Bloomsday at Sweny’s Pharmacy

Sweny’s Pharmacy is famously featured in the fifth episode of Ulysses, known as “Lotus Eaters.” This delightful little shop has survived since 1847 and today still has all its original fixtures and fittings. Now run by volunteers, Sweny’s opens its doors to welcome people on their Bloomsday adventure. Wait by the counter like Leopold Bloom, absorbing the authentic atmosphere. Watch the chemist at work with his herbs and ointments among “all his alabaster lilypots.” Pick up a bar of lemon soap (“sweet lemony wax”) that you can carry with you all day, just like Bloom. Get involved in a reading of Ulysses, enjoy a cup of tea and share epic tales about your own life. You might even get a chance to join in an Edwardian singsong.

From Monday 10 to Saturday 16 June, a performance and reading will take place in Sweny’s at 12.30pm from “Lotus Eaters.”

On Bloomsday itself, there will be merriment in this hidden Joycean gem throughout the day and into the evening, starting with a Bloomsday Breakfast from 10am at Kennedy’s Pub across the street at which there will be readings and performances.

Further information can be found on www.sweny.ie. The events are free.