This weekend, Donegal’s own The Henry Girls will embark on a very special performance to mark a momentous occasion.

As a new day begins on Sunday, June 16th, the acclaimed Malin sisters will take to the historic walls of An Grianán of Aileach for a stunning breakfast serenade on the historic Inishowen fort.

This unique performance serves as the official opening act for the inaugural Molly Bloomsday, a captivating twist on the traditional Bloomsday celebration. Part of the YES cross-border festival, this event promises a vibrant exploration of female creativity across Derry and Donegal.

To mark the Ulysses Episode I (Telemachus) Donegal’s The Henry Girls will open the inaugural Molly Bloomsday, singing on the walls of the Iron-Age sun-fort An Grianan of Aileach

The YES festival is a new all-women festival of female creativity inspired by Joyce’s most famous female character, Molly Bloom.

Derry ~ Donegal’s Molly Bloomsday events reimagine the Joycean Bloomsday in Dublin and transpose it to Derry-Londonderry’s streets, bars, school and cemetery and Donegal’s heritage sites, beaches and coastline 100 years later.

Donegal poet Annemarie Ní Churreáin

Also in Inishowen this Sunday, Donegal poet Annemarie Ní Churreáin leading a morning stroll at 11am across Lisfannon beach near Buncrana. Attendees will celebrate the poetry and creative inspirations of Ní Churreáin and hear poems that weave together folklore, mythology and stories of the Otherworld with family autobiography and Irish history.

Get ready for a Bloomsday turned on its head, with a focus on the North West’s incredible women.

DONEGAL YES PROGRAMME:

June 13-16 – The Molly Films –  A visual installation in the gallery of the Regional Cultural Centre Letterkenny

June 14, 7.15pm-7.45pm – 9/8fight41– Pop up dance from Istanbul in the plaza in front of An Grianán Theatre Letterkenny

June 14, 7.15pm-7.45pm – Bounderry – Pop up dance from Istanbul in the plaza in front of An Grianán Theatre Letterkenny

June 14, 8pm – The Sigh of the Sand  – Zöe and Philippe de Souza’s fado at The North Pole Bar Drumfree

June 16, 8am – The Henry Girls – Breakfast at An Grianán of Aileach, music and free cup of Donegal Creamery milk

June 16, 11am – Proteus Poetry stroll on Lisfannon Beach Fahan with Anne-Marie Ní Churreáin

June 16, 8pm – The Other Arab Woman at Balor Theatre Ballybofey

June 16, 10pm  – New Mother Gift at Letterkenny Hospital. To mark the Ulysses Episode XIV (Oxen of the Sun), a gift will be hand-delivered to the mother of whichever child is born closest to 10pm in both Altnagelvin and Letterkenny hospitals.

Molly Bloomday is described as a bold, if not cheeky, response for Ireland’s most famous literary date. Local theatres, galleries, music venues, pubs and outdoor spaces will host over 30 celebrated and emerging individual female artists representing photography, music, documentary film, DJs, visual and textile art, dance, circus and song in a festive, cultural, and spectacle-filled weekend across the city of Derry and the landscape of Donegal.

Among the many highlights of YES festival will be the world premiere of The Molly Films, a new cinematic suite in Derry giving a fresh presentation of a literary masterpiece and featuring a cast of some of the UK and Ireland’s finest actors, including Dame Harriet Walter, Fiona Shaw, Adjoa Andoh, Siobhán McSweeney and Eve Hewson.

YES runs from 13-16 June and is almost entirely free of charge. For tickets and details on free transport please visit www.yesderry.com