Community Message - If it's June it must be Bloomsday!
News
13 June 2022Dear Friends
It has been a tough few months in Hong Kong, since my last community messages of 28 February and 15 March. I was in Ireland during April and as many of you will be aware, a post-pandemic normality has resumed in Europe in recent weeks. In Ireland and across Europe, social distancing measures have been lifted and daily COVID infection rates are no longer being reported. Thankfully the situation has eased considerably in Hong Kong and we look forward to some public diplomacy engagement in Hong Kong in the coming period.
But first, let me advise that we are continuing to experience high demand for consular services and our passport offices in Ireland are processing record numbers of applications. If your passport is due to expire, please ensure you make your Online Renewal in a timely manner. If you need to contact the Consulate, our primary mode of contact is by email on HongKong@dfa.ie which ensures consistency in service and a quick response time.
In my St Patrick’s Day message, I mentioned that we are celebrating 100 years since the publication of James Joyce’s masterpiece Ulysses. The Museum of Literature in Ireland (MOLI) and Embassies/Consulates around the world are celebrating #Ulysses100 in a myriad of different ways in the coming weeks. I’m pleased to share some of our upcoming activities here in Hong Kong with a very special focus on marking Bloomsday in Hong Kong:
- Bloomsday Breakfast (16 June)
“Stately, plump Buck Mulligan came from the stairhead, bearing a bowl of lather on which a mirror and a razor lay crossed” is the immortal opening line of Ulysses which begins at 8:00am on 16 June in the city of Dublin. We in Hong Kong begin our Bloomsday celebrations on Thursday 16 June at 8:00am in Delaney’s Wanchai, where you will not be expected to dine on the preferred menu of Leopold Bloom who “ate with relish the inner organs of beasts and fowls. He liked thick giblet soup, nutty gizzards, a stuffed roast heart, liver slices fried with crust crumbs, fried hencods' roes. Most of all he liked grilled mutton kidneys which gave to his palate a fine tang of faintly scented urine.” Instead, the traditional Irish breakfast will be on offer accompanied by the customary readings from Ulysses. The cost of this event will be borne by the Consulate. While entry is free of charge to the public, places are limited and must be pre-booked on Bloomsday Breakfast.
- #Ulysses100 Dinner at the Foreign Correspondent’s Club (16 June)
We are delighted to partner with the Foreign Correspondent’s Club for a Gala Bloomsday Dinner which takes place on 16 June 2022 (18:00—22:00) in the upstairs Dining Room and Verandah. The chef has curated a 4 course Irish themed menu with drinks pairings for the occasion. Evoking the spirit of Molly Bloom who in her famous soliloquy said “… sending me out of the room on some blind excuse paying his compliments the Bushmills whisky talking of course …”, guests will be treated to an Irish Whiskey Tasting Booth on arrival.
The highlight of the evening will be the screening of “100 Years of Ulysses”, a documentary produced to mark the 100th anniversary of publication of James Joyce’s Ulysses. Ulysses was written over a 7-year period from 1914 to 1921 in Trieste, Zurich and Paris, so I am delighted that representatives of the Consulates General of France, Italy and Switzerland will join me for this auspicious celebration. Details of this event are on the FCC Website.
- “100 Years of Ulysses” at Asia Society Hong Kong Center (17 June)
We are also delighted to partner with the Asia Society Hong Kong Center to show the documentary “100 Years of Ulysses”. Produced to mark the 100th anniversary of publication of James Joyce’s Ulysses, this is a one-hour documentary devised by historian, Frank Callanan and directed by Ruán Magan, which sets out to unlock one of most impregnatable and explosive books of modern times. Featuring interviews with writers and scholars including Eimear McBride, Paul Muldoon, John McCourt and Margaret O Callaghan, illuminative archive film and photographs, art works by Jess Tobin, Brian Lalor and Holly Pereira and a beautiful original score by Natasa Paulberg, “100 Years of Ulysses” brings viewers on an enlightening journey into the heart of one of the most inspiring and influential novels and reveals how it remains as relevant today as it ever was. An “in-person” event, the screening will be followed by a short panel discussion. Further details of the event and how to attend are on the Asia Society Hong Kong Center Website.
- Joycean Book Giveaways
In celebration of Bloomsday and #Ulysses100, we are also collaborating with local partners to give away free copies of Joycean works in English and Traditional Chinese, including Ulysses, Dubliners, and A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man.
Follow us on Facebook or Twitter (@IrelandinHK) for details or call into our partners:
- Mount Zero Books – an independent bookshop – at Shop C, 6 Tai Ping Shan Street, Sheung Wan
- For Single – a store for single-origin coffees and single-malt whiskies – at Full Harvest Building, Shop D, G/F, 6-18 Hau Wo Street, Kennedy Town
The Consulate was also delighted to mark World Whiskey Day by visiting “Whisky & Words” – a library-themed bar – to give away copies of ‘Ulysses’ and ‘Dubliners’ by James Joyce. Whisky & Words also ran a week long special featuring Redbreast Irish Whiskey.
- Irish Whiskey Festival with the Hong Kong Wine & Spirits Writers Association (25 June)
At the time of the first Bloomsday, Irish whiskey dominated the global market, selling 12 million cases around 100 years ago. With Bloomsday evoking the spirit of a century ago, this is a good month to partner with Hong Kong Wine & Spirits Writers Association who on the occasion of their 6th Anniversary are hosting an Irish Whiskey Festival at The Clearwater Bay Golf & Country Club. In conjunction with our Irish whiskey partners, the Festival will be in two parts:
- 16:00–19:00: Irish Whiskey Tasting (9 labels confirmed) (Ticket Price: HK$380)
- 19:30: Gala Dinner with Irish Whiskey pairings (Ticket Price: HK$880)
For further information and details on ticketing, contact Alex Chung on +852-9624 2776 (WhatsApp).
**COMPETITION TIME**
The Consulate has two pairs of tickets to the Irish Whiskey Tasting session of the festival. To win, please email HongKong@dfa.ie by Friday 17 June with the answer to the question:
“Dating to 1608, which is the oldest licensed distillery in the world?”
Given the nature of the event, winners must be 18 years of age or older.
Other activities or events that may be of interested in the coming weeks include:
- There is a great line up of live and online events for the 2022 edition of Make Music, Hong Kong! For a Irish perspective Black Velvet Collective will play a live concert on 19 June 2022 (9:00pm to 9:25pm) in Lau Bak Livehouse, Freespace, Art Park, West Kowloon Cultural District. Celebrating Ireland’s contemporary and traditional music, ‘Bailiúchán’, presented by the Consulate General of Ireland will participate on 20 June with a virtual showcase.
Ireland will participate in the Hong Kong Book Fair in the period 20-26 July.
Ireland will participate in the Hong Kong Education and Careers Expo in the period 21-24 July. Deputy Consul General, Katrina Devine, will speak at the Expo on 21 July (14:00-15:30) on educational opportunities in Ireland.
On a sad and final note, there have been some recent deaths in the community and we would extend our deepest condolences to the family, friends and colleagues of:
- Fr Joseph Houston SSC, who died on 14 May 2022 in Dalgan, Co Meath. Fr Joe has been based in Hong Kong and mainland China since 1988 and returned to Ireland in March 2022. An obituary and a link to the funeral mass is available on the Columban Website.
Our former Honorary Consul, Desmond Anthony Marron, and formerly of Standard Chartered, who passed away last month in Kuala Lumpur;
Simon Robinson, in Hong Kong for the past 5 years and a physiotherapist with Joint Dynamics, who passed away on 22 May.
Hugh de Lacy Staunton, long-standing Hong Kong resident, and formerly of HSBC, who died on 20 May. There is a fitting tribute to Hugh on the Hong Kong Golf Club Website.
Ar dheis Dé go raibh a n-anamacha dílse.
Best wishes
David Costello
Consul General