No Borders, No Boundaries - Celebrate and Inspire - JOHN O'CONNOR - The John O'Connor Writing School
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P R O G R A M M E
JOHN O’CONNOR
WRITING SCHOOL
No Borders, No Boundaries
– Celebrate and Inspire
BOOKING INFORMATION A MESSAGE FROM THE LORD MAYOR OF ARMAGH CITY, BANBRIDGE
AND CRAIGAVON, COUNCILLOR JULIE FLAHERTY
BOOKING INFORMATION:
Online:
https://visitarmagh.com/johnoconnor
www.thejohnoconnorwritingschool.com On behalf of Armagh City, Banbridge and
In person: Craigavon Borough Council, it’s my pleasure
Armagh Visitor Information Centre, 40 Upper English Street, Armagh, BT61 7BA. to welcome you to the John O’Connor Writing
School and Literary Arts Festival programme
Phone: 0044 (0) 28 3752 1800 of events which are taking place across our
Email: vic@armaghbanbridgecraigavon.gov.uk Borough for a third successive year.
ACCOMMODATION: We are honoured that the City of Armagh can
pay tribute to the talent of John O’Connor by
Armagh Visitor Information Centre 40 Upper English Street; 00 44 (0) 28 3752 1800 for offering a diverse and unique mix of courses,
recommendations on all types of accommodation in the area. talks and projects which will not only
The John O’Connor Festival team will manage bookings for single room budget showcase an array of talent but also
accommodation in The Royal School, College Hill, Armagh BT61 9DH. inspire and encourage the next
Contact johnoconnorwritingschool@outlook.com generation of emerging writers.
The Charlemont Arms Hotel (57-65 Upper English St) offers a 10% discount on room rates I wish to recognise the hard work and
for attendees at the festival. Please quote JOCWS. Phone: 00 44 (0) 3752 2028 effort by all the members of the
committee who are working extremely
hard to pull together a full and varied
WRITING SCHOOL CORE COURSES AND TASTER CLASS FEES: programme for people of all ages to enjoy
Early Bird offer: 15% reduction on all places booked by 4 October and appreciate.
Intensive Core courses, including Industry Talk and Publishers’ Panel (12+ hours). Councillor Julie Flaherty
Students pick ONE course of study to follow over the three days: Lord Mayor
Adult: £135 (Choose from Fiction, Screenwriting, Playwriting, Poetry, Songwriting)
Concession: £99 (over 65s, unwaged, students).
Taster Classes: £25 (choose from Prose, Playwriting, Poetry). Concession: £18.
LITERARY ARTS FESTIVAL TICKETS:
Prices as listed per event.
Early Bird offer: 10% on all Literary Arts Festival events up to 4 October (excludes Muldoon’s
Picnic on Saturday 3rd November).
Ticket Exchange/Refund: Once purchased, tickets cannot be exchanged or refunded.
Refunds only if a class or event or is cancelled. Concessions require proof of eligibility.
2 3
JOHN O’CONNOR WRITING SCHOOL AND LITERARY ARTS FESTIVAL 2018 JOHN O’CONNOR WRITING SCHOOL AND LITERARY ARTS FESTIVAL 2018
A word from Cathy McCullough and
Kathryn Baird, Festival Organisors
A word from our Patron, Paul Muldoon We are pleased to present this, our third, John
O’Connor Writing School and Literary Arts Festival
It’s such a pleasure not only to serve as patron of the festival but, this year, programme.
to take part as a presenter and performer. This is a festival based on the Our motto, ‘No borders, No Boundaries – Celebrate
local, as are almost all interesting artistic projects, and it resonates for me in
Photo: Adrian Cook
and Inspire’, endures. These ideals are close to the
several very local ways. heart of John O’Connor and to the festival we put on
My Collegelands neighbour, Jimmy Campbell, was the first person from in his honour.
whom I heard of W.R. Rodgers, who will be featured on the first day. We believe that both our writing school and literary arts festival programmes contain something for
Jimmy was an apple grower, and he was very proud of the fact that the everyone, and hold dear the belief that the festival must be open and welcoming to all. It should be a
Presbyterian minister from Cloveneden, just a few miles down the road, place where all feel at ease, are exposed to new ideas and experiences, and where hearts are gladdened
would make a point of buying apples from him. I’m particularly looking with the magic and beauty of language in all its forms.
forward to hearing my old friend, Michael Longley, talk about Rodgers in
Armagh County Museum. 2018 is a very special year for me, since it was 50 We invite you to celebrate with us again this year and to find the inspiration to start or continue your
years ago, in 1968, that I met both Longley and Seamus Heaney at an event writing life.
in that same museum. In addition to our core courses, this year, for the first time, we are offering additional taster classes for
I thought of W.R. Rodgers almost every day as I climbed the hill to my beginners and the curious: join in!
school, St. Patrick’s College, mostly because of his beautiful poem which The John O’Connor Writing School and Literary Arts Festival is delighted to welcome back our patron,
begins ‘There is a through-otherness about Armagh.’ It was in that school Paul Muldoon, the writer and journalist, Robert McCrum, the musicians, Gareth Dunlop and Lisa Lambe,
that I first became interested in the Irish language, as well as both Hiberno- and to introduce the writers Rick Stroud and Namita Gokhale. We also extend a warm welcome to the
English and the Lowland Scots dialects, and it was there I first read ‘The poets Roger McGough and Peter Fallon, theatre writers and directors Martin Lynch and Emma Jordan,
Lament for Art O’Leary.’ Again, there’s a lovely resonance to the fact that actresses Susan Lynch and Lisa Dwan – and a host of others to inspire and enthrall.
we’re able to present a new version of that great poem during a festival that
will, I trust, continue to be a staple of the Armagh cultural landscape. As we celebrate this jewel of a city and its literary and cultural heritage, we invite you to come and enjoy
with us the many delights that our programme has to offer.
Another long-established feature of the local landscape was the ceilidh-
house, the site of evenings of recitations of W.F. Marshall and Robert Cathy and Kathryn.
Service, fiddle and flute music, and the telling of tales. It was out of such a
tradition that the music-hall and vaudeville variety shows developed, and
it was indeed as a variety-show that the original Muldoon’s Picnic was first
presented in New York in the 1870s. That featured a comedy sketch called A word from Damian Smyth, Arts Council of
‘Who Owns the Clothes Line?’ about a dispute in a New York tenement that
could easily have been presented in Collegelands Parish Hall in the 1950s, Northern Ireland
almost certainly followed by the apple-grower, Jimmy Campbell, singing The Arts Council is proud to be associated once again, as a
‘Dobbin’s Flowery Vale’: principal funder, with this significant annual literary event,
One morning fair as Phoebus bright her radiant charms displayed, which made such an emphatic statement of intent when it
And Flora in her mantle green those verdant plains arrayed. opened two years ago and has maintained an international standard ever since. The
As I did rove throughout each grove, no care did me assail, calibre of the participating writers and artists befits the legacy of John O’Connor and of
Till a pair I spied by the water side in Dobbins flowery vale. his city, as an historic seat of learning. The programme offers important support to new
and emerging writers and invites everyone to enjoy high-quality creative experiences,
Paul. all in the company of some of the leading names in writing. I do hope you will take the
opportunity to be part of it.
Damian.
4 5
O JOHN
n the outskirts of Armagh on the Loughall road there was a small
hamlet of fifty tiny houses built for the workers of the Duncairne Spin-
ning Mill. It was here that John O’Connor was born on 4th April 1920
and here that he lived with his family. His father, Johnny, was a First
World War Somme veteran who returned in 1916 with shrapnel injuries
O’CONNOR
to his leg and head. He was a cobbler by trade and he eked out a modest living with his
wife Kitty by running a little shop from their tiny kitchen in the Mill Row.
It was a simple life, dictated by the working mill, the river floods and the modesty of
the lives lived there.
The family moved from the Mill Row in 1932, to a ‘grand’ house by comparison, at
WRITING
St. Columba’s Terrace, Banbrook Hill. A blue plaque in honour of O’Connor has been
erected at the house.
John O’Connor left school in the mid-1930s and worked, briefly, as a telegram boy. His
career with the post office was short-lived as he much preferred lying on the banks of the
Callan River dreaming and crafting his stories. He became a prolific writer, producing
pieces for local newspapers, a large number of short stories and several documentary
programmes for the BBC under the encouraging eye of his close friend and mentor, Sam
Hanna Bell.
His only novel, Come Day – Go Day, was described by Benedict Kiely as a ‘masterpiece’
SCHOOL
beautifully capturing the ‘wonder, danger and magic of ordinary days’.
In the early 1950s John O’Connor travelled to Papua New Guinea and then Australia,
where he died suddenly from peritonitis in Ayr, near Townsville, in December 1959.
His emergence as a storyteller of genius did not happen in a vacuum: his immersion
PROGRAMME
in the cultural and literary traditions of his native city in particular, and County Armagh
in general, is evident in his work. The people and environment were his material; local 1ST– 4TH NOVEMBER 2018
schools and institutions fed his creativity.
Come Day – Go Day was first published by Golden Eagle Books Limited in Dublin in
1948, then republished by Blackstaff Press in 1984.
In 1984 Sam Hanna Bell said, ‘We’ve had to wait 36 years for the reappearance of this
gallery of beautifully drawn characters.’ Pioneered by Sam Hanna Bell and John Boyd,
and more recently by Paul Muldoon, he is described as ‘Armagh’s lost literary great’ (Cul- ‘There are no borders, and no boundaries
ture Northern Ireland, 2016).
The next edition of Come Day – Go Day was published by The John O’Connor Writing where good writing is concerned’.
School in November 2016, with the assistance of the Arts Council of Northern Ireland.
This recent publication will help bring the work of this important author to the wider
John O’Connor.
audience that it – and he – deserves.
Now, a new generation of writers, poets, playwrights, songwriters, film-makers and
their audiences will gather again in Armagh to celebrate and enjoy the beauty of language
in all its forms, to revisit the work of John O’Connor, and to take inspiration from his
beautiful city, and from each other.
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JOHN O’CONNOR WRITING SCHOOL 1ST-4TH NOVEMBER 2018 WRITING SCHOOL PROGRAMME 1ST-4TH NOVEMBER 2018
T he Writing School courses will provide intensive tuition for
everyone, including new and emerging writers. The choice of
AT A GLANCE WRITING SCHOOL PROGRAMME November 2018
Registration
Friday 2nd
9.00am: Registration and Lord
Saturday 3rd Sunday 4th
tutor is designed to ensure that the focus rests firmly on inspiring, Mayor’s welcome.
Venue: Armagh Robinson
celebrating and encouraging each and every student, irrespective of Library.
their level of skill and expertise. Poetry Class: 11.00am-3.00pm (bring Class: 9.00am-12.00pm Class: 9.30am-12.30pm
a packed lunch) Including Industry Talk: Venue: Marketplace Theatre
The Student Programme consists of five core courses: Poetry, Course tutor: Peter Fallon. 11.00am-12.00pm with Roger and Arts Centre.
Fiction, Playwriting, Screenwriting and Songwriting. Students will Venue: Marketplace Theatre McGough.
and Arts Centre. Venue: Marketplace Theatre
select one course of study and will receive up to eleven hours of and Arts Centre.
tuition, including an Industry Talk specific to their subject and an Fiction Class: 11.00am-3.00pm (bring Class: 9.00am-12.00pm Class: 9.30am-12.30pm
a packed lunch) Including Industry Talk: Venue: AmmA Centre.
opportunity to attend a Publishers’ Panel discussion. Course tutor: Tom Bromley. 11.00am-12.00pm with
Industry Talks are provided by some of the best writers in Ireland Venue: AmmA Centre. Robert McCrum and Joanna
Mackle.
and the United Kingdom, allowing students an opportunity to Venue: AmmA Centre.
engage with them in an informal setting. Playwriting Class: 11.00am-3.00pm (bring Class: 9.00am-12.00pm Class: 9.30am-12.30pm
a packed lunch) Including Industry Talk: Venue: Marketplace Theatre
All classes begin and end at the same time, and are scheduled so Course tutor: Brenda Winter 11.00am-12.00pm with Emma and Arts Centre.
that students can attend all of the events in the Literary Arts Festival. Palmer. Jordan.
Venue: Marketplace Theatre Venue: Marketplace Theatre
In addition to the core courses, we are pleased to add an and Arts Centre. and Arts Centre.
additional three courses aimed at beginners. These courses are
available in Poetry, Prose/Fiction and Playwriting. Screenwriting Class: 11.00am-3.00pm (bring
a packed lunch)
Class: 9.00am-12.00pm
Including Industry Talk:
Class: 9.30am-12.30pm
Venue: AmmA Centre.
O’Connor had a highly-developed social conscience, believing in Course tutor: Christine Morrow. 11.00am-12.00pm with
Venue: AmmA Centre. Daragh Carville.
equal opportunity for all, irrespective of social, cultural, religious or Venue: AmmA Centre.
educational background. Songwriting Class: 11.00am-3.00pm (bring Class: 9.00am-1.30pm Class: 9.30am-12.30pm
He was a colourful character, a writer, a sportsman and an athlete, a packed lunch)
Course tutor: Garath Dunlop.
Venue: AmmA Centre. Venue: AmmA Centre.
with a predilection for pink socks and orange ties, which doubtless Venue: AmmA Centre.
didn’t go unnoticed in his hometown. He left Armagh in 1952 to Industry Talks 11.00am–12.00pm
Note: A number of places
embark on new adventures, travelling to Australia, where he died in are available to the public.
1959 in a boarding house near Townsville, on the north-east coast of Admission is free, but places
will be allocated at the venue
Queensland. on a first-come, first-served,
basis.
He was an idealist, an intrepid adventurer – some would say a
dreamer – but through hard work and determination he became an Step Into Writing 10.00am-1.00pm
Taster Classes Step Into Playwriting:
admired and respected writer. @ Abbey Lane Theatre.
Step Into Fiction Writing:
We hope you will be inspired by him to begin and continue on @ Milford House Collection.
Step Into Poetry:
your writing journey. @ Charlemont Arms Hotel.
We are proud to celebrate John O’Connor and all of the tutors, Step Into Writing for Business
and PR:
writers and contributors to our 2018 programme. @ Armagh Robinson Library.
Publishers’ Panel 12.30-1.30pm
8 Key: AmmA: Armagh multi media Access, Market Place, Armagh. 9
WRITING SCHOOL PROGRAMME COURSE DETAILS WRITING SCHOOL PROGRAMME POETRY CLASS DETAILS
Core Course timetable and
Step Into Course timetable Core Course Venues Poetry
Students choose one course of study for an Poetry and Playwriting: with Peter Fallon.
intensive three-day programme, or one course Market Place Theatre and Arts Centre, 9 Market St. Venue: Marketplace Theatre, 9 Market Street.
designed for beginners.
Fiction, Screenwriting and Songwriting: Friday 2nd November 11.00am–3.00pm.
Friday 2nd November Amma Centre, Market St. Please bring a packed lunch.
9.00am–10.45am: Registration and Lord Mayor’s Saturday 3rd November 9.00am–12.00pm
Welcome.
Step Into (Taster) Courses Sunday 4th November 9.30am–12.30pm
It is requested that all Writing School students
Step Into courses (taster half-day sessions) are ‘The man who brought jazz and pizazz to
attending the Core Courses register at this event.
available in Poetry, Fiction/Prose, and Playwriting. Irish poetry’ – The Irish Times.
Armagh Robinson Library, 43 Abbey Street.
Step Into (Taster) Course Times The Assembly of Poetry.
Core Courses Saturday 3 November This workshop focuses on ways in which a poem
Core courses are available in: Poetry, Fiction, 10.00am–1.00pm grows and on strategies by which ideas and feelings Poetry Industry Talk
Playwriting, Screenwriting and Songwriting. are translated into language. It pays detailed attention
to the participants’ own work and considers writing’s
with Roger McGough.
Students are expected to attend the Publishers’
Panel and discussion– details on page 27 of the Step Into (Taster) Course Venues relationship with the author’s community and with the Venue: Marketplace Theatre,
programme. tradition it extends. 9 Market Street.
Fiction:
Milford House Collection, 3 Victoria St. Peter Fallon is a prize-winning Irish poet whose books Saturday 3rd November
include The Georgics of Virgil (Oxford World’s Classics), 11.00am–12.00 pm (This talk is part
Industry Talks and Publishers’ Panel Poetry:
Oak Room, Charlemont Arms Hotel, 57-65 Upper
The Company of Horses and Strong, My Love. As founder of the Core Poetry Course).
Each core course will benefit from an Industry (in 1970) and publisher of The Gallery Press, he has
English St.
edited and published five hundred books of poems and ‘The patron saint of poetry’
Talk with a respected writer in their field, and the
Publishers’ Panel. Both the Industry Talk and the Playwriting: plays by the country’s finest established and emerging – Carol Ann Duffy.
Publishers’ Panel form part of the course content. Abbey Lane Theatre, Abbey Lane. authors and possesses a unique track record as an
Writing for Business and PR: editor and assembler of books. A member of Aosdána, Hilarious and surreal, Roger McGough
Note: a small number of free places will be Peter Fallon lives in Loughcrew in County Meath where is a poet of many voices. President of the
available to the public at these talks. Places will Keeper’s Rooms, Armagh Robinson Library,
43 Abbey Street. he has farmed for many years. Poetry Society, he has been honoured
be allocated at the venue, on a first come, first with a CBE for services to literature and
served, basis and will be dependent on seat the Freedom of the City of Liverpool.
availability. Widely known for Lily The Pink, the
Aintree Iron, Scaffold, GRIMMS and
Core Course Times The Mersey Sound with Adrian Henri
and Brian Patten, he now presents the
(same for all courses) long-running Poetry Please on BBCR4. His
Molière adaptations travel far and wide
with English Touring Theatre. The beat
Friday 2 November goes on. @McgoughRoger.
11.00am–3.00pm.
Short lunch break – please bring a packed lunch. ‘A poemy torch in dark corners’
– Ian McMillan, Poetry Review
Saturday 3 November ‘Profound surprises and lasting images
on almost every line’
9.00am-12.00pm. (including Industry Talk)
– Siân Hughes, T.E.S.
Publishers’ Panel 12.30pm–1.30pm
Sunday 4 November
9.30am-12.30pm
10 11
WRITING SCHOOL PROGRAMME FICTION CLASS DETAILS WRITING SCHOOL PROGRAMME PLAYWRITING CLASS DETAILS
Photo: Antonio Olmos
Fiction Playwriting
with Tom Bromley. with Brenda Winter Palmer.
Venue: AmmA Centre, Market Street. Venue: The Marketplace Theatre and Arts Centre,
Friday 2 November 11.00am–3.00pm. 9 Market Street.
Please bring a packed lunch. Friday 2nd November 11.00am–3.00pm.
Saturday 3rd November 9.00am–12.00pm Please bring a packed lunch.
Sunday 4th November 9.30am–12.30pm Fiction Industry Talk Saturday 3rd November 9.00am–12.00pm
Sunday 4th November 9.30am–12.30pm
‘I am forever grateful to the Faber Academy for
helping me transform my late-night ramblings into a
with Robert McCrum ‘The script and performance were of the highest
workable first draft. A massive thank you to my tutor and Joanna Mackle. calibre’ – Myles Dungan, Hay Literary Festival at
Tom Bromley, whose teaching and mentoring were Kells, of Brenda’s play, Medal in the Drawer.
invaluable’ – Asia Mackay, author of Killing It. Venue: Amma Centre, Market Street.
Saturday 3rd November This course is aimed at those people who are keen
This course will focus on ways to improve and polish 11.00am–12.00pm (This talk is part to progress their playwriting skills. It takes as its
your prose writing skills. It will look at a number of of the Core Fiction Course). starting point that participants already understand
elements of better fiction writing, with a focus on the principles of conflict, characterisation and
reading like a writer (and writing like a reader), creating ‘McCrum’s biography is a startling plotting. Instead, it focuses on some of the practical Playwriting Industry Talk
chronology of literary achievement’
brilliant characters and developing your settings and
sense of place. – citation for Robert McCrum’s
techniques of theatre-making which will enable
prospective and emerging playwrights to use the
with Emma Jordan.
honorary doctorate from the magic of the stage to tell their story in an imaginative Venue: Marketplace Theatre,
Nothing beats the pull of a book that keeps you up
into the small hours turning the pages to find out University of Exeter. and inventive way. 9 Market Street.
what happens next. But how do you craft tales that ‘Joanna Mackle, highly-respected Brenda Winter Palmer has been a professional
make your readers miss their train stop? This course
Saturday 3rd November
former publishing executive at Faber actress, director, and writer for thirty nine years. In 11.00am–12.00pm (This talk is part
introduces you to some of the secrets of storytelling: and Faber, now Deputy Director of the the 1980s she was a founder member of Charabanc
how to draw readers in, keep them hooked and of the Core Playwriting Course).
British Museum, is one of London’s Theatre Company. In 1989 she founded Belfast’s
leave them feeling satisfied. It explores key plotting longest established Educational Theatre Company, ‘Emma Jordan understands more than
most influential “imagineers”’
techniques and shows you how to lay the foundations Replay. She has written numerous scripts for BBC most what makes a good script’
– London Evening Standard.
for your own compelling narratives. Radio and Television. She lectured at Queen’s – The Irish Times.
Tom Bromley is an author, ghostwriter and creative Robert McCrum was Editor–in–Chief of University Belfast in Drama Studies until 2016, and
writing tutor. He teaches novel writing for the has since continued with her career as a writer. Her Emma Jordan, the Artistic Director
Faber & Faber from 1980–1986, when he
Faber Academy and is the Director of Fiction for the First World War play, Medal in the Drawer (2014), has of Prime Cut Productions, is one of
published such writers as Kazuo Ishiguru,
Professional Writing Academy. Tom has spent over earned critical acclaim and enjoyed popular success. Northern Ireland’s most respected and
Milan Kundera, Marilynne Robinson, and
a decade working in publishing as a copywriter, prolific theatre practitioners. Her many
Hanif Kureishi. He was Literary Editor of
commissioning editor and publisher, and continues awards include Best Production, Best
The Observer (UK) from 1996-2012 and
to work for both publishers and literary agencies in a Actor, and Best Director for The Irish Times’
Associate Editor until 2017. His most
consulting capacity. Irish Theatre Awards 2017.
recent book, Every Third Thought, was
published in 2017.
Originally from Northern Ireland, Joanna
Mackle worked as Publishing Director at
Faber & Faber for many years, where she
collaborated with major writers including
Kazuo Ishiguro, Seamus Heaney, Ted
Hughes, John McGahern, Harold Pinter,
Paul Auster and our own patron, Paul
Muldoon. She is currently Deputy
Director of The British Museum.
12 13
WRITING SCHOOL PROGRAMME SCREENWRITING CLASS DETAILS WRITING SCHOOL PROGRAMME SONGWRITING CLASS DETAILS
Screenwriting Songwriting
with Christine Morrow. with Gareth Dunlop.
Venue: AmmA Centre, Market Street. Venue: AmmA Centre, Market Street.
Friday 2nd November 11.00am–3.00pm. Friday 2nd November 11.00am–3.00pm.
Please bring a packed lunch. Please bring a packed lunch.
Saturday 3rd November 9.00am–12.00pm Saturday 3rd November 9.00am–1.30pm
Sunday 4th November 9.30am–12.30pm Sunday 4th November 9.30am–12.30pm
This screenwriting course will focus on the ‘Dunlop has the kind of voice that can still a room
development and production of a short film. During with its vulnerability, the meaning behind the words
the course we will look at how to write documents heartfelt, the emotion real’. – Jason Holmes.
which facilitate the writing of a first draft of a short
film project. You will also learn how to collate a During his workshops Gareth will consider several different aspects of songwriting,
‘project bible’ to sell your work to a potential including ‘writing to brief’, co-writing, self-expression and the ‘business’ of writing songs.
producer, sales agent, broadcaster or screen agency.
The course is suitable for both new and emerging
Screenwriting When songs are written to match the moving images in adverts, trailers, television shows
and films this is called ‘writing to brief’. Gareth will discuss some of his own over seventy
screenwriters and auteur directors who want to learn Industry Talk such briefs, taking an in-depth look at how lyric, melody and harmony assist branding,
scenes and character.
more about writing and selling their short film.
with Daragh Carville. He will also draw on his extensive experience of co-writing. Working with partners in the
You will learn how to write a logline and short
synopsis as well as how to break down a key scene Venue: AmmA Centre, Market Street. class, and critiquing each other’s work, you will learn how to navigate a co-writing session
in a short film. For your project bible you will learn and bend and meld your own ideas with those of other writers.
Saturday 3rd November
about visual references, mood boards, visual style 11.00am–12.00pm (This talk is part Creativity and self-expression in songwriting will also be explored through case studies,
notes, directors’ notes, creative team, cast and crew of the Core Playwriting Course). with students discussing their musical influences and examining depth, narrative, tense,
details and how to write a one-page treatment for structure, melody and harmony in other writers’ songs.
your short film project. ‘The writing is inspired’ – The Guardian,
Publishing, copyright protection, performance and mechanical royalty splits and collection,
Christine Morrow joined Northern Ireland Screen of Daragh’s play, Language Roulette.
music licensing and catalogue administration will also be covered in the course.
as New and Emerging Talent Executive in January
2004, having previously worked in the development Daragh Carville is an award-winning The format will be open and interactive to accommodate all levels of ability and the varying
department of BBC Northern Ireland Drama. She playwright and screenwriter from backgrounds of the students.
has worked on a number of award-winning short Armagh. He is currently writing The Gareth Dunlop has won many awards for songwriting and seen his songs placed in
films, most notably the BAFTA winning and Oscar Bay (ITV/Tall Story), a six-part crime American hit TV shows including One Tree Hill, House, Nashville, and Cougar Town, and in the
nominated short, Boogaloo and Graham (2014). She drama which is due to be screened in motion pictures, Safe Haven and Best of Me. In Nashville, he has worked with songwriters
was on the 2017 Best In Jury of the BAFTA accredited Spring 2019. His wide-ranging television and artists including John Oates of Hall and Oates fame. He has played with artists like
Aesthetica Film Festival based in York. experience includes episodes of The The Stereophonics, Ryan Sheridan and Kim Richey and in shows alongside Van Morrison,
Smoke (Kudos/Sky One), Being Human Snow Patrol and Jools Holland. Dunlop has worked as a staff writer for several publishing
(BBC) and 6 Degrees (BBC NI). He also companies including Universal Music Group.
wrote the feature films, Middletown,
and Cherrybomb, starring Rupert Grint His debut album, No 79, was released in September 2017 to critical acclaim and featured as
and James Nesbitt. In the theatre, RTE Radio 1’s album of the week.
Daragh’s plays include This Other City
and Language Roulette. His most recent
play, History, was produced by Tinderbox
Theatre Company in Belfast.
14 15
STEP INTO WRITING – TASTER CLASSES £25 STEP INTO WRITING – TASTER CLASSES £25
Step Into Playwriting Step Into Poetry
with Martin Lynch. with Erin Halliday.
Venue: Abbey Lane Theatre. Venue: Oak Room, Charlemont Arms Hotel.
Saturday 3rd November 10.00am–1.00pm Saturday 3rd November 10.00am–1.00pm.
‘Playwright Martin Lynch’s work
‘Her poetry is erudite, passionate, powerful
demonstrates a strong social conscience,
and achieved…The range of her skills,
is occasionally controversial, and can be
interests, themes and topics is both
blackly humorous’.
extensive and surprising; I have every
– Culture Northern Ireland.
confidence that she will develop into one of
the finest poets of the rising generation’ –
A rare opportunity to engage in a lively class
Paula Meehan.
with one of Ireland’s stage ‘greats’, this session
will explore where stories come from and
how to find them. Martin will focus on the key
In this workshop we will investigate inspiration, Step Into Writing for Business
elements required when you start to write a
exploring where poems come from. We will
look at our preoccupations, using writing
and PR with Joris Minne.
play and advise on creating distinctive, three-
activities to shape our inspiration in an original Venue: Keepers’ Rooms, Armagh Robinson Library,
dimensional characters. Students will be asked
to write a short one or two-page scene with
Step Into Fiction Writing way, then explore drafting techniques to polish 43 Abbey Street.
special attention paid to good dialogue. with Paul McVeigh. the finished piece.
Saturday 3rd November 10.00am–1.00pm
Throughout, we will illustrate each step with
Martin Lynch has written plays for many Venue: Milford House Collection, ‘We relied heavily on Joris Minne’s ability to
modern and contemporary poets’ work. This
companies, including The Lyric Theatre, The 3 Victoria Street. will be an absorbing and engaging first step communicate with various audiences and to
Abbey Theatre, Charabanc and Paines Plough.
Saturday 3rd November towards getting that poem just right! win hearts and minds to get a very sensitive
He has produced and toured widely throughout
10.00am–1.00pm. project over the line. Can’t recommend him
the UK, Ireland , New York, and Australia. He has Erin Halliday, Ireland Chair of Poetry bursary
written several radio plays for BBC Radio 3 and awardee and featured poet in New Poets highly enough.’
‘Paul McVeigh lets us see the human – John Rees, Project Director, National Museum
4 and RTE. He also co-wrote the screenplay for from the North of Ireland (Blackstaff Press,
condition through penetratingly fresh of the Royal Navy.
the Hollywood movie, A Prayer for the Dying, 2016), published her first collection of poetry,
starring Mickey Rourke, Liam Neeson and Bob eyes. A splendid writer.’ – Pulitzer Prize- Pharmakon, in 2015 (Templar). An Arts Council
Hoskins. winner, Robert Olen Butler. of Northern Ireland ACES award enabled her to Learn a key skill in business and media
complete the manuscript for her forthcoming communications to help your small business,
This class will focus on that crucial story second collection. Erin has worked as a lecturer charity or art group start gaining visibility. Simple
opening, work on developing plot and and course convenor at the Queen’s University techniques on how to write a strong press release,
character, with tips on how to keep the reader Belfast Seamus Heaney Centre for Poetry, and who to send it to and how photography works best
engaged. is currently a creative writing course facilitator are included in this fast blast through commercial
You will discover what competition judges in Belfast. writing for beginners.
and journal editors look for and will have Also, social media platforms all work differently
an opportunity to get advice and guidance and these are the tools you need to know how
on how best to promote and sell your work. to use. Award-winning PR man and Chairman of
Paul’s classes have sold out all over the UK, Jcomms Ltd, Joris Minne will show you how to get
Melbourne, and Ireland. started.
Paul McVeigh’s debut novel, The Good Joris Minne has won Irish and international
Son, won The Polari First Novel Prize and The awards for his work in PR. He advises on some of
McCrea Literary Award. His short stories have the most exciting projects in Ireland, including
been read on BBC Radio and ‘Hollow’ was the restoration of HMS Caroline for the National
shortlisted for Irish Short Story of the Year at Museum of the Royal Navy, lobbying for a Rank
the Irish Book Awards 2017. Paul’s writing has Group multi-entertainment resort for Belfast, and
been translated into seven languages. other top Northern Ireland organisations. This year
marks his first decade as the Belfast Telegraph’s
weekend restaurant and food writer.
16 17
JOHN
In memory of the Armagh writer John O’Connor, recited at the
presentation of the blue plaque in his honour on November 3rd 2016.
THAT YOU BE NAMED AMONG THE NAMES
O’CONNOR
That you be named among the Names,
That you be named to stand with those
Who shaped the calling of their time
I call upon that legacy,
LITERARY
And you be there, and you be there
Where dream and day roll their drums,
And you be stood the heart’s applause.
And you be named among the Names.
And think of all the quiet hours
Your pen moved from page to page
On returning from your wanderings,
ARTS
FESTIVAL
Your gathering of the people’s ways,
And think again of the toil on toil
To shape beyond what age can touch
That long after you are gone
Your words and lines, your art remain.
Then let us say, and say again
That you be named among the Names,
And on this chosen hour, this call
PROGRAMME
Ascend your rightful pedestal. 1ST– 4TH NOVEMBER 2018
And you forever light our road,
And you forever shape our dreams.
And you be named where hearts are raised.
And you be named among the Names.
Peter Makem
18 19LITERARY ARTS FESTIVAL PROGRAMME THURSDAY 1ST NOVEMBER 2018 LITERARY ARTS FESTIVAL PROGRAMME THURSDAY 1ST NOVEMBER 2018
Events happening throughout 1.00-2.00pm. BOOK LAUNCH. 5.30pm. DISCUSSION with exhibition
the festival weekend. and clips from BBC radio recordings.
Exhibitions: The Flight of the Wren by Orla McAlinden.
Venue: Armagh City Library, Market Street. Free.
Words Melted Into Motion.
The Life and Times of John O’Connor. This event is supported by Libraries NI. Venue: Armagh County Museum £10.
Armagh County Museum. Free.
This event is supported by BBC Northern Ireland.
Words Melted Into Motion. “W.R. Rodgers is a latterday metaphysical who
T
A BBC exhibition about the poet apprehends the divine through the senses, The
W.R. Rodgers he John O’Connor Word through words … In his best poetry we find
Armagh County Museum. Free. Writing School and ‘the Word made flesh, melted into motion’ ”
Literary Arts Festival – Michael Longley.
gets off to a fine start with the
Bookstore.
T
launch of exciting historical novel,
No Alibis Flight of the Wren, by the award- he poet William Robert Rodgers (known William Crawley is an award-winning journalist
Charlemont Arms Hotel and at event venues. winning Portadown author, Orla to all as ‘Bertie’), was born in Belfast, but and broadcaster with the BBC. Since 2014, he has
A word from David Torrans, founder of No McAlinden. The novel, which minister at Cloveneden Presbyterian hosted BBC Radio Ulster’s daily current affairs
Alibis Bookstore: explores penal transportation during the Great Church near Loughgall from 1935 to 1946, when programme Talkback, while for the previous twelve
Famine and is published by Mentor Press, Dublin, he left County Armagh to take a job in the BBC years he hosted its weekly religion and ethics
No Alibis Bookstore has been operating on was a winner at the Irish Writers Centre Novel Fair in as a producer and scriptwriter. In this discussion, programme, Sunday Sequence.
Botanic Avenue, Belfast, for over twenty 2016. In the same year Orla was awarded the Cecil hosted by William Crawley, the poets Paul
years. We are an independent, community Fran Brearton is Professor of Modern Poetry at
Day Lewis Emerging Writer Bursary and also the Bord Muldoon and Michael Longley, Professor Fran
bookshop specialising in all types of Queen’s University Belfast. She recently edited and
Gais Energy Short Story of the Year Award. Libraries Brearton of Queen’s University, Belfast and the
fiction, literature, non-fiction and poetry. annotated Robert Graves’s First World War memoir,
NI chose her first book, The Accidental Wife, as the Rev. Dr. Robert Tosh, formerly Senior Producer,
As you can tell from our name, we also Good-bye to All That, for Penguin Classics (2014).
Armagh Big Read 2017. Religious Programmes, BBC Northern Ireland, will
know a bit about crime fiction and mystery consider Rodgers in his roles as poet, preacher and Paul Muldoon has won numerous awards for
novels! Over these twenty years we have This is a free, family-friendly public event and light poetry, most recently the 2017 Queen’s Gold Medal
BBC producer. There will be extracts from some
also taken our bookstore ‘on the road’, refreshments will be available. for Poetry, and the Seamus Heaney award for Arts
of the many distinguished radio productions in
popping up in various towns and venues which he was involved, including his first radio and Letters. Born in Portadown, Co. Armagh, and
throughout Ireland, north and south. This script, City Set on A Hill, a portrait of Armagh, brought up near The Moy, Co.Tyrone, he now lives in
year we are honoured and excited to be produced by Louis MacNeice in the BBC’s Belfast New York City and is Chair of Poetry at Princeton. He
heading to Armagh to set up stall for the studios in 1945. The event will also pay tribute to has been described by The Times Literary Supplement
John O’Connor Writing School and Literary John O’Connor, referring to stories produced by as ‘the most significant English-language poet born
Arts Festival. See you there!’ Paul Muldoon during his own time at the BBC. since the Second World War.’
Michael Longley has published eleven collections
Book Signings. of poetry. His most recent collection, Angel Hill,
Friday and Saturday, 2nd and 3rd came out in 2017, as did Sidelines: Selected Prose
November. 1962-2015. His previous collection, The Stairwell
Charlemont Arms Hotel and at event venues. (2014), won the Griffin International Prize. In 2001
he received the Queen’s Gold Medal for Poetry,
Roving Arts. and he has won the Whitbread Prize for Poetry,
Mick Conway, a cross-platform artist, will
William Crawley the Hawthornden Prize, the T.S. Eliot Prize and the
be picking up images and sounds from Prof Fran Brearton PEN Pinter prize. From 2007 to 2010 he was Ireland
the city and the festival events, creating Professor of Poetry.
Paul Muldoon
inspiring prints which can be ordered via Rev. Dr. Bert Tosh is an Irish Presbyterian minister
johnoconnorwritingschool@outlook.com who served in congregations in Belfast, Donegal
and Londonderry before joining the BBC in
Northern Ireland as a Religious Broadcasting
Producer in 1984. He retired five years ago but
continues to dabble in broadcasting.
Michael Longley
Rev Dr Robert Tosh
20 21LITERARY ARTS FESTIVAL PROGRAMME THURSDAY 1ST NOVEMBER 2018 LITERARY ARTS FESTIVAL PROGRAMME THURSDAY 1ST NOVEMBER 2018
7.00pm. PANEL DISCUSSION. 8.00pm. POETRY AND MUSIC.
No Alibis in Armagh. The Lament for Art O’Leary Paul Muldoon has won numerous awards for poetry, most recently the 2017 Queen’s Gold Medal for Poetry,
and the Seamus Heaney Award for Arts and Letters.
Panel discussion with writers Anthony Quinn Venue: Market Place Theatre and Arts Centre. £18/£16.
A
Born in Portadown, Co. Armagh, and brought up near The Moy, Co.Tyrone, he now lives in New York City and
and Gerard Brennan facilitated by David Torrans new translation by Paul Muldoon of is Chair of Poetry at Princeton. He has been described by The Times Literary Supplement as ‘the most significant
of No Alibis Bookstore. Caoineadh Airt Uí Laoghaire (The Lament English-language poet born since the Second World War.’
for Art O’Leary), the greatest love poem in
Venue: Oak Room, Charlemont Arms Hotel. £7. the Irish language. Composed in 1773 by O’Leary’s Lisa Dwan is an Irish stage, film and television actor, best known for her Beckett work on stage, as Zoe Burke
in the Irish soap opera, Fair City, and as Deirdre in Mystic Knights of Tir Na Nog.
T
widow, Eileen, it tells the story of a young hussar’s
he Crime Fiction genre is a wide persecution and murder by a tyrannical British Jim Lockhart is a musician, composer, radio and TV producer and a member of the Celtic Rock band, Horslips.
and varied literary construct. Two landowner, Abraham Morris. This production
distinctive strands involve place and features original music composed by Jim Lockhart Barry Devlin is an Irish musician, screen writer and director, and a member of the Celtic Rock band, Horslips.
environment: the urban and the rural. Join and performed by members of Horslips - Barry Ruth Smith is a musician, actor, teacher and producer living in Co. Clare. She is a singer, songwriter, multi-
us for an evening with two masters of the Devlin, Johnny Fean, Ray Fean, and Jim Lockhart. instrumentalist and one third of the female vocal and instrumental trio, The Evertides.
genre, treading the dark and gritty streets The Lament for Art O’Leary stars Lisa Dwan as
and ploughing through the murky dark of the Eileen O’Leary, Ruth Smith as Art’s sister, and
countryside. Paul Muldoon as Art’s father.
David Torrans established No Alibis
Bookstore in 1997. Initially specialising in the
selling of a wide variety of Crime Fiction, he
has recently expanded into publishing with
the creation of No Alibis Press in 2017.
Anthony Quinn Is the author of eight Paul Muldoon Lisa Dwan Jim Lockhart Barry Devlin Ruth Smith
novels, the latest of which is The Listeners,
published in December, 2018. His debut
novel, Disappeared, was picked by the Daily
Mail as its Crime Novel of the Year, and by LITERARY ARTS FESTIVAL PROGRAMME FRIDAY 2ND NOVEMBER 2018
The Times as one of the Best Books of the Year.
He lives in County Tyrone with his wife and
four children. 3.30-4.30pm. CONVERSATION.
Gerard Brennan recently earned his PhD
in Creative Writing from Queen’s University
Belfast. His publishing credits include Glenn Patterson in conversation with Kate Newmann.
Undercover (2014), Wee Rockets (2012) and Venue: Armagh Robinson Library, 43 Abbey Street. £7.
The Point (2011). In 2012 he was winner of the
Spinetingler Award for Best Novella in 2012.
His most recent novel is Disorder, published
by No Alibis Press in 2018. T he inimitable and humorous Glenn Patterson
shares insights into his life and work as a writer
with the poet, Kate Newmann.
Glenn Patterson was born, and lives, in Belfast. The author
of ten novels, most recently Gull, he has also published
two collections of non-fiction and a memoir, Once Upon a
Hill: Love in Troubled Times. He is the co-writer (with Colin
Carberry) of Good Vibrations (BBC Films) and wrote the
libretto for Long Story Short: the Belfast Opera. In 2017 he
was appointed Director of the Seamus Heaney Centre at
Queen’s University, Belfast.
Anthony Quinn Gerard Brennan
Kate Newmann Is one of Ireland’s finest poets, who, with
her mother, the Armagh-born poet, Joan Newmann, is
Background photos and above photo
of Lisa Dwan © Beowulf Sheehan Glenn Patterson co-founder of Summer Palace Press. Kate Newmann
22 23LITERARY ARTS FESTIVAL PROGRAMME FRIDAY 2ND NOVEMBER 2018 LITERARY ARTS FESTIVAL PROGRAMME FRIDAY 2ND NOVEMBER 2018
5.00–6.00pm. READING. 7.30am–8.30 pm. READING.
Rick Stroud reads from Lonely Courage. Roger McGough, in As Far as I Know, followed by a book signing.
Venue: Armagh Robinson Library, 43 Abbey Street. £7. Venue: Charlemont Arms Hotel, 57-65 Upper English Street. (Doors open 7pm). £15.
‘A fascinating, superbly researched and revelatory This event is supported by the Seamus Heaney HomePlace.
book – told with tremendous pace and excitement.’ ‘He is a true original and more than one generation
– William Boyd. would be much the poorer without him’ – The Times.
T he true story of the Special Operations
Executive heroines who fought to free Nazi-occupied France.
This fascinating story shows just how much each agent depended
on the judgments, courage and actions of their colleagues, French
counterparts and London HQ, and how their individual contributions
R oger McGough’s new show features a fine selection of vintage,
classic and surprising poems. It’s a gala gig that’s making waves!
Hilarious and surreal, McGough is a poet of many voices.
Menace and melancholy there may be, but with plenty of McGough’s
combined to great effect. characteristic wit and wordplay too. His latest book, It Never Rains, is
There were thirty nine women among the four hundred-plus agents in a collection of new verses with drawings by the author. President of
SOE’s French section. A third of them would not survive the war. Stroud the Poetry Society, he has been honoured with a CBE for services to
focuses on six, whose diverse stories, achievements and fates provide a literature and the Freedom of the City of Liverpool. Widely known for
very personal and poignant way into this history. Lily The Pink, the Aintree Iron, Scaffold, GRIMMS, The Mersey Sound with
Adrian Henri and Brian Patten, he now presents the long-running Poetry
Rick Stroud is a producer, director and writer. As well as Lonely Courage, he Please on BBCR4 His Molière adaptations travel far and wide with English
has written The Book of the Moon, The Phantom Army of Alamein and Kidnap Touring Theatre. The beat goes on. @McgoughRoger
in Crete. With Victor Gregg, he has co-authored Rifleman, A Front Line Life,
King’s Cross Kid and Soldier Spy. He is a trustee of the London Library. 2017 encompassed more McGough milestones than the average year.
The fiftieth anniversary of the iconic & top-selling Penguin Modern Poets
No.10 – The Mersey Sound by Adrian Henri, Roger McGough and Brian
Patten. Then the summer of ’67 epic poem of love and lust, Summer With
6.30–7.30pm. THEATRE. Monika, republished and newly illustrated by Chris Riddell. McGough
has had a host of country-wide dates with The Bootleg Beatles and the
RLPO in It Was Fifty Years Ago Today, which sold out the Royal Albert
Laugh After Death with Nuala McKeever. Hall in hours. November, Roger’s significant birthday month, saw the
publication of 80 – a selection of poems for children (Puffin). The beat
Venue: Abbey Lane Theatre. £8. goes on. @McgoughRoger.
T
‘Rueful, unpredictable observation
he books say there are five stages of grief – Denial, Anger, to please the sharpest wits’
Bargaining, Depression and Anger. Didn’t go that way for me. – The Independent.
Mine were Crying, Drinking a lot, Feeling guilty about drinking,
Drinking more and Passing Out... and that was just in one evening. This event is followed by a book
signing in the Oak Room of the
Five years after the sudden death of her partner, Nuala McKeever is Charlemont Arms Hotel,
back on stage with a new work that explores the process of coming 57-65 Upper English Street,
back to life after the person you love dies. With dark humour and at 9.00pm.
savage honesty she lays bare her struggles in an often hilarious
journey from over-thinking to understanding. Part drama, part stand-
up, Laugh After Death is a deeply personal, ultimately uplifting, story
of one woman’s attempt to find peace in free-fall.
Photo: Leila Romaya
Just before the debut of her new show, Laugh After Death, which
opens at the Lyric Theatre on November 7th, we have the opportunity
to hear Nuala present extracts from the piece and talk about the five-
year process of writing it, with time for questions from the audience.
Nuala McKeever, Northern Ireland’s Queen of Comedy, first came to
public attention in the BBC NI sitcom, Give My Head Peace, followed
by her own comedy character show, McKeever, on UTV.
24 25LITERARY ARTS FESTIVAL PROGRAMME FRIDAY 2ND NOVEMBER 2018 LITERARY ARTS FESTIVAL PROGRAMME SATURDAY 3RD NOVEMBER 2018
9.30pm. CONCERT. Doors open at 9 pm.
Gareth Dunlop and Lisa Lambe at the Festival Club.
12.00-1.00pm. CHILDREN’S POETRY AND ART.
Poetry Pebbles and Art with Mick Conway.
U sing the media of poetry pebbles
and sketching, Mick will work with
a group of children to sketch an
image and develop an associated poem.
Fun for all!
Venue: Charlemont Arms Hotel,
For Primary School children aged 6+.
‘A voice that could tame dinosaurs’ Mick Conway was a boarder at St
57-65 Upper English Street. £10. Venue: Armagh City Library, 2 Market Street. FREE. Patrick’s College Armagh in the 1960s. He
– Culture Northern Ireland.
accidentally fell into the wonderful world
of children’s play in 1978 and has been a
play worker and writer on play work theory
and practice ever since. He believes that
children are the most creative people on the
planet – and they can prove it! This will be
an unforgettable poetry and play session for
your child. All materials provided.
This event is supported by Libraries NI.
12.30-1.30pm. PUBLISHERS’ PANEL.
How To Get Published - Write Now!
Venue: The Market Place Theatre and Arts Centre, 9 Market Street. £5.
Free to JOCWS students.Limited places available to the public.
F ollowing their unforgettable appearance at last year’s John O’Connor Celebration Evening,
Gareth Dunlop and Lisa Lambe are back to perform at our Festival Club. These astonishing
songsters and performers will have you begging for more. Do not miss this one-off pairing!
Lisa Lambe is an Irish singer and actress and a former member of the ensemble, Celtic Women. She
H osted by Adrian Moynes, Chairperson, The Tyrone Guthrie
Centre, a panel of publishers and authors share their
experience and advice in an open forum. Whether your
work is fact or fiction, verse or drama, this is your chance to put your
questions about how to be published.
is hailed as ‘the finest singer and actress of her generation on whom a whole foundation of theatre
could be built’ (Fintan O’Toole). The panel includes Alexandra Pringle of Bloomsbury Publishing,
Patsy Horton of Blackstaff Press, David Torrans of No Alibis Press
‘Norah Jones meets Alison Krauss’ – audience member, John O’Connor Festival, 2017.
and the writers Rosemary Jenkinson and Orla McAlinden.
‘When she opened her mouth to sing, you could have heard a pin drop’ – audience member, John
O’Connor Festival, 2017.
Gareth Dunlop is one of the finest musicians, performers, and songwriters of his generation. His
songs have been placed in hit TV shows including One Tree Hill, House and Cougar Town. He is a
regular visitor to Nashville where he has worked alongside hit songwriters and artists including Mike
Reid and John Oates. He has played with Van Morrison, Snow Patrol, and Jools Holland.
Guest support from Jake Curran and John McCullough.
Main photo © Liam McArdle Photography
Jake Curran is a professional guitarist and session musician from Dublin. He has just completed a
tour with Niall Horan from One Direction. Adrian Moyes Orla McAlinden Rosemary Jenkinson
John Mcullough is a pianist and keyboard player from Ireland. He has worked with many different
artists and bands including The Waterboys and Van Morrisson.
Background image shows
26 Patsy Horton Alexandra Pringle. 27LITERARY ARTS FESTIVAL PROGRAMME SATURDAY 3RD NOVEMBER 2018 LITERARY ARTS FESTIVAL PROGRAMME SATURDAY 3RD NOVEMBER 2018
4.30–5.30pm. CONVERSATION.
Things to Leave Behind.
Photo: Antonio Olmos
Namita Gokhale in Conversation with Darran McCann.
Venue: Armagh Robinson Library, 43 Abbey Street. £8.
1.45–2.45pm. IN CONVERSATION. N amita Gokhale is one of India’s greatest writers, publishing sixteen books
during a spectacular career. Her debut novel Paro: Dreams of Passion,
published in 1984, created a furore due to its frank sexual humour. Other
works include her acclaimed Himalayan trilogy which began with The Book of
Shadows and includes A Himalayan Love Story and Things to Leave Behind, bringing
McCrum Meets Mackle to life the mixed legacy of the British Indian past and chronicling Nainital’s reluctant
– Cultural Icons in Conversation. 3.00–4.00pm. IN CONVERSATION.
entry into modern India.
Her upcoming publication The Himalayan Arc: Journeys east of South-east is set to be
Venue: Armagh Robinson Library. £8. another best seller.
J oin author and critic Robert McCrum and Up Close and Personal with Actress Founder of the world’s largest literary festival in Jaipur, she is a household name
The British Museum’s Deputy Director,
Joanna Mackle, as they talk about their
Susan Lynch. in India. This is the first-ever appearance in Northern Ireland of one of the world’s
most powerful literary voices.
joint experience of working at the coal-face Venue: Market Place Theatre and Arts Centre.
of international literary publishing when they £10/£8 (consession). This discussion is hosted by Darran McCann, an author and playwright from
were working at Faber & Faber in the 1980s. Armagh. His debut novel, After the Lockout, was published in 2012, and his short
B
During this time they collaborated with some orn in Co Armagh to an Irish father and fiction has been published in The Stinging Fly, The Tangerine and by O’Brien Press.
of the world’s greatest contemporary writers, an Italian Mother, Susan Lynch is one of He works in the Seamus Heaney Centre at Queen’s University Belfast where he
including the Irish greats John McGahern, Ireland’s leading actors. She has shared the convenes the MA in Creative Writing.
Seamus Heaney, Brian Friel, and Paul Muldoon. screen with Tom Cruise, Johnny Depp, Brad Pitt
Joanna Mackle is from Northern Ireland and and Ewan McGregor, and played the lead role in
is Deputy Director of The British Museum. She Pat Murphy’s 2000 film Nora, about the life of
Nora Joyce. 6.00–7.00pm. LECTURE.
A
oversees its exhibitions, public programme,
communications, marketing, digital, national She is well known for her work in television – from rmagh Connections, a lecture
and international engagement. Cracker to Happy Valley. The John O’Connor Lecture 2018: delivered by Eric Villiers, celebrates
two generations of writers, poets,
Prior to this Joanna worked for Faber and Faber,
and was responsible for major writers such as
A three-time IFTA award winner, Lynch recently
starred in the award nominated Bad Day for the Cut.
Armagh’s Hidden Literary and painters, scientists, soldiers, explorers and
musicians whose national and international
Kazuo Ishiguro, Seamus Heaney, Harold Pinter
and Paul Auster.
‘A captivating performance that
anchors the film’
Cultural History - Armagh fame has been neglected and written out of
Robert McCrum was Editor-in-Chief of Faber – The Guardian. Connections. history: people who fell between two stools
– not Irish enough to be remembered by the
& Faber from 1980–1986, where he published Susan is joined by the Venue: Armagh Robinson Library, Irish-Ireland emerging between the 1880s
such writers as Kazuo Ishiguro, Milan Kundera, playwright and screenwriter, 43 Abbey Street. £5. and the 1920s, and not British enough to be
Marilynne Robinson, and Hanif Kureishi. He was Daragh Carville, in a celebrated by the London-centric narrative.
Associate Editor with The Observer (UK) until conversation about her life Eric Villiers, a journalist and history
recently. and career. researcher, has written two books on
His account of his stroke, My Year Off (1998), is in Daragh Carville’s many plays include Language forgotten Irish celebrities John King, Ireland’s
its third edition as a Picador Classic. Every Third Roulette (1996-7), What We’re Made Of (2016), Forgotten Explorer: Australia’s First Hero and
Thought was published in August 2017. Observatory (1999), Family Plot (2005), This Other The Story of Mary Connolly, an ex-miner and
City (2009) and The Life and Times of Mitchell and bare-footed street singer who rose to fame as
Kenyon (2014). Television credits include Being a concert mezzo soprano.
Human, 6 Degrees and The Smoke. He teaches
scriptwriting at Birkbeck College and is currently
working on a major new drama series for BBC
Northern Ireland, due to screen in 2019.
28 29You can also read
