Cultural Ireland - West Cork Literary Festival

In the past Ireland was once known as the Land of Saints and Scholars. This title is well deserved, the Scholars part anyway, as Ireland has produced some of the finest writers in history. An attempt to revive that ancient tradition has given birth to the West Cork Literary Festival, held in early July, and it draws poets and storytellers from throughout the island.

The West Cork Literary Festival is celebrating its 10th anniversary this coming July, and this event will see a number of new events to mark the occasion. The festival runs from July 6th to July 12th and is largely centred in the town of Bantry. Many of the events have a limited number of spaces open so it’s best to book ahead or to book as soon as you get there.

2008 will see a special focus on poetry with the likes of Paul Durcan, Derek Mahon, Matthew Sweeney, Peter Fallon, James Harpur, Bernard O’Donoghue and Eilean Ni Chuilleanain all giving readings and talks about their works.

Some of the featured writers, such as Colum McCann, author of This Side of Brightness, Dancer, and Zoli; Dervla Murphy, author of adventure travel books; Colin Dexter, author of the Inspector Morse novels; Joseph O’Connor, Sinead O’Conner’s brother and author of several books; and Arthur Mathews, a writer on Father Ted; will also be giving talks each night in The Maritime Hotel.

One of the more unusual events in the festival will be the illustrated talks by Matthew Sweeney on The Connection between Poetry and Film. Another would be the by the Sculptor Rowan Gillespie on how the written word acts as a source of inspiration to the visual artist. Throughout the festival there would be free readings in the Bantry Bookshop and the Bantry Library. These will feature the works of Jennifer Johnston, Kevin Barry, John Waters, Deirdre Purcell and David Mitchell.

They say that everyone has at least one book in them, so if you have ever had desire to be a writer yourself; you may enjoy the writing classes that are being held throughout the week of the festival, including some for younger aspiring writers. Even if the kids don’t plan on writing any great works there are storytime events being held at the same time as the adult events so you don’t have to worry about looking for someone to mind the little ones.

How to get there: If you heading to West Cork for this festival then you will want to drive as public transport in this part of the country is somewhat limited. Starting from Cork City you will want to head west on the N22 for Killarney. Just as you are entering Macroom (after about 30kms), you should see a sign on the left for Bantry, take this road the R584. After about 40kms you will come to the N71 coast road, turn south and you will arrive in Bantry after about 6kms.

For more thoughts on activities in Ireland take a look through our other Ireland Car Rental blogs. As you may want to drive to this event, don’t forget to have a look at our Ireland Car Rental options.

Just remember to enjoy your trip to Ireland and if you have any tips or questions of your own, why not post a comment below?

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