James Joyce’s Ulysses is honoured every June 16th – and this year, Seán Moncrieff has honoured it as “the only novel you’ll ever read where somebody has a poo and very deep thoughts”. 

The iconic novel explores the lives of several characters in Dublin City across June 16th and June 17th, 1904. 

Along with many other Irish stories, Ulysses is celebrated for its contribution to Irish literature and culture. 

Newstalk’s own Seán Moncrieff also wants to remind everyone that the novel was – and remains – a groundbreaking literary work. 

“It's the only novel you'll ever read where somebody's having a poo and thinks very deep thoughts when they're having that poo,” he told The Anton Savage Show. 

“He’s sitting on the loo, thinking about the connection between birth and death and life and human existence and everything links up. 

“It's full of sex and organs and food and Leopold Bloom particularly eats around the place. 

“It’s a very visceral book... what happens when a book is a very experimental, and there's lots of ideas in it, the characters get lost - but the characters are vivid.” 

Ulysses fans dressed as Leopold Bloom to mark Bloomsday in Glasnevin Cemetery. Image:Sam Boal/Rollingnews.ie

Seán explained modernism was in ‘full bloom’ when the novel was published in February 1922, and James Joyce took the style even further. 

“What Joyce is doing is the history of storytelling in the book whilst telling a story about the most mundane thing,” he said. 

“He tried to fit in there every single trope of storytelling over the previous 2,000 years.” 

Dublin in Ulysses

In 2024, Ulysses’ cultural impact remains clear throughout Dublin literally with every step you take, with plaques in locations across the city mentioned in the book. 

Seán explained people often have walking tours of Dublin using these plaques to experience Joyce’s Dublin. 

“They eat where Leopold Bloom had breakfast,” he said. “He does think very carefully about what he wants to eat at any given time.” 

Ulysses also inspired a walking tour of Dublin based on the line, “Good puzzle would be to cross Dublin without passing a pub”. 

Many people have plotted their own tour of Dublin based on this puzzle, with many publess walking tours blooming from the Irish author. 

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