Join the Poetry Brothel this Bloomsday eve for Midnight Mass in the bowels of a former eighteenth-century church. Traverse the guilty and shameful pleasures of Joyce's mind to find solace and liberation in the sensuality of the arts.

The Poetry Brothel is an immersive literary cabaret nightclub experience, a place where jazz musicians, burlesque dancers, body painters, magicians, drag performers and tarot card readers mingle and perform — but poetry holds centre stage as the headline act. The line-up will include many stars of Dublin’s vibrant and growing spoken word movement, who will perform onstage and will be available (for a fee) to take you into a dark corner to read you a poem, one-to-one. VIP registration (€50) guarantees premium seating and exxxclusive access to all the evening's artists and performers, as well as a selection of take-home goodies and other special treats.

Already a celebrated phenomenon in New York, Paris, Barcelona, New Orleans and Buenos Aires, the Poetry Brothel has taken Dublin by storm. Don’t miss your chance to experience it this Bloomsday.

The Line-Up

This year's brothel features a cracking line-up of talent from home and abroad, including: 

Folk storytelling from Candlelit Tales

Music from Branwen Kavanagh of Twin Headed Wolf

A DJ set by the legendary Donal Dineen

Burlesque by Bella Agogo

Performance art from Lena Chen (Berlin)

A special guest poetry performance by Miss Delirium (London).

Online bookings for this event are now closed. Tickets will be available on the door.

Food is everywhere in Joyce’s Ulysses, whether it’s Bloom’s pork kidney breakfast, his lunch of gorgonzola and Burgundy in Davy Byrne’s pub or the potato he carries in his pocket as a talisman of his Irish mother. Through its focus on the body and its natural processes, the novel constantly reminds us of the significance of food in our lives; at one point, Bloom even makes the lofty claim that "peace and war depend on some fellow’s digestion". Food has also become central to Bloomsday celebrations over the years, so we’re delighted to be collaborating with Irish Food Trail this year to bring you the Joyce of Food, a three-hour food and drink tour inspired by Joyce’s Ulysses.

You’ll be brought around to three traditional Irish eateries by a local professional guide, who’ll fill in the gaps between stops with a walking tour through the streets of the city providing history, fun facts and recommendations. Each restaurant will provide a different course inspired by Joyce’s work accompanied by a reading of the excerpt from Ulysses to which it relates. You’ll enjoy starters, mains and desserts all paired with a glass of Irish beer, cider, or wine - you won’t go home hungry.

The 'Lestrygonians' episode of Ulysses sees Leopold Bloom make his way through the city centre on his way from Middle Abbey Street to the National Library. As he begins to feel the pangs of hunger, his thoughts become centred on the social, political, cultural and religious importance of food. These musings are mixed with a commentary on the architecture of the city, emphasising Dublin’s position as a colonial capital. Join our guide as we follow in Bloom’s footsteps and discuss these thoughts, focusing on Joyce’s own efforts to bring the unsavoury workings of the body into a work of art and use food as the basis of a political and social commentary. This tour ends on Kildare Street.

"Am I walking into eternity along Sandymount Strand?"

This extended tour offers Joyceans an opportunity to get outside the city and explore the area around Sandymount that Joyce returns to in three episodes of Ulysses. Travelling by train from the city centre, this tour takes in Newbridge Avenue, the home of Paddy Dignam in the 'Hades' episode; the Star of the Sea Church & Leahy's Terrace, featured in the 'Nausicaa' episode; and Sandymount Strand, the setting for both 'Proteus' and 'Nausicaa'. It also takes in the Shelbourne Road (where Joyce rented rooms in 1904), Dromard Terrace (where Joyce spent the night of 16 June 1904), and the birthplace of WB Yeats.

Please Note: This is an extended tour, lasting approximately three hours. Duration may vary as the tour is dependent on public transport. This tour ends at Connolly Station.