2 days ago
Bloomsday celebrated at Lucia Joyce's resting place
KINGSTHORPE Cemetery in Northampton may seem an unlikely setting for Bloomsday celebrations — but for those marking James Joyce's signature day, it is in fact a place of deep resonance.
On June 16th, the Triskellion Theatre Company will return once again to honour Ulysses , and to pay tribute to the Joycean legacy rooted in Northampton through the figure of Lucia Anna Joyce.
Bloomsday commemorates the events of June 16th, 1904, the day on which Ulysses unfolds.
The connection to Northampton is through Lucia, James Joyce's only daughter.
Born in Trieste — where the Joyces lived for over a decade and where much of Ulysses was written — Lucia was once a gifted dancer and a noted figure in artistic circles.
In the 1920s she had a brief romance with Samuel Beckett, but her life was increasingly marked by mental illness.
Diagnosed with schizophrenia, she was treated by Carl Jung in Zurich and spent her final decades as a patient at St Andrew's Hospital in Northampton, where she died in 1982.
She is buried in Kingsthorpe Cemetery.
This year's event will once again include a performance of Letters to Lucia , a play written by local writers and staged at her graveside by Triskellion Theatre Company, led by Gerry Molumby of Thurles, Co. Tipperary.
The day will also feature readings from Ulysses , live music from folk band The Tim Finnegans, and guest speakers exploring the Joycean ties to Northampton.
Richard Rose will speak on Lucia Joyce's long and poignant connection to the town.
Triskellion has been bringing turn-of-the-century Dublin to Kingsthorpe each Bloomsday since 2005, with cast members dressed in period costume and a spirit of both celebration and reflection.
Previous years have seen contributions from the local branch of Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann, and performances by Sean Cannon of The Dubliners.
As Bloomsday marks the ordinary made extraordinary, Kingsthorpe Cemetery becomes, just for a moment, a corner of Dublin transplanted to Northampton — a place where memory, art and identity meet.
See More: Bloomsday, Northampton, Triskellion Irish Theatre Company
