literature in Latvia in partnership with Literature Ireland and with support of Roberts Books and the National Library of Latvia.
Taking the end of Ulysses as the starting point, the event started at the Embassy with the final section of the Molly soliloquy read in English and Latvian by an Irish actor, Alexandra Conlon and a Latvian actor, Guna Zariņa from the open windows of the Chancery to the streets below. We then took to bikes and were led by urban and tourism researcher Mārtiņš Eņģelis to the grounds of Riga 1st Hospital, to the Great Cemetery and then to The Church of Our Lady of Sorrows by Riga Castle. At each point Alex and Guna read from Irish and Latvian works. The bike ride ended in Kronvalda Park with more readings and a small picnic.
In addition to the Molly soliloquy, Alex and Guna read from:
• Claire Keegan “Foster”
• Sinéad Gleeson “Constellations”
• Doireann Ní Ghríofa “A Ghost in the Throat”
• Sara Baume “Wisdom”
And new unpublished works by:
• Silvija Brice
• Anna Auziņa
• Ieva Melgalve
Documentary screening
In the evening of Bloomsday, following the bike ride, the Embassy held a special screening of the Ulysses 100 documentary to small group of guests at Roberts Books. Before the screening Alex Conlon read from the Molly soliloquy and after from Claire Keegan and Doireann Ní Ghríofa.
Exhibition “International Joyce”
We are delighted that the “International Joyce” exhibition is in Riga for the centenary of Ulysses, displayed at the greenhouse of the National Library (Level 1, near the main entrance) and tells the story of the Irish writer James Joyce (1882-1941), one of the greatest artists of the twentieth century. International in his vision and impact, but always intellectually rooted in his native city of Dublin, Joyce could be said to represent the spirit of modern Ireland.
The exhibition on the life and works of James Joyce was created by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, together with Irish Embassies around the world, and in association with universities and centres of culture. “International Joyce” will be displayed at the Library until 16 July during working hours. Free entrance.