SIRENS IN SEA CLIFF: AN INTRODUCTION TO JAMES JOYCE'S "ULYSSES"
June 14, 2015 -- In observation of Bloomsday, the anniversary of the day the literary masterpiece Ulysses takes place, Sea Cliff James Joyce enthusiasts Dan and Ann DiPietro offered a tour of the village, entitled "Sirens Over Sea Cliff," this past Saturday morning, that mirrored parts of Joyce’s hero Leopold Bloom’s passage through Dublin on June 16, 1904. Beginning precisely at 8 am, the time at which Bloom's day begins, nearly a dozen celebrants, some dressed in early 20th century garb and one in a nun’s habit, met at the Sea Cliff water tower (Martello Tower), and under the guidance of the DiPietros, made their way through the center of Sea Cliff stopping at sites that represented scenes from the novel. At each of the 18 stops (four more than last year), Ms. DiPietro explained the location’s significance to Ulysses and then read a relevant passage. Mr. DiPietro, who said he believed that central to Joyce's message is that "each of us has our own epic journey even in a single day," discussed many of the parallels between the Joyce classic and the experiences of Homer’s Odysseus (in Latin, Ulysses). Sea Cliff resident Joe Hughes provided musical accompaniment, playing Irish standards on his recorder as the crew made its way on its literary odyssey that concluded at Memorial Park. Although none quite like Sea Cliff's, which is now in its fourth year, cities and towns around the world hold Bloomsday celebrations to honor the author of the book many consider to be the greatest novel ever written.
Sea Cliff Sites and their Dublin Parallels Sea Cliff Water Tower - Martello Tower (Telemachus, Episode I) Headless Park - Nelson's Pillar (Circe, Episode XV) Metropolitan Bistro - Dlugacz's Butcher Shop (Calypso, Episode IV) 76 Main Ave - 7 Eccles Street - Ithaca (Episode XVII) 76 Main Ave - Proteus (Episode III) Sea Cliff Post Office - The General Post Office (The Lotus Eaters, Episode V) Ruden Dental Office - National Maternity Hospital (Oxen of the Sun (Episode XIV) Still Partners - Davey Byrne's Pub - The Lestrygonians (Episode VIII) Sea Cliff Fire House Memorial Garden - Dublin Cemetery (Hades, Episode) Police Stand - Cab Stand (Eumaeus, Episode, XVI) Little People's Nursery School - The Dalkey School (Nestor, Episode II) Oakroom Tavern - Ormond Hotel Restaurant-Sirens (Episode XI) Northword News - (Aeolus, Episode VII) The Freeman's Journal Stenson Memorial Library - The National Library (Scylla and Charybdis, Episode IX) Sea Cliff Village Green - St. Stephen's Green - Wandering Rocks (Eposide X) KC Gallaghers - Barney Kniernan's Pub (Cyclops (Episode XII) Memorial Park - Sandymount Strand (Nausicaa, Episode XIII) Memorial Park - Penelope (Episode XVIII)
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