Seventy years ago today, a small group of fans of James Joyce organised the first Bloomsday celebration in Dublin, involved retracing Stephen Dedalus’s steps with a horse and cart.
It was organised by Brian O’Nolan, better known by psuedonuyms Flann O’Brien or Myles na gCopeleen, who floated an idea he called “the jant” (Dublinese for jaunt).
Two horses and carts were booked so a small group could retrace Stephen Dedalus’s steps from the Martello at Sandycove in to Ringsend, then cross the Liffey to follow the route of Paddy Dignam’s funeral cortege to Glasnevin. Archive footage indicates there were several refreshment stops, as the small group is filmed relieving themselves up against a wall at Sandymount Strand.
Bloomsday has evolved into two distinct celebrations, with one focusing on fun and the other on literary knowledge.
See Elinor Wiltshire’s photos of the event on the National Library of Ireland website:
https://catalogue.nli.ie/Record/vtls000050376
