Ulysses has a special link to Hungary and to the western Hungarian town of Szombathely. Joyce himself almost certainly never came here, although he linked the main character, Leopold Bloom, to the provincial city where his father Rudolph was born. Szombathely is now the epicentre of Hungary’s Joycean activities.
On 16
June, the Irish Ambassador to Hungary, Ronan Gargan, will open the two-day festivities in the city. One extraordinary feature will be the Ulysses-themed murals created by Aideen Barry. The Irish artist will be coming to the Bloomsday
festival to work on the wall paintings at prominent spots around town.
Together with his Hungarian counterpart, Eszter Szabó, they will brighten up each façade with scenes from chapters 3 and 4 of the book. This will be the largest outdoor exhibition in Europe.
Endless debates surround Joyce’s choice of a small provincial town in Hungary but research proves that there was indeed a Jewish family named Blum in Szombathely, according to Irish scholar, Professor Michael McAteer from the Pázmány Péter Catholic University (PPCU). They lived at Fő tér 40-41, meaning they were quite wealthy residents on the town's main square. This, in turn, shows the dovetailing of fiction and reality in Ulysses.
Szombathely later picked up on the connection and stages its Bloomsday Festival every year. This week's involves concerts, lots of Guinness and the annual Bloom Award ceremony. At various locations in town, the motto ULYSSES100 will be stamped with icing sugar. For further information, see the official website.
The day before Bloomsday, a musical homage to Joycean art will take place in Budapest. On 15 June, the celebrations open at 6pm with a concert as part of Ulysses Journey 2022 in the Budapest Music Center. The idea is a joint project of the Contemporary Music Centre, Ireland (CMC), the French Centre Culturel Irlandais and the venue itself.
Performances for the Ulysses centenary first started in February in Dublin and Paris, then went to Belfast, and now come to Budapest for 15-17 June. The premiering musical pieces are works by Irish composers and they all respond to Ulysses in their own way. Performing artists will be soprano Elizabeth Hilliard and guitarist Katalin Koltai. For further information, click here.
The Budapest events continue on 17 June at 7pm, with a discussion on Joyce led by CMC’s Linda O’Shea Farren, followed by a music session and six short films specially commissioned for Ulysses Journey 2022. These will be screened continually until 30 June at FUGA Budapest Center of Architecture (1052 Budapest, Petőfi Sándor utca, open Mon, Wed-Fri 1pm-7pm) in the city centre, alongside the Joycean Transfigurations art exhibition.
This collection of artworks presents a selection of Joyce illustrations, Irish-themed graphics and paintings by Hungarian artists Ferenc Martyn and Imre Szemethy. It's organised by the James Joyce Society in Hungary supported by the Embassy of Ireland, Hungary. All events are free of charge, For further information, see here.
It’s no exaggeration to say that Ulysses has conquered the modern world, overcoming all linguistic obstacles and national borders. Joyce has rightfully entered the European literary canon and has withstood the pressure of time. A century after the publication of Ulysses created its own little scandal, he is celebrated all over the world.
For further reading about Hungary's Joycean connections, see our recent article.
