Ennis Book Club Festival
6th – 8th March 2015
Tickets on Sale
Hi All, tickets for all events in all venues available at glór box office Tel. 065 6843103 or www.glor.ie. Booking is brisk so please avoid disappointment and book now. This year, we believe that we’re presenting the perfect mix of poetry, politics, fiction and non-fiction.
What Makes Great Writing Great?
Temple Gate Hotel | Friday 6th March at 3.30pm
Cork-born Billy O’Callaghan joins us to share with us his thoughts on what makes great writing great. Billy is the author of short story collections – In Exile (2008), In Too Deep (2009) and The Things We Lose, the Things We Leave Behind (2013) which earned him a 2013 Bord Gáis Energy Irish Book Award. His non-fiction book, entitled Learning from the Greats, was published in 2014 by Cork City Libraries. It has been broadcast on RTE Radio One’s Book on One, Sunday Miscellany and the Francis McManus Awards series and has been selected as Ireland’s representative for the UNESCO Cities of Literature project. Presented by Clare Libraries. FREE EVENT
To All The Boys We Loved Before
Temple Gate Hotel | Friday 6th March at 4.00pm
The festival is delighted to welcome Ying Tai Chang who is visiting us for the first time. She will read from a selection of her works, including her most recent novel, the intriguingly titled To All the Boys We Loved Before.Ying-Tai Chang is an award-winning Taiwanese writer and academic. Her writing has garnered numerous awards and has been listed among the Best Taiwanese Fiction at the Frankfurt Book Fair. Her works include the novels, To All the Boys We Loved Before (2012), The Rose with A Thousand Faces (2011), The Zither Player from Angkor (2008) and The Bear Whispered to Me (2007); as well as the short-story collections The Unstoppable Spring (2009), Floating Nest (2004), and My Tibetan Lover (2000). Presented by Clare Libraries. FREE EVENT
Launch Of The Night Game
Temple Gate Hotel | Friday 6th March at 4.45pm
Join us for the launch of Frank Golden’s new thriller The Night Game. Frank is a Clare-based poet, novelist, and painter. He has published four books of poems, the most recent of which is In Daily Accord (Salmon Publications). His first novel, The Two Women of Aganatz (Wolfhound Press), was well received, and described by Carol Coulter in the Irish Times as “uncomfortable, but compellingly and poetically described by a powerful imagination”. FREE EVENT
Festival Launch & Exhibition Opening
glór | Friday 6th March at 6.30pm
Ennis welcomes RTE presenter and author Evelyn O’Rourke to launch this year’s festival and exhibition. The exhibition ‘To Be Or Naught To Be Is Written In Sand’ includes the work of some of Ireland’s finest painters: Carmel Doherty, Richard Sharp, Brian McMahon, Will Gillchrist and Mick O’Dea. The paintings were inspired by poems which the artists selected from the work of the Clare based Poetry Collective. Both the paintings and the poems that inspired them will be on show until Monday, 9 March, at glór and The Rowan Tree. FREE EVENT
Catalpa
glór | Friday 6th March at 8.00pm
Written and performed by Donal O’Kelly, Catalpa is a classic of modern Irish theatre. It is the story of the daring 1875 whaleship rescue of six Irish prisoners from Fremantle penal colony in Australia – all in a screenwriter’s head, the best movie never made! Catalpa is about heroes and visionaries, political intrigue and personal loyalty, with hot romance, mixed-up rebels and battles at sea. A subversive epic, a celebration of the power of live theatre “lyrical and passionate, satirical and very funny” (Irish Times). Catalpa has toured the world to high acclaim, winning a Fringe First in Edinburgh. Featuring live music by Trevor Knight. BOOK NOW
Books & Buns
Rowan Tree Café | Saturday 7th March at 9.00am
Enjoy a Saturday morning book club gathering and test your literary knowledge in the delightful surroundings of the Rowan Tree Café. Refreshments included in the ticket price and lots of fun guaranteed. BOOK NOW
A Migrant Heart
Temple Gate Hotel | Saturday 7th March at 10.00am
Denis Sampson will read from his memoir, A Migrant Heart, which he describes as a personal reflection on his journey from early childhood in Clare to Canada where he now lives. Denis grew up in Whitegate, Co. Clare. His Young John McGahern: Becoming a Novelist and Outstaring Nature’s Eye, won widespread critical respect for their appreciation of McGahern’s art. He has written features and reviews for Irish and Canadian newspapers, and personal essays for literary journals such as Dublin Review, Irish Pages (Belfast), Brick (Toronto) and the Threepenny Review (San Francisco). RTE has broadcast many essays on Sunday Miscellany. His The Found Voice: Writers’ Beginnings is due out from Oxford University Press later this year. BOOK NOW
10 Books You Should Read
glór | Saturday 7th March at 11.30am
This year, we have two very special guests who will argue why we should add their suggestions to our reading lists. A treasured friend of the Festival, Joseph O’Connor, joins us from the Creative Writing Programme at University of Limerick where last year he was appointed Frank McCourt Professor of Creative Writing. Evelyn O’Rourke is back in action on Saturday morning to share her favourite 10 books and her insights into why they should feature on everyone’s reading list. Joseph O’Connor is the author of the novels Cowboys and Indians (short-listed for the Whitbread Prize), Desperadoes, The Salesman, Inishowen, Star of the Sea, and Redemption Falls, as well as a number of bestselling works of non-fiction, film scripts and stage-plays including the award-winning Red Roses and Petrol. His novel the multi award winning Star of the Sea sold more than a million copies and was published in 38 languages. Ghost Light was published in June 2010 to rave reviews internationally and was chosen as Dublin’s One City One Book novel for 2011. His latest novel is The Thrill of it All, published in May 2014 by Harvill Secker. Evelyn O’Rourke is a broadcaster and journalist. She has presented and reported on a wide range of radio and TV programmes in both Irish and English for RTE. Evelyn worked as Gerry Ryan’s reporter for eight years. She now works on Radio 1 as reporter and stand-in presenter on their daily arts programme, Arena. She also co-presented this year’s Irish Book Awards on RTÉ TV. Published in 2014, Evelyn’s first book Dear Ross, gives a moving account of her coping with breast cancer while pregnant with her second child. BOOK NOW
Walking tours of Ennis with Seán Spellissy
glór | Saturday 7th March at 11.30am
Walking tours of Ennis conducted on Saturday by Seán Spellissy, author and local historian. BOOK NOW
Whatever Happened To Family History?
Old Ground Hotel | Saturday 7th March at 11.30am
John Grenham asks ‘Whatever happened to family history?’ He will introduce us to Irish genealogy by way of looking at what has changed in the past decade. Lots of anecdotes, scabrous gossip and insider low-downs are promised. John, since 1998, has run The Irish Times Irish Ancestors website (www.irishtimes.com/ancestor). Among his publications are Tracing your Irish Ancestors (Gill & Macmillan, 4th ed. 2012), Clans and Families of Ireland (1995), Generations (1996), ‘The Genealogical Office and its Records’ in The Genealogical Office (1999) and Grenham’s Irish Surnames (CD-ROM, 2003). He writes the ‘Irish Roots’ column in The Irish Times and co-presented the RTE television programme ‘The Genealogy Roadshow’. This event is presented in association with Clare Roots Society. BOOK NOW
Literary Lunch with Peter Fallon, Eiléan Ní Chuilleanáin & Michael Coady
Temple Gate Hotel | Saturday 7th March at 1.15pm
Three of Ireland’s favourite poets join us, courtesy of Gallery Press, for a literary lunch, a new addition to the Ennis Book Club Festival. Light lunch will be provided after which Peter Fallon, Michael Coady and Eiléan Ní Chuilleanáin read from their recent work. Peter Fallon is a prize-winning poet. His books include The Georgics of Virgil (a PBS-recommended translation) (Oxford World’s Classics), The Company of Horses (2007) and Strong, My Love (May 2014). He lives in Loughcrew in County Meath where he has farmed for many years. Michael Coady lives in Carrick-on-Suir, County Tipperary. His prize winning poetry collections include Two for a Woman, Three for A Man (1980), Oven Lane, a Poetry Ireland Choice, All Souls, One Another, Going by Water and a revised Oven Lane and Other Poems (2014). Eiléan Ní Chuilleanáin was born in Cork city. Recent books include The Girl Who Married the Reindeer, Selected Poems and The Sun-fish. The Boys of Bluehill will be published in 2015. She has won the Patrick Kavanagh Award, the O’Shaughnessy Award of the Irish-American Cultural Institute and the Griffin International Poetry Prize. BOOK NOW
Ones To Watch
glór | Saturday 7th March at 3.00pm
Evelyn O’Rourke hosts readings by newcomers, Sara Baume, Colin Barrett and Nuala Ní Chonchúir, all of whom are destined for ’10 books you should read’ lists in the not too distant future. Sara Baume studied fine art at Dun Laoghaire College of Art and Design before completing a Master’s in Creative Writing at Trinity College, Dublin. Her short fiction has been published in The Dublin Review, The Moth, The Penny Dreadful, The Stinging Fly and the Irish Independent as part of the Hennessy New Irish Writing series. In 2014 she won the prestigious Davy Byrnes Award for her short story ‘Solesearcher1’. Her debut novel, Spill Simmer Falter Wither, will have been launched by the time we meet her in Ennis. Colin Barrett hails from County Mayo. His debut collection of short stories, Young Skins, was originally published by the Stinging Fly Press in Ireland and won the 2014 Frank O’Connor International Short Story Prize, The Guardian First Book Award and the Rooney Prize for Literature. Colin’s stories have been published in the Stinging Fly magazine, Five Dials, A Public Space and The New Yorker. Nuala Ní Chonchúir is a novelist, short story writer and poet. Her critically acclaimed second novel The Closet of Savage Mementos appeared in April 2014 from New Island publishers. Penguin USA, Penguin Canada and Sandstone (UK) will publish Nuala’s third novel, Miss Emily, about the poet Emily Dickinson and her Irish maid, in summer 2015. BOOK NOW
Shackleton: By Endurance We Conquer
Old Ground Hotel | Saturday 7th March at 3.00pm
Michael Smith pays a return visit to Ennis, this time with his biography of Ernest Shackleton. Michael has written nine books, appeared on TV and radio and lectured extensively on polar exploration. His book, An Unsung Hero: Tom Crean was responsible for generating widespread popular interest in Irish explorers and getting Crean’s life adopted onto the Irish school’s curriculum. His new biography of Sir Ernest Shackleton, Shackleton: By Endurance We Conquer, has been greeted with acclaim. BOOK NOW
Waiting For Godot
glór studio | Saturday 7th March at 4.00pm
With wit and bowler hats, Clare Youth Theatre brings you extracts from Waiting For Godot. Two teenagers don suits and hats, and bring you the stark Beckettian atmosphere that comes with Vladimir and Estragon’s trials and tribulations. Clare Youth Theatre present this iconic piece of theatre, using scenes that fit together to bring you a fresh insight into the relationship between these two tramps. BOOK NOW
Niall Williams & Mary Costello
glór | Saturday 7th March at 4.30pm
These two authors need no introduction to Ennis Book Club Festival visitors. Niall Williams who lives in West Clare was longlisted for the Man Booker Prize for his latest novel, History of The Rain set on the banks of the river Shannon “where everyone is a long story”. Niall will read a selection of pieces from his many novels and short stories. Mary Costello grew up in Galway and now lives in Dublin. Her collection of stories, The China Factory, was nominated for the 2012 Guardian first book award. Her first novel, Academy Street, won the 2014 Eason’s Novel of the Year award and was shortlisted for the Costa First Novel Prize. BOOK NOW
Blues & Books
Scéal Eile Books | Saturday 7th March at 6.00pm
Browse an eclectic array of new and second-hand books accompanied by live music by Paulo Cerato and Trevor Hansbury. FREE EVENT
It’s A Crime…
glór | Saturday 7th March at 8.00pm
Seán Rocks, Presenter of Arena on RTÉ Radio 1, in conversation with crime writers, Paul Carson and Val McDermid. Crime writing is a fascinating topic and crime fiction is a popular genre among book clubs everywhere. In this year’s Sean Rocks interview, we will hear from Paul Carson whose novels are number-one bestsellers and from Val McDermid who, when she’s not writing a bestseller, can be seen and heard debating and contributing to broad ranging cultural and political discussion. Paul Carson has published six bestselling thrillers. His first novel, Scalpel, was published in 1997 by Heinemann and became an immediate Irish Times bestseller, Cold Steel followed a year later and in 2000, Final Duty hit the bookshelves. Since 2000, he has published Ambush (2003) and Betrayal (2005). His most recent novel, Inquest (2013), which he describes as his most challenging creation, took him into a dark side of medicine in the Coroner’s Court. Val McDermid has written 27 bestselling crime novels; The Skeleton Road –her 28th – was published by Little, Brown in 2014 when she also published a retelling of Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey and an exploration of forensic science, Forensics: An Anatomy of Crime. A regular broadcaster with BBC Radio, Val’s five-part ‘Woman’s Hour’ drama, Village SOS, was broadcast on BBC Radio 4, and in 2011 Val also presented the BBC Radio 4 serial The Chalet School, in which she talked about how that series of books inspired her education and career. In 2014, Dundee University has named its new mortuary in her honour. BOOK NOW
Festival Club
Old Ground Hotel | Saturday 7th March at 10.30pm
Mingle with authors and readers in the relaxed atmosphere of the Maguire Suite in the Old Ground Hotel. FREE EVENT
The Sunday Symposium — Politics & Pathology
glór | Sunday 8th March at 10.00am
This year’s Sunday Symposium explores what life is like inside the ‘tent’ for Irish politicians. RTE’s recent Haughey series has provided grist to the mill for those of us who like to ponder such matters, but have you ever asked yourself, why — given the old adage that ‘all political careers end in failure’ — anybody would choose a career in politics? And what really goes on backstage? This year’s panellists include: former government minister and PD leader Des O’Malley who in 2014 published his autobiography, DCU’s Dr Gary Murphy whose academic work focuses on lobbying and who’s got a book in the pipeline about Irish politics since 1987, RTE’s Katie Hannon who wrote The Naked Politician, her fascinating account of life in the ‘trenches’, and Mick Clifford who as well as informing and entertaining us with his keenly crafted political columns in the Irish Examiner, also authored an account of Bertie Ahern and the ‘Drumcondra Mafia’ as well as a crime novel or two. As always our own Caimin Jones does the honours in the chair. BOOK NOW
Clare Voices
Old Ground Hotel | Sunday 8th March at 12.15
We platform the work of Inis Creative Writers Group alongside the Poetry Collective in this special event celebrating some unique voices of Co Clare. FREE EVENT
Walking tour of Ennis with Jane O’Brien
glór | Sunday 8th March at 12.15
Walking tours of Ennis conducted on Saturday by Jane O’Brien of Ennis Walking Tours. BOOK NOW
The Daughterhood Literary Lunch
Old Ground Hotel | Sunday 8th March at 1.30pm
Natasha Fennell and Róisín Ingle share the funny, poignant and occasionally heart-breaking story of The Daughterhood. When Natasha Fennell’s mother was diagnosed with a progressive illness, her life came to a standstill. She wondered how she would cope when her mother was gone and whether she had been a good enough daughter. After a call out to daughters in Róisín Ingle’s weekly Irish Times column, Natasha and Róisín quickly learned that other daughters had similar fears and had never spoken about them before. An impromptu, informal self-help club, The Daughterhood, was formed – albeit one that involved good food and wine – as once a month a group of women would come together to help each other navigate the most important and sometimes trickiest relationship of our lives. Natasha is a Director at Stillwater Communications and a regular reviewer and contributor on RTE Radio 1’s flagship discussion programmes. Róisín is Daily Features Editor and Broadcaster at The Irish Times. She writes a column in the paper’s Magazine every Saturday. BOOK NOW
Comórtas Filíochta
Scéal Eile Books | Sunday 8th March at 3pm
Scéal Eile Books together with award-winning bilingual poet Doireann Ní Ghríofa host a reading by the 10 Clare poets (aged 12-15 years) who were recently shortlisted in the Sceal Eile Books’ Comórtas Filíochta. The event will be streamed live online. FREE EVENT
Special Offers
When you book the following events together a 10% discount will apply to the overall price: Friday 6th & Saturday 7th • Catalpa plus 10 Books You Should Read Saturday 7th • Literary Lunch plus Ones to Watch • Niall Williams & Mary Costello plus It’s A Crime… We recommend early booking to avoid disappointment. Please arrive early for each event. Latecomers will only be admitted if there is a suitable interval. Main contact: Liz Kelly, Festival Director: 086 352 2227
Getting To Ennis
Getting here is easy from anywhere in Ireland. You can travel by rail from Dublin, Galway and Limerick. For details check out www.irishrail.ie or call Ennis Train Station on 065 684 0444. There are regular bus services from Dublin, Cork, Limerick and Galway. More details can be found at www.buseireann.ie or www.citylink.ie. Shannon Airport is about 20 minutes drive from Ennis, with flights from airports in the UK, continental Europe and the US. A regular bus service links the airport with Ennis. www.shannonairport.com.
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