Street Feast kicks off Bloomsday festivities in Dublin

More than 400 people assembled on Dublin’s North Great George’s Street yesterday to bask in the sunshine and take part in a Bloomsday brunch linked to the seventh Street Feast, which took place in more than 1,200 locations.

Dozens of people dressed in Edwardian garb in honour of Leopold Bloom and his creator, James Joyce, wandered the broad Georgian street eating cockles and lemon drizzle cake.

Folk who looked like minor characters in the book were two a penny but finding anyone who had read Ulysses was trickier. David Cullen, sporting a light brown suit and a black dickie bow was delighted with himself. "The clothes of that era were great, weren't they?" he said. "It's my third time dressing up. I love Bloomsday."

And did he love the book?“To my shame, I haven’t read it.”

Josephine O'Connell was dressed up like Molly Bloom and lounging on a double-bed in the centre of the street. Had she read Ulysses? "You must be joking. I've tried loads of times but I've never got through it."

It was much the same story for Ediones Diniz but she had a better excuse. Being from Brazil, English is not her mother tongue. Still, she's made the effort. "I've tried three times. But in English for me it was very difficult. I must go back to it."

Abigail Dunne has not even tried the book but yesterday she tried the shellfish on the Bloomsday brunch menu. "I had my first cockles," she said with disgust. "I am sure they were cooked beautifully but I really didn't like them. I hope they don't make me sick."

More than 1,200 street parties took place yesterday as part of the Street Feast initiative. The idea was conceived and developed in 2010 by a small group who wanted to find ways to reduce isolation within their communities, encourage participation and boost resilience.

Groups of neighbours were asked to host lunches on their street, in a local park or in their front gardens and to invite neighbours to come along and join them. More than 120,000 people answered the call.

"I think it has truly become a national event," said one of its founders, Sam Bishop.