June 16 is, of course, Bloomsday. It has become a kind of alternative national holiday for some even though its first manifestation in Dublin took place in 1954.
It was the brainchild of John Ryan who owned Bailey’s on Duke Street, Brian Ó Nualláin the author of An Béal Bocht and At Swim Two Birds, Anthony Cronin, poet Paddy Kavanagh and others.