Bloomsday Celebrations

Bloomsday participant Jim Carroll, dressed as Ulysses protagonist Leopold Bloom, gets into the Bloomsday spirit by reading extracts from Joyce's novel to his wife, Breda, who is dressed as Molly Bloom, on top of the Joyce Tower in Sandycove, Dublin, on Monday, June 16, 2008. The one-day James Joyce festival is held on June 16 every year to celebrate the events of Irish writer James Joyce's most famous novel "Ulysses," which take place in Dublin on June 16, 1904. It sees people come from all over the globe to pay tribute to the achievements of James Joyce. The name derives from Leopold Bloom, the protagonist of "Ulysses."

Bloomsday participant John Streeton enjoys himself during Dublin's Bloomsday celebrations outside the Joyce Tower in Sandycove, Dublin, Monday, June 16, 2008. The one-day James Joyce festival is held on June 16 every year to celebrate the events of Irish writer James Joyce's most famous novel "Ulysses," which take place in Dublin on June 16, 1904. It sees people come from all over the globe to pay tribute to the achievements of James Joyce. The name derives from Leopold Bloom, the protagonist of "Ulysses."

Bloomsday, the one-day James Joyce festival, is held on June 16 every year to celebrate the events of Irish writer James Joyce's most famous novel "Ulysses," which take place in Dublin on June 16, 1904. It sees people come from all over the globe to pay tribute to the achievements of James Joyce. The name derives from Leopold Bloom, the protagonist of "Ulysses."

On June 16, 1904, the fictional Stephen Dedalus and Leopold Bloom, of Irish author James Joyce's novel "Ulysses," made epic journeys through Dublin. "Bloomsday," as it is now known, is a tradition for Joyce fans worldwide. Celebrations typically include readings and reenactments from "Ulysses." Nowhere is Bloomsday more celebrated than in Dublin, home to both Joyce's characters and the late author himself.

Dublin's main thoroughfare, O'Connell Street, was closed and turned into an outdoor eatery for the Bloomsday Centenary breakfast on June 13, 2004, in commemoration of Leopold Bloom's famous morning meals in "Ulysses."

Amy Conroy, left, as "Bella the Beauty" and Johnnie Kavanagh as "Carny," both "Ulysses" characters, parade around O'Connell Street.

A James Joyce character chats with a woman on bustling O'Connell Street.

Actor Dermod Lynskey, dressed as James Joyce, takes part in Bloomsday's festivities.

Five unidentified women, one of whom reads from "Ulysses," walk along Dublin's Sandycove in period dress.

James Joyce enthusiast and performer, Graham Boland, in character as Leopold Bloom, recites excerpts from "Ulysses."

Actor Barry McGovern, center, reads from "Ulysses" as Patricia Lyle, left, and Valerie Ritson, right, listen in period dress, from the top of the Joyce Tower in Sandycove in Dublin.