On the Town: The grand opening of Bloom, a filmed adaptation of James Joyce's Ulysses, turned out to be an Edwardian affair. There was a selection of bowler hats and period costumes. The ladies wore dainty black laced shoes and hats covered in tulle.
Karl O'Connor, a mortgage investment trainer with First Active, in a black bowler hat, was there with his wife, Cariona Neary.
"We're nearly ready. Just one more photograph of Angeline," Sean Walsh, the film's director and producer told the packed auditorium of the UGC Cineplex. Angeline Ball, who plays Molly Bloom, wore a green silk gown to the gala screening. She posed patiently for the cameras.
Phelim Drew, who plays Martin Cunningham, was there looking the part in a long coat and striped trousers, with his wife, Susan Collins.
"The idea was to show people what happens inside those hidden pages, to show the humour of Joyce and most of all his humanity . . . I was amazed at how well Molly's soliloquy worked. There's so much emotion, so much depth to it," said Walsh. "We revere Joyce and yet nobody's read Ulysses," he said.
Actor Hugh O'Conor, who plays Stephen Dedalus, said stubbornness was the quality that most struck him about the character he played. "It's Joyce as a young man - but not really. It's Joyce imagining the way he could have been after the death of his mother."
Ann MacFarlane and Carole Ward also wore period costumes. They both played extras in the film, including the part of the widowed Mrs Dignam. Ward said that after the coffin has been put in the grave, her veil blows up and then "you can see me perfectly".
Three sisters, Sabrina, Nicole and Chris Joyce, who are great-grandnieces of Joyce, were all in evening gowns for the occasion. They love Ulysses for the fact that "it's all about daily life, it's not high blown, romanticised. It's all very down to earth, you can relate to it", said one. Afterwards, the party moved to Traffic, on Middle Abbey Street.
Bloom is on general release