Inishowen to feature in all-female cross-border celebration of Bloomsday

Inishowen is one of the locations which will host  Ireland’s “first all-female festival,” when it comes to the north-west next month.

The YES festival marks the first time that Bloomsday, the celebrations centred around James Joyce’s Ulysses, will extend beyond Dublin.

Inspired by Joyce’s most famous female character, Molly Bloom, the festival is the culmination of a two-year European journey across 18 cities, representing the 18 chapters in the book. This journey marks the centenary of the publication of James Joyce’s epic novel Ulysses in Paris in 1922.

The festival, which runs from June 13 to 16  will feature over 40 events and more than 30 female artists from the nations involved in the Ulysses European Odyssey project. 

These artists will join their Irish and British counterparts in a diverse range of events, including dance, music, film, art, literature, street arts, and more.

From 8am on Sunday, June 16 to 2am on Monday, June 17, an 18-hour cultural Joycean journey across Derry~Londonderry and Inisghowen will see Ulysses’ Dublin scenes re-interpreted across the compelling and evocative urban and rural scenery of Ireland’s north-west. Molly Bloomsday will be a glorious reimagining of Bloomsday in the city’s streets, bars, historic Guildhall Square and walls and the beaches and coastline of Donegal.

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A freewheeling day of literature, music, food, film, conversation, performance, song and surprises, decorated with folklore, mythology and Irish history, Molly Bloomsday will begin at 8am with breakfast at Inishowen’s Iron-Age sun-fort An Grianán of Aileach with a dramatic backdrop of the estuary of Lough Swilly sweeping northwards into the Atlantic Ocean.

It will take in the spectacular beach at Lisfannon (known in Irish as ‘Lios Feannáin’), before heading into the city for a packed day and evening of events, culminating in late-night music with Miss Trouli from Athens at the City Taphouse before a final stumble home at 2am the next day. 

As in the novel, at dawn (4.48am) the final event of Molly Bloomsday will be the global digital release of The Molly Films.

Seán Doran, YES festival producer and co-curator, said he is thrilled to be able to bring the event to the north-west of Ireland. 

“The final episode of Ulysses begins and ends with the word ‘yes. This inspired us to take Joyce’s Dublin-based story north to Derry~Londonderry and Donegal, where ‘yes’ is a common greeting.

“The festival will be packed with a variety of exciting events over the four days. Just over 100 years after the publication of Ulysses, we are delighted to be giving Molly Bloom the limelight and hope this marks the beginning of an annual Bloomsday up north.” For information and festival tickets please visit www.yesderry.com.