“Dubliners were proud of Endymion. They were proud that they tolerated Endymion, but also that he tolerated them. Most people watched him and remembered him with affection, and only a few were aware of the darker side to some of his mutterings.” - John Simpson Support us on Patreon to access episodes early, bonus content, and a video version of our podcast. On the Blog: Who was the real Cashel Boyle O'Connor Fitzmaurice Tisdall Farrell? Blooms & Barnacles Social Media: Facebook | Twitter | I...
Jul 24, 2024•56 min•Ep. 137
We discuss Dubliners stories “A Painful Case” and “A Mother” Listen to the full episode at patreon.com/barnaclecast
Jul 22, 2024•10 min
Inside the madness of Breen Topics in this episode include deep Ulysses lore, nostalgia traps, Molly’s suitors, the Glencree dinner, Old Professor Goodwin, Mr. and Mrs. Breen, U.p: up, the Ace of Spades, Breen’s postcard as an empty threat, an old forgotten expression, word play, hidden meanings, codes, peeing up and cloacal obsessions, Larry David, body shaming and erectile dysfunction, the Nolan and the wildest theory about U.p: up, accusations of apostasy, a controversy of Presbyterians, Mich...
Jul 10, 2024•1 hr 23 min•Ep. 136
Rashers Tierney would have gotten those Hely’s Sandwichmen into shape. Plus, his name is thematically apt. Topics in this episode include memories of life in 1960’s Dublin, Leopold Bloom’s philosophy of advertising, whether or not a nun invented barbed wire, the intersection of religion, advertising and potted meat, the rite of Melchisedek, open-faced club sand wedge, the Hely’s sandwichmen, Wisdom Hely, Bloom’s employment history, Bloom’s grief, whether or not Wisdom Hely is good at advertising...
Jun 05, 2024•46 min•Ep. 135
We discuss Dubliners stories “Counterparts” and “Clay” Listen to the full episode at patreon.com/barnaclecast
Jun 03, 2024•11 min
We discuss James Plunkett’s 1969 novel, Strumpet City and the 1980 mini-series of the same name.
May 22, 2024•1 hr 37 min
If both clocks were correct, one would be redundant. Topics in this episode include the Ballast Office, the timeball, stellar parallax, ships’ navigators and chronometers, the whereabouts of the timeball, the political controversy of Greenwich Mean Time, Dunsink time, Sir Robert Ball and The Story of the Heavens , what the heck parallax actually means, how James Joyce uses the term parallax in Ulysses , being your own solar eclipse, how to make friends and influence astronomers at the Dunsink Ob...
May 09, 2024•1 hr•Ep. 134
We share our thoughts on Dubliners short stories "The Boarding House" and "A Little Cloud" Listen to the full episode at patreon.com/barnaclecast
Apr 28, 2024•11 min
What is the parallax of Aldebaran? Topics in this episode include gulls, Simon Dedalus, Little Chandler, Leopold Bloom’s poetic impulse, Leopold Bloom’s philosophy of advertising, the secret ingredient in Epps’ Cocoa, the supremacy of Kino’s 11/- Trousers over Plumtree’s Potted Meat, Victorian advertising styles, Howard Bridgewater’s theory of advertising, Dr. Hy Frank’s remedy for the clap, numerology, Chris Callinan, the true meaning of K. 11, the parallax of Aldebaran, Lenehan being just the ...
Apr 24, 2024•49 min•Ep. 133
Sunday! Sunday! Sunday! Elijah is Coming!!! Topics in this episode include epiphanies in Dubliners , the transformative power of peristalsis, Leopold Bloom and the Prophet Elijah, the peculiar tale of John Alexander Dowie, God’s bloodlust, the also peculiar history of the Salvation Army, what religion and advertising have in common, phosphorescence, polygamy, monster trucks, Bloom as a redeemer for Ireland, and the surprising origin of the city of Zion, Illinois. Support us on Patreon to access ...
Apr 10, 2024•59 min•Ep. 132
Who’s for dinner? Topics in this episode include revisiting Ulysses -themed tarot, Odysseus’ encounter with the Lestrygonians, being in Leopold Bloom’s head once more, the Homeric parallels found in Ulysses ’ eighth episode, the dangers of being too hangry, translating The Odyssey into French, anthropomorphic geography, trophomorphism, the intersection of food and sexuality, bloody imagery, and why James Joyce connected fermentation to women. Support us on Patreon to access episodes early, bonus...
Mar 27, 2024•42 min•Ep. 131
Listen to the full episode now at patreon.com/barnaclecast
Mar 23, 2024•11 min
Nelson supposes his toeses are roses, but Nelson supposes erroneously. Topics in this episode include Barcelona, revisiting James Joyce’s Guinness ad, the history of Nelson’s pillar, Horatio Nelson, the final resting place of Nelson’s head, possible replacements for Nelson atop the former pillar, failed attempts to raise the wind, A Pisgah Sight of Palestine or The Parable of the Plums , Mt. Pisgah, the 17th century origin of the title of Stephen’s parable, the Eucharist, the parable of the wise...
Mar 13, 2024•1 hr 14 min•Ep. 130
We share our thoughts on Dubliners short stories "Araby" and "Eveline" Listen to the full episode at patreon.com/barnaclecast
Feb 21, 2024•11 min
What if we held hands in the Akasic Record? Topics in this episode include too much information about the Freemasons, entering the Promised Land, Daniel O'Connell's mass meeting at Mullaghmast, political radicalism, the Akasic Record, Stephen's magic powers, rebutting John F. Taylor, Parnell's parliamentary finesse, argumentum ad pasiones , leaning into your own bias, the origin of the phrase "Dear Dirty Dublin," duplicitous newsies, disappointment for J.J. O'Molloy, Odysseus rebuffed by Aeolus,...
Feb 14, 2024•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 129
Featuring a surprise historical cameo! Topics in this episode include our final example of Aristotelian rhetoric, the only passage of Ulysses recorded by James Joyce, the battle of wits between Mr. Justice Fitzgibbon and John F. Taylor, misperceptions about Taylor’s oratory, the Gaelic Revival, Dreamy Jimmy, ferial tone, a Moses for Ireland, MacHugh can’t catch a break, the analogy of the Irish and the biblical Israelites, The Shade of Parnell, Irish Orientalism, antisemitism in the Irish Nation...
Feb 01, 2024•43 min•Ep. 128
We share our thoughts on the Dubliners short stories "The Sisters" and "An Encounter" Hear and watch the full episode at patreon.com/barnaclecast
Jan 28, 2024•9 min
“ Speaking about me. What did he say? What did he say? What did he say about me? Don’t ask.” Topics in this episode include a rumor about Stephen, Professor Magennis, Æ the mastermystic, drama within Dublin’s occult circles, how Æ helped James Joyce get published, the opal hush poets, Joycean tarot cards, D.P. Moran and The Leader , the horror of a truly clever nickname, mocking bad poetry, the Opal Hush cocktail, Pamela Colman Smith, Helena Blavatsky’s old bag of tricks, theosophy, an American ...
Jan 17, 2024•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 127
Sufficient for the day is the newspaper thereof. Topics in this episode include Grattan and Flood, Seymour Bushe and the Childs murder case, Hamlet references, Michelangelo’s Moses and where to find it, Lenehan’s cigarette scheme, J.J. O’Molloy’s love of forensic rhetoric, the shortcomings of memoria , court cases appearing in the works of Joyce, Samuel Childs and Thomas Childs, James Joyce’s youthful interest in the law, a surprise appearance by Alexander Keyes, a Joyce family connection to the...
Jan 04, 2024•56 min•Ep. 126
We welcome Paul Fagan (founder of the International Flann O'Brien Society) to Blooms & Barnacles to discuss a work heavily influenced by James Joyce - Flann O'Brien's 1939 novel, At Swim-Two-Birds. To hear the full episode, subscribe at patreon.com/barnaclecast
Dec 26, 2023•10 min
Ryan Kerr joins the Blooms & Barnacles podcast to discuss the racial politics of Ulysses. Topics include the minstrel show performer Eugene Stratton, the absence of black characters in Ulysses, and the depiction of anti-black racism within the novel. Support us on Patreon to access episodes early, bonus content, and a video version of our podcast. Check out Ryan's article here: Kerr, R. (2022). James Joyce, Eugene Stratton, and Spectrality: The Absent Presence of Racial Politics in Ulysses. ...
Dec 20, 2023•58 min•Ep. 125
Clamn dever. Topics in this episode include Dublin journalism minutiae, pallindromes, Lenehan’s spoonerisms, the sad history behind the real-life inspiration for Professor MacHugh, the return of Stephen Dedalus’ extremely erudite daydreams, Stephen punches up Douglas Hyde’s poem, poetic meter and foot, rhyme and rhythm, the nightmare of history, Joyce’s love of Dante, Dante’s Divine Comedy, Francesca and Paolo’s eternal damnation, a secret wind motif, Kelly and Dermot attempt to speak Italian, i...
Dec 06, 2023•56 min•Ep. 124
What opera is like a railway line? Topics in this episode include MacHugh's love of Greek, kyrie eleison, Lenehan's riddle and limerick, the legendary Ignatius Gallaher, the real-life Gallaher, the Phoenix Park murders and the Invincibles, what Crawford gets wrong about the Invincibles, Gumley and Skin-the-Goat, Gallaher's great scoop in the New York World, the Bransome's coffee map, the nightmare of history, and James Joyce's views on political violence. Support us on Patreon to access episodes...
Nov 22, 2023•1 hr•Ep. 123
What do Stephen and Bloom have in common with Austria-Hungary? Topics in this episode include Stephen delivering Mr. Deasy’s letter, Stephen’s vampire poem, Crawford dunks on Mr. Deasy, a cure for foot and mouth disease, the assassination attempt against Emperor Franz Josef, Maximilian Karl O’Donnell, graf von Tirconnell’s heroic defense of the Emperor, the Flight of the Earls and the Wild Geese, the Habsburgs, Ireland’s historic affinity for Hungary, Arthur Griffith’s Hungary Policy, hypostasis...
Nov 08, 2023•54 min•Ep. 122
Kelly talks with former James Joyce Tower & Museum curators Vivien Veale Igoe and Robert Nicholson, and editor Breandan O'Broin about their experience curating the tower, how Dublin's relationship with Joyce has changed over the years, and their new book, Tales from the Tower . Tales from the Tower will be available to purchase November 1, 2023 You can find a video version of this episode at our YouTube channel and our Patreon page...
Oct 25, 2023•1 hr 31 min•Ep. 121
How often does James Joyce think about the Roman Empire? Topics in this episode include Leopold Bloom bullied by children and adults, stealing upon larks, the Oval, The Rose of Castille , Lenehan’s riddle unfulfilled, the Roman Empire as an analogue to the British Empire, puns, cloacae, the origin of the phrase “cloacal obsession,” H.G. Wells’ review of A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man , MacHugh’s anti-imperial oratory, Stephen Dedalus’ favorite smells, “The Holy Office,” the British love...
Oct 11, 2023•46 min•Ep. 120
Ryan Kerr joins the Blooms & Barnacles podcast to discuss the racial politics of Ulysses. Topics include the minstrel show performer Eugene Stratton, the absence of black characters in Ulysses, and the depiction of anti-black racism within the novel. Listen to the full episode at patreon.com/barnaclecast
Oct 03, 2023•8 min
“... it would be a shrewd dialectician indeed who would make much sense out of the editor’s crowings about North Cork militia with Spanish officers in Ohio.” - Robert M. Adams Topics in this episode include the North Cork Militia, the Battle of Oulart, Ned Lambert’s superior improv skills, Bloom’s professionalism, Myles Crawford as a mirror to Mr. Deasy, what any of this has to do with Ohio, perfect cretics, incipient jigs, the symbol of the harp, why Lenehan is the worst, Lenehan’s outing in “T...
Sep 27, 2023•47 min•Ep. 119
A discussion with scholar Elizabeth Foley O'Connor about a minor but fascinating minor Ulysses character, Lizzie Twigg, and what her satirical depiction in "Lestrygonians" tells us about early 20th century politics and literature in Dublin, and whether or not she deserved Joyce's ire (she didn't). Also, a brief discussion of the art and legacy of Pamela Colman Smith. Listen to the full episode at patreon.com/barnaclecast
Sep 15, 2023•9 min
—And here comes the sham squire himself! professor MacHugh said grandly. Topics in this episode include the last vestiges of Doughy Daw’s effulgence, the mysterious identity of Wetherup, Myles Crawford, the real men behind Myles Crawford, red the correpsondent color of “Aeolus”, the Egyptian god Thoth, Crawford’s birdlike qualities, the birds of augury, banter, Francis Higgins the sham squire, the great scammers of history, the origin of the “sham squire” epithet, how Higgins took over the Freem...
Sep 13, 2023•57 min•Ep. 118
