A WEST CORK woman helped Irish exiles to celebrate Bloomsday in the heart of Andalucía in sunny Spain.
Carmel Gahan from Dunmanway linked up with Steve Daly, owner of Daly’s Bar in Granada, to celebrate Bloomsday on Sunday June 16th, holding readings of Ulysses in the bar, which is popular with locals and visitors for its Irish music.
Carmel and Steve modelled the bar on Sweny’s in Lincoln Place in Dublin, which is mentioned in Ulysses.
‘It was hard to cut down 1,000 pages into 60 minutes of readings that everyone could enjoy. We chose the Cyclops chapter as it is set in a Dublin pub,’ said Carmel.
Members of the University of Granada Irish Studies Circle joined in for the Bloomsday celebration, and some of the readers were lecturers from the university.
The bar is similar to a traditional Dublin pub ‘and has none of the “cod Irish” often found in other European cities’, said Steve.
‘Daly’s is a pub dedicated to Irish music and culture. There are regular sessions, Irish dancing, and Irish language classes. From the days when “me Da” would take me to the City Arms on Prussia Street, I’ve always loved the chat of a Dublin pub. And there is no one like James Joyce to bring the spirit of the place to life.’
Carmel believes that a century after its publication, Ulysses still has meaning today. ‘Though part of it is raw to the ears in these more sensitive times, Joyce’s voice still speaks to us in an uncanny manner,’ said Carmel.
