Who is Blazes Boylan in Ulysses?
Hugh “Blazes” Boylan is a flashy Dublin concert manager who is organising Molly Bloom's singing tour, and who becomes her lover at 4 pm on 16 June 1904. Bloom knows the meeting is coming and spends the day trying not to think about it.
Edited by Aidan O'Leary · Last updated 30 October 2026
Where it appears
Several episodes. Mr Power, pointing Boylan out from the funeral carriage on the way to Glasnevin.
—Blazes Boylan, Mr Power said. There he is airing his quiff.
What it means in plain English
Boylan is confident, well dressed and loud: a straw hat, tan shoes, a red flower. He sends Molly a letter in the morning, buys her fruit and wine in the afternoon, and jingles across Dublin on a jaunting car to Eccles Street.
Bloom sees him three times and each time turns away. In Sirens, Boylan's jingle is heard approaching the house while Bloom eats in the Ormond.
Literary context
“Blazes” suggests fire and heat, and the hell of jealousy. Molly's own thoughts about him in Penelope are mixed, even dismissive.
References
- Ulysses, Episodes 4, 6, 8, 10, 11, 17 and 18
- Don Gifford with Robert J. Seidman, Ulysses Annotated (revised edition, 1988)
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Questions readers ask
Is Molly having an affair with Boylan?
Yes. They meet at 7 Eccles Street at about 4 pm.
Why doesn't Bloom stop it?
The novel suggests a mix of fear, guilt, love and resignation; the Blooms' marriage has been strained since their son died.
Related terms
Molly Bloom
Leopold's wife, a singer, whose long unpunctuated monologue closes the book on the word 'yes.' Joyce's Penelope.
Leopold Bloom
The central character: a kind, curious advertising canvasser whose wanderings give the novel its shape. Joyce's modern Odysseus.
Cuckoo
“Cuckoo” is the cry of the cuckoo clock that ends Bloom's part of Episode 13. The cuckoo lays eggs in other birds' nests, and the word gives us “cuckold”, a man whose wife is unfaithful. The clock calls it out to Bloom, whose wife has just been with Blazes Boylan.
Seaside Girls
“Those Lovely Seaside Girls” is a music-hall song mentioned in Milly's letter in Episode 4: a student has been singing “Boylan's song” about seaside girls. Its catchy lines run through Bloom's head all day, linking Boylan, Milly and Molly.