Ep. 30 – Sweny’s Pharmacy Revisited (w/ P.J. Murphy & Jack Walsh)

Blooms & Barnacles catches up with P.J. Murphy and Jack Walsh of Sweny’s Pharmacy in Dublin, the location where Leopold Bloom bought his lemon soap in Ulysses. In addition to P.J. and Jack, we had the chance to talk to many friend’s of Sweny’s from all over the world! Topics include the future of Sweny’s Pharmacy, why you should visit Sweny’s on Christmas, the repatriation of Joyce’s remains to Ireland, the purchase of “The Dead” house, a reading from  Ulysses in Turkish, the international appeal of Ulysses, the connection of certain Native American tribes to Ireland, songs, poetry, and the proper way to put jam on a scone.

Ep. 29 – Gaze in Your Omphalos

Adam and Eve, Albrecht Dürer, 1504

In this installment of Blooms & Barnacles, Kelly and Dermot engage in some good, old-fashioned navel gazing. Discussion topics include working class life in Edwardian Dublin, the poetry of Algernon Swinburne, the perils of childbirth during the same period, gothic horror, whether Adam and Eve had bellybuttons, and why Kelly thinks people in antiquity had predominantly outie bellybuttons. They also get to the bottom of what exactly the heck an omphalos is and why everyone keeps talking about them.