Blooms & Barnacles

Featuring a surprise historical cameo!

Topics in this episode include our final example of Aristotelian rhetoric, the only passage of Ulysses recorded by James Joyce, the battle of wits between Mr. Justice Fitzgibbon and John F. Taylor, misperceptions about Taylor’s oratory, the Gaelic Revival, Dreamy Jimmy, ferial tone, a Moses for Ireland, MacHugh can’t catch a break, the analogy of the Irish and the biblical Israelites, The Shade of Parnell, Irish Orientalism, antisemitism in the Irish Nationalist movement of the early 20th century, The Language of the Outlaw and Roger Casement, Joyce’s punch-up of Taylor’s speech, and reading Ulysses backwards.

The Language of the Outlaw: John F. Taylor's Speech in "Aeolus"

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We share our thoughts on the Dubliners short stories "The Sisters" and "An Encounter"

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“Speaking about me. What did he say? What did he say? What did he say about me? Don’t ask.”

Topics in this episode include a rumor about Stephen, Professor Magennis, Æ the mastermystic, drama within Dublin’s occult circles, how Æ helped James Joyce get published, the opal hush poets, Joycean tarot cards, D.P. Moran and The Leader, the horror of a truly clever nickname, mocking bad poetry, the Opal Hush cocktail, Pamela Colman Smith, Helena Blavatsky’s old bag of tricks, theosophy, an American professor’s visit to Dublin, Joyce’s debut in the Dublin literary scene, microcosm and macrocosm, Mr Justice Fitzgibbon, more Tim Healy and Joyce’s ability to hold a lifelong grudge.

Decoding Dedalus: The Opal Hush Poets — Blooms & Barnacles

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Sufficient for the day is the newspaper thereof.

Topics in this episode include Grattan and Flood, Seymour Bushe and the Childs murder case, Hamlet references, Michelangelo’s Moses and where to find it, Lenehan’s cigarette scheme, J.J. O’Molloy’s love of forensic rhetoric, the shortcomings of memoria, court cases appearing in the works of Joyce, Samuel Childs and Thomas Childs, James Joyce’s youthful interest in the law, a surprise appearance by Alexander Keyes, a Joyce family connection to the Childs murder, James Joyce’s lifelong grudge against Tim Healy, Charles Stewart Parnell, lex talionis, the law of evidence, and just how eloquent Seymour Bushe really was.

A POLISHED PERIOD

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We welcome Paul Fagan (founder of the International Flann O'Brien Society) to Blooms & Barnacles to discuss a work heavily influenced by James Joyce - Flann O'Brien's 1939 novel, At Swim-Two-Birds.

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Ryan Kerr joins the Blooms & Barnacles podcast to discuss the racial politics of Ulysses. Topics include the minstrel show performer Eugene Stratton, the absence of black characters in Ulysses, and the depiction of anti-black racism within the novel.

Check out Ryan's article here:

Kerr, R. (2022). James Joyce, Eugene Stratton, and Spectrality: The Absent Presence of Racial Politics in Ulysses. James Joyce Quarterly, 59(2), 231. https://www.academia.edu/92573371/James_Joyce_Eugene_Stratton_and_Spectrality_The_Absent_Presence_of_Racial_Politics_in_Ulysses

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Clamn dever.

Topics in this episode include Dublin journalism minutiae, pallindromes, Lenehan’s spoonerisms, the sad history behind the real-life inspiration for Professor MacHugh, the return of Stephen Dedalus’ extremely erudite daydreams, Stephen punches up Douglas Hyde’s poem, poetic meter and foot, rhyme and rhythm, the nightmare of history, Joyce’s love of Dante, Dante’s Divine Comedy, Francesca and Paolo’s eternal damnation, a secret wind motif, Kelly and Dermot attempt to speak Italian, interlinguistic puns, and the oriflamme.

Decoding Dedalus: RHYMES AND REASONS

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What opera is like a railway line?

Topics in this episode include MacHugh's love of Greek, kyrie eleison, Lenehan's riddle and limerick, the legendary Ignatius Gallaher, the real-life Gallaher, the Phoenix Park murders and the Invincibles, what Crawford gets wrong about the Invincibles, Gumley and Skin-the-Goat, Gallaher's great scoop in the New York World, the Bransome's coffee map, the nightmare of history, and James Joyce's views on political violence.

The Invincible Ignatius Gallaher

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What do Stephen and Bloom have in common with Austria-Hungary?

Topics in this episode include Stephen delivering Mr. Deasy’s letter, Stephen’s vampire poem, Crawford dunks on Mr. Deasy, a cure for foot and mouth disease, the assassination attempt against Emperor Franz Josef, Maximilian Karl O’Donnell, graf von Tirconnell’s heroic defense of the Emperor, the Flight of the Earls and the Wild Geese, the Habsburgs, Ireland’s historic affinity for Hungary, Arthur Griffith’s Hungary Policy, hypostasis, Leopold Bloom’s connection to the Habsburgs, whether or not Bloom first had the idea for Sinn Fein, the barflies in Barney Kiernan’s thoughts on Hungary, Joyce’s own thoughts on Griffith’s Hungary Policy, and the inherent problems of nationalism.

Leopold Bloom in the House of Habsburg

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Kelly talks with former James Joyce Tower & Museum curators Vivien Veale Igoe and Robert Nicholson, and editor Breandan O'Broin about their experience curating the tower, how Dublin's relationship with Joyce has changed over the years, and their new book, Tales from the Tower.

Tales from the Tower  will be available to purchase November 1, 2023

You can find a video version of this episode at our YouTube channel and our Patreon page