Bloomsday breakfast in Belvedere

It was kidneys, sausages, bacon and copious cups of tea all the way at the Bloomsday breakfast held in Belvedere College on Monday 16 June 2025. Bloomsday is the annual celebration held on this day every year to commemorate the life and works of James Joyce, particularly his novel Ulysses.

Joyce himself was a pupil of the college from 1893 to 1898. He was eleven years old when he started at the school and during his time there, he won school prizes in 1894, 1897, and 1898. His experiences at Belvedere are depicted in his autobiographical novel, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man.

The hearty breakfast was served in the beautifully restored Belvedere house, and many of the attendees dressed, as customary, in early 20th-century attire reminiscent of Joyce’s Dublin. As the eating drew to a close the guest speaker Bruce Bradley SJ, historian, and biographer of James Joyce, took to the podium to deliver a short talk on Joyce and his time at Belvedere. (You can listen to it above, along with all the other proceedings of the morning).

Bruce’s talk was followed by re-enactments from Joyce’s work, including passages from Portrait of the Artist and Ulysses, performed by Les Doherty, Elaine Reddy and Sean McDermott.

These readings were interspersed by beautiful renditions from Suzanne Savage and Simon Morgan of the parlour music that features in Joyce’s work or indeed that he may have even sung himself.

The annual Bloomsday Breakfast at Belvedere College not only honors Joyce’s legacy but also fosters a sense of community. It’s an occasion that celebrates Dublin’s literary heritage while providing an engaging, educational experience for all ages (you can hear the babies googing gently in the background of the recording above!). As the event concluded, attendees left with a renewed appreciation for Joyce’s work and the city that inspired it, ready to explore, in the glorious sunshine, more of Dublin’s Joycean literary treasures.