President Higgins to host garden party marking Bloomsday

President Michael D Higgins and his wife Sabina will mark Bloomsday with a garden party at Áras an Uachtaráin.

The President and his wife will begin their series of summer garden parties with a special event that celebrates the work of author James Joyce.

Bloomsday, 16 June 1904, is the date that the author’s 1922 novel, Ulysses, is set and the holiday is named after the book’s protagonist Leopold Bloom.

The importance of libraries and promoting reading will be a key theme of this year’s event, with attendees including, amongst others, library staff from across the country.

Overall, it will be the 74th garden party to be hosted by President Higgins at Áras an Uachataráin since his election to the office in 2011.

A further five garden parties and a concert will be hosted by President Higgins and his wife between now and 3 July, attended by approximately 3,500 people.

Ulysses follows the character of Leopold Bloom as he moves through an ordinary day in Dublin on June 16th 1904.

The novel’s title is a reference to Homer’s The Odyssey and the book draws on a number of styles and ground-breaking literary techniques.