Media Advisory: Acclaimed writers Edna O'Brien and Colm Tóibín, Irish ambassador to U.S. and more to join UB virtual Bloomsday celebration

BUFFALO, N.Y. – The University at Buffalo will host the Virtual Bloomsday Celebration, an evening to honor James Joyce’s landmark book “Ulysses” – considered by many to be the most influential novel of the 20th century.

Held on June 16 – the same day the 1922 novel takes place – Bloomsday is an annual celebration across the globe that remembers the enigmatic story of a day in the life of “Ulysses” protagonist Leopold Bloom in Dublin, Ireland.

Organized by the UB Poetry Collection and Office of Alumni Engagement, the event, scheduled on Tuesday, June 16, from 3-4:30 p.m. EDT, is free and open to the public. Guests are encouraged to register online to receive a link to participate.

Featured guests include:

• Edna O'Brien, Irish novelist and poet, and author of “The Country Girls” trilogy
• Daniel Mulhall, Ireland’s 18th ambassador to the U.S. 
• Colm Tóibín, Irish novelist, playwright and poet, and author of “Brooklyn”
• David Norris, Senator in Ireland, Joyce scholar and civil rights activist
• Tim Kennedy, New York State Senator
• Katherine McSharry, deputy director of the National Library of Ireland
• Brigid Hughes, founding editor of literary journal and publisher “A Public Space​”
• Michael Silverblatt, host of “Bookworm,” a nationally syndicated program on KCRW
• Simon O'Connor, director of the Museum of Literature Ireland
• Vincent O'Neill, artistic director of Buffalo's Irish Classical Theatre Company and director of theatre performance in the UB Department of Theatre and Dance
• Anne Fogarty, PhD, director of the James Joyce Research Centre at University College Dublin
• Margaret Kelleher, PhD, chair of Anglo-Irish literature and drama at University College Dublin
• Molly Peacock, Buffalo-born poet and essayist
• Gillian McCain, poet and author

About the UB James Joyce Collection

Joyce is regarded as one of the most influential writers of the 20th century and is among the most highly researched literary figures of all time.

UB is home to the largest collection of materials on Joyce in the world, including more than 10,000 pages of his working papers, notebooks and manuscripts, as well as photographs, portraits, memorabilia and private library, providing unmatched glimpses into the author’s writing process and literary relationships.