On Saturday, June 13, the Consulate of Ireland in Shanghai held an activity on the rooftop terrace of the House of Roosevelt on the Bund to commemorate Bloomsday, the celebration of James Joyce and his famous novel "Ulysses".

This event stands out for a very special reason: Although Bloomsday is usually celebrated worldwide, most official activities are canceled even within Ireland this year due to COVID-19. 

Shanghai is a notable exception, thanks to China's success in containing the virus. Therefore, Shanghai is at the forefront of the global Bloomsday festivities, as the largest and most ambitious public-facing event organized by Ireland's overseas mission network anywhere in the world.

Bloomsday – Thursday, June 16, 1904 – takes its name from "Ulysses'" protagonist, Leopold Bloom, and chronicles his peripatetic appointments and encounters in Dublin over the 18 hours from 6 a.m. on June 16, 1904, to the early hours of the following morning.

The rooftop terrace of the House of Roosevelt was transformed into Joyce's Dublin of 1904, with several interactive representations of key locations from the text. Guests, in vintage Edwardian costumes and props, were treated to Irish food and drink, as well as a selection of readings from "Ulysses".

Speaking ahead of the event, Therese Healy, Consul General of Ireland in Shanghai, paid tribute to the intellectual curiosity of the Chinese audience and their interest in Joyce's work.

Healy stated that "The interest in Joyce amongst Chinese students, academics and the wider public is truly remarkable. It is therefore entirely fitting that Shanghai will be at the very heart of this year's Bloomsday celebrations. As even Dublin itself will experience much more muted festivities this year due to the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, all eyes now turn to Shanghai, a city so rooted in culture, for our most exciting and elaborate celebration of Joyce since the Consulate opened 20 years ago."

(All photos courtesy of the Consulate of Ireland in Shanghai)