“An unforgetable literary festival!”
Hugo Hamilton
CULTUREFOX.IE
Artistic Director – Paul Perry
Every March something special happens in Ennis. Readers come together to celebrate their love of books. Not all, but many are
members of book clubs. We are aſter all the only book club fesꢀval in the country. Audiences in 2017 will be guaranteed their fesꢀval favourites – the perennial 10 Books You Should Read, as well as a stellar line up for our Sunday Symposium on Sports & Poliꢀcs. 2017 is also a year in which we evolve in new direcꢀons: we host our first Children’s Book Club, welcome the Laureate for Irish Ficꢀon, The Irish Times and the Rick O’Shea Book Clubs, and we’re delighted to be collaboraꢀng with Clare County Library on Teen Week. Throw into the mix Paul Durcan, Rose Tremain, Liꢁle
John Nee and the arrival of thousands of book club members,
and you’re in for something singular in Irish literary culture. It’s been a pleasure and privilege working with the Fesꢀval Team in bringing this programme to you: they are an extraordinary commiꢁee of volunteers, for what is an extraordinary fesꢀval.
NEVER MISS OUT
Chairperson’s Welcome – Emer O’Connell
Fáilte is fiche go hInis! It’s hard to believe that a year has passed since our hugely successful 10th anniversary celebraꢀon last March. And, we conꢀnue to go from strength to strength! 2017 comes with a host of new partnerships, which we look forward to developing further. Criꢀcally, those partnerships are rooted in the incredible support network we have built up over many years – with the Arts Council, Fáilte Ireland, our loyal corporate supporters and our army of volunteers. Most importantly, we conꢀnue to work extensively with Clare County Council and the County Library service. We were delighted therefore that the impact of the Fesꢀval was recognised at naꢀonal level last year through an Excellence in Local Government Award. The award is tesꢀmony to the vision, hard work and commitment of so many. We wish all our readers and book clubs – be you regular Fesꢀval goers or just dipping your toe in the water – a weekend of inspiraꢀon, discovery and good old fun at EBCF 2017.
The Arts Council’s new, upgraded CULTUREFOX events guide is now live. Free, faster, easy to use – and personalised for you. Never miss out again.
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Fri 3rd March
Booking Information
Full programme details available on
The Ireland That We Dreamed Of?
Exploring William Trevor’s Ficꢀon - A Talk with Tina O’Toole
Date: Fri 03 March Time: 2.30pm Venue: Temple Gate Hotel Price: Free
Booking for all Fesꢀval events is through glór Box Office
Tel: 065 6843103; www.glor.ie
We recommend early booking as many Fesꢀval events sell out quickly. Pre-booked ꢀckets can be collected at individual venues
immediately prior to each event. Free events do not require booking, but do come early to avoid disappointment.
William Trevor was one of the most renowned figures in contemporary literature, described as ‘the greatest living writer of short stories in the English language’ by the New Yorker and acclaimed for his haunꢀng and profound insights into the human heart. Join us for a talk with Dr Tina O’Toole – a literary scholar with research experꢀse in Irish wriꢀng, the history of sexualiꢀes and transnaꢀonal literature. In 2016, she was overall winner of the University of Limerick Excellence in Teaching Award. Her talk will focus on Trevor’s early iconic short story ‘The Ballroom of Romance’.
Festival HQ – The Spás
Meet our contribuꢀng authors, other avid readers and book club members in our Fesꢀval HQ – The Spás @ glór over the course of the weekend. Share your thoughts on your favourite reading, pick up a new book or indeed why not bring along a wrapped book as part of our EBCF “blind” book swap! Look forward to meeꢀng you there – do introduce yourself!
This event is kindly supported by Clare County Library Services.
The Forgotten Summer
Keep the Conversation Going… #EBCF2017
Carol Drinkwater in Conversaꢀon Date: Fri 03 March Time: 4pm Venue: Temple Gate Hotel Price: €12 / €10
Join in the conversaꢀon about EBCF 2017 by tweeꢀng to #EBCF2017. We’d love to hear your thoughts and see your photos over the course of the Fesꢀval weekend! Follow us on Facebook – Ennis Book Club Fesꢀval – and twiꢁer @ebcf
Actress and writer Carol Drinkwater is the author of the
autobiographical Olive Farm series which inspired The Olive
Route documentaries about her travels in the south of France.
Its vineyards also provide the seꢁng for her new novel – The
Forgoꢀen Summer, which contains ‘plenty of page-turning drama, but also mouth-watering descripꢁons of Paris and
Provence.’ (The Times) Join Nell Regan as she talks with the
always inspiring Carol about olive-farming, wriꢀng and life.
The Attic Sessions
EBCF is delighted to welcome Aꢂc Sessions to record events at the Fesꢀval in 2017. The Aꢁc Sessions is an original web video series about Irish literature curated by award-winning poet Nessa O’Mahony and BBC trained cameraman Peter Salisbury. Watch out for their EBCF review and previous recordings at: theaꢂcsessions.tv
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Fri 3rd March
The Readers’ Voice
Festival Official Opening
Anne Enright, Laureate for Irish Ficꢀon in conversaꢀon with Donal Ryan
and Opening of CRUX - A Dialogue in Metal Date: Fri 03 March Time: 5.30pm Venue: glór
Date: Fri 03 March Time: 8.30pm
Venue: glór Price: Free
Price: Free
The Laureate for Irish Ficꢀon is proud to present
The Readers’ Voice, a series of author interviews taking place across the country, which celebrate the reader, local libraries and outstanding Irish wriꢀng. Ireland’s inaugural Laureate Anne Enright will interview six writers in six different library related venues, and as part of the series, Anne will be in Ennis
talking to Donal Ryan about his novel, All We Shall Know.
Join us for the Official Opening of EBCF 2017 and the opening of CRUX at the glór gallery (see further detail under Exhibiꢀon Guided Tour on Sat 04 March in glór). Featuring also a performance from young
parꢀcipants of Music Generaꢀon Clare.
The Laureate for Irish Ficꢀon has been developed by the Arts Council and is supported by University College Dublin (UCD), New York University (NYU) and The Irish Times.
Paul Durcan
Festival Club
Date: Fri 03 March Time: 6.30pm
Sarah Clancy, Nell Regan, Jaskane Trio
Venue: glór Price: €12 / €10
Date: Fri 03 March Time: 10pm Venue: Old Ground Hotel Price: €5
Paul Durcan’s public readings are simply
unforgeꢁable. A winner of the Lifeꢀme
Achievement Irish Book Award, he
has been one of the most sustaining forces in Irish poetry for more than four
decades. The author of more than twenty collecꢀons of poetry, most recently, The
Days of Surprise, and a former, Ireland
Professor of Poetry, he is a member of
Aosdána. If you have never seen him live, now is your chance. He is introduced by
poet Afric McGlinchey.
Join us at our Friday night Fesꢀval Club at the Old Ground Hotel for music, mingling and performances of the spoken word with poets and
writers Sarah Clancy and Nell Regan.
Sarah Clancy was Lingo Poet Laureate of 2016 and is a page and performance poet from Galway. Nell Regan is a poet and non-ꢁcꢀon writer. They will be joined by the Jaskane Trio who showcase a unique blend of violin, oboe and guitar, while playing an eclecꢀc mix of musical genres.
“Durcan is a God. He can break your heart in a supermarket or petrol staꢀon. He is unafraid, masterful and exactly what this world needs more of: wild abandon, wild love and sheer mad genius.”
This event is kindly supported by the
Alice Sebold
Old Ground Hotel.
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Sat 4th March
Books & Buns
Walking Tour
Date: Sat 04 March Time: 9.30am
with Seán Spellissy Date: Sat 04 March Time: 11.30am Venue: Meet @ glór
Price: €8
Venue: Rowan Tree Café Price: €10 / €8
Enjoy a Saturday morning book
club gathering and test your
knowledge of all things literary in our beloved Books & Buns session.
Refreshments included to set you
up for a busy day!
Local historian and author Seán Spellissy provides a unique insight
into the medieval streets of Ennis
on this ever-popular walking tour.
10 Books You Should Read
CRUX – A Dialogue in Metal
with Cónal Creedon & Lisa McInerney
Guided Tour of the Exhibiꢀon & Arꢀsts’ Talk
Date: Sat 04 March Time: 11.30am Venue: glór
Date: Sat 04 March Time: 11.45am
Venue: glór, Studio
Price: Free
Price: €12 / €10
Facilitated by John Tynan, Head of Educaꢀon & Development at The Craſts Council of Ireland
Join Lisa McInerney & Cónal Creedon, two of Ireland’s
most engaging writers, for their must reads in what is a perennial fesꢀval favourite. Lisa’s debut novel The Glorious Heresies won the 2016 Baileys Women’s Prize for Ficꢀon and the 2016 Desmond Ellioꢁ Prize. “Totally and unmistakably the real deal.” – Kevin Barry
In an era steeped in technology, meet five arꢀsans who have their hearts and hands firmly engaged in the world of the physical and raw. Gunvor Anhøj, Michael Calnan, Moss Gaynor, John Hogan and Jane Murtagh forge, etch, draw and open out metal into three and two dimensional works. Join these five extraordinary arꢀst-metalsmiths in glór for a guided tour of the work in CRUX and a fascinaꢀng arꢀsts’ talk.
This event is kindly supported by the
Rowan Tree Café
Cónal Creedon is a novelist, playwright and documentary film maker. His books include – Pancho and Leſty Ride
Out, The Second City Trilogy, The Immortal Deed of Michael O’Leary and Passion Play. “Comic, dramaꢀc,
poeꢀc, and musical.” – New York Times
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Sat 4th March
Frank Golden Poetry Launch
and Open Mic with the Clare Poetry Collecꢀve Date: Sat 04 March Time: 2.30pm Venue: Temple Gate Hotel Price: Free
Clare Youth Theatre
Date: Sat 04 March Time: 1.30pm Venue: Fesꢀval HQ, The Spás @ glór Price: Free
Join us for the launch of goꢁa get a message to you, Frank Golden’s new collecꢀon
of poetry, published by Clare-based publisher Salmon Poetry. Frank is a poet, novelist and visual arꢀst. His work has been described by The Irish Times as ‘ambiꢀous and courageous’. He is Head of Creaꢀve Wriꢀng at the Burren College of Art. The launch of Frank Golden’s new book will be followed by an Open Mic poetry session hosted
by Mike Douse and the Clare Poetry Collecꢀve. The Clare Poetry Collecꢀve aims to
promote the work of its members, in parꢀcular, and of poetry in general. This is done through regular readings in County Clare and elsewhere, the encouragement of book and soſt publicaꢀon, and a weekly secꢀon in The Clare Champion.
Join us for an annual treat where members of CYT present selecꢀons from featured authors of this year’s fesꢀval and dramaꢀse them in their own inimitable way. Clare Youth Theatre, under the direcꢀon of Theatre Arꢀst Eleanor Feely, is an iniꢀaꢀve of the Clare County Arts Office. The Theatre has a unique arꢀsꢀc vision that is commiꢁed to the arꢀsꢀc, personal and social development of the young person.
Rick O’Shea Book Club Special with John Boyne
Date: Sat 04 March Time: 3.30pm Venue: glór Price: €12 / €10
Writing, Women and Ireland
Sinéad Gleeson in conversaꢀon with Anne Devlin, Éilís Ní Dhuibhne and Eimear Ryan
Date: Sat 04 March Time: 2pm Venue: Old Ground Hotel Price: €12 / €10
RTÉ’s Rick O’Shea convenes the
largest on-line book club in Ireland
with some 5,000 members. Join him in a Book Club Special as he talks to
renowned author John Boyne about
his new book The Heart’s Invisible
Furies – his most ambiꢀous novel yet. Perhaps best known for his 2006 mulꢀ award-winning book, The
Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, John’s other novels, notably The Absoluꢀst and A History of Loneliness, are
internaꢀonal bestsellers. “No writer today handles guilt with as much depth and sadness as John Boyne.”
John Irving.
Join our panel as they discuss the phenomenon of omission and
silence in Irish wriꢀng, and the emergence and recogniꢀon of Irish
women writers in parꢀcular. Sinéad Gleeson is an author, editor
and broadcaster. Her short story anthologies The Long Gaze Back and The Glass Shore have both won Best Irish Published Book at the Irish Book Awards. Éilís Ní Dhuibhne has wriꢁen several collecꢀons of short stories, many novels, books for children, and plays for stage and radio. In 2015, she was awarded the Irish Pen Award for an Outstanding Contribuꢀon to Irish Literature. Anne Devlin is an award-winning short story writer, playwright and screenwriter. Her screenplays for film include Wuthering
Heights, Vigo and Titanic Town. Eimear Ryan’s wriꢀng has recently appeared in Winter Papers, The Dublin Review, The Long Gaze Back
and Granta.com. She is co-editor of the literary journal Banshee.
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Sat 4th March
A Book Club Discussion with
Rose Tremain
The Irish Times
in conversation with Seán Rocks
Date: Sat 04 March Time: 5pm Venue: Suas Coffee House
Price: €5
Date: Sat 04 March Time: 8pm Venue: glór Price: €15 / €12
Marꢀn Doyle, acꢀng books editor of The Irish Times,
offers an insight into the thinking behind its literary coverage, from Saturday’s four book review pages, to author interviews and features, to the recent expansion of its website. How are books chosen for review or to feature as the Book Club’s monthly ꢀtle? How do you pick the right reviewer? What makes a good review? How might your book club use The Irish Times Book Club as a helpful resource?
Saturday Night Package: combine with Michael Collins event @ 9.30pm for €20
2017 marks the welcome return of fesꢀval regular and presenter of ARENA on
RTÉ Radio 1, Séan Rocks.
He will interview Booker Prize shortlisted author
This promises to be a fascinaꢀng discussion in an award-winning Coffee House.
Rose Tremain in an inꢀmate
look-back over her 40 year wriꢀng life. Rose Tremain’s
novels and short stories have
been published worldwide in 27 countries and have won many prizes, including the Sunday Express book of the Year Award, the Prix Femina
Étranger, the Whitbread
Novel of the Year Award and the Orange Prize for Ficꢀon. Her fourteenth novel, The
Gustav Sonata, was published
to wide acclaim in 2016 and
was described by The Times
as displaying “the painterly
genius of an Old Master…
glorious.” EBCF is delighted to welcome Rose Tremain in what promises to be a very
special event.
The Greatest Irish Novel Ever
A Bilingual Event in Irish and English Date: Sat 04 March Time: 5.15pm Venue: Temple Gate Hotel Price: €10
Join us for a lively discussion of Máirꢁn Ó Cadhain’s Cré na Cille
considered by many a great Irish classic and recently translated
by panellist Alan Titley as The Dirty Dust. It is a novel in Alan’s
words “in which all the characters are dead, and buried in a graveyard in Connemara who conꢀnue with venom the
disputes that sustained them in their previous lives. Their only
sustenance is when a new corpse arrives to tell them about the latest ꢀꢂle-taꢂle, scandals, supposiꢀons, rumours and even occasionally the truth about what is happening ‘up there’.” Alan
Titley will be joined by award-winning writers Manchán Magan and Éilís Ní Dhuibhne, chaired by Nessa O’Mahony.
This event is kindly supported
by The Ennis Bookshop.
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Sun 5th March
Sunday Symposium: Sports and Politics
with Patrick Deeley, Paul Kimmage, Alison O’Connor, Christy O’Connor & Sonia O’Sullivan
Date: Sun 05 March Time: 10am Venue: glór Price: €18
The Irish Times Book Club with Michael Collins
Date: Sat 04 March Time: 9.30pm Venue: glór Price: €10
Saturday Night Package: combine with Rose Tremain event @ 8pm for €20
Our Sunday Symposium is a firm fesꢀval favourite. This year our panel,
chaired by Alison O’Connor, includes
some of the most presꢀgious athletes, writers and commentators on sport and poliꢀcs in Ireland. They will discuss
the current state of sport in Ireland, its controversies, governance, and future.
Not to be missed!
Alison O’Connor is a journalist and
broadcaster. She guest presents the Tonight with Vincent Browne programme on TV3, and has a weekly
column with The Irish Examiner.
In a fesꢀval first, EBCF are thrilled to welcome The Irish Times Book Club to Ennis. Man Booker Prize and IMPAC Prize shortlisted author Michael Collins was born in Limerick and emigrated to the United States on an athleꢀcs scholarship to Notre Dame in Indiana where he sꢀll lives. The unofficial laureate of the US Rustbelt, he has wriꢁen 10 novels. An ultrarunner, last year he ran a marathon a day for a month, from Grosse Île quaranꢀne staꢀon in Québec to Toronto, to commemorate the deaths of tens of thousands of Irish Famine refugees in Canada in 1847. He talks to
Marꢀn Doyle of The Irish Times.
Christy O’Connor is a freelance
journalist based in Ennis. As a goalkeeper he played in two All-Ireland club hurling finals and was a member of the Clare senior hurling panel. His book on goalkeepers Last Man Standing was published in 2005.
Patrick Deeley is a poet and writer. His
criꢀcally acclaimed memoir, The Hurley Maker’s Son, was shortlisted for the Bord Gáis Energy Non-Ficꢀon Book of the Year Award 2016.
This event will be recorded for a podcast on The Irish Times website as part of the monthly Irish Times Book Club, and is brought to you in associaꢀon with the Irish Writers Centre.
Sonia O’Sullivan is a former World
Champion, European Champion and Olympic Silver Medallist. A regular contributor to RTÉ Sport, Sonia’s
two books include Running to Stand Sꢀll and Sonia, My Story. She writes for
The Irish Times.
“One of the most exciꢀng talents to have emerged not only from Ireland but anywhere in recent decades.” The Times
Paul Kimmage is a former Naꢀonal
Road Race Champion, Olympian and professional cyclist. A former ‘Sportswriter of the Year’, his first
book, Rough Ride, is considered a
classic of sports wriꢀng. He writes for
the Sunday Independent.
Festival Club
This event is kindly supported by
North Pole Marathon.
Date: Sat 04 March Time: 10.30pm Venue: Rowan Tree Café Price: Free
Join us aſter a busy day for the Fesꢀval Club at the Rowan Tree Café. Catch up on all the day’s events and mingle with authors and readers alike!
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Sun 5th March
Teen Week with Clare County Library
We’re delighted to be teaming up with Clare County Library to offer workshops with two award-winning children’s and young
adult authors, E.R. Murray and Dave Rudden. Events will take
place in Ennis Town Library and Ennistymon Library.
Walking Tour with Jane O’Brien
Date: Sun 05 March Time: 12.30pm Venue: Meet @ glór
Price: €8
Write YOUR Way with E.R. Murray
Date: Mon 27 February Time: 10am
Venue: De Valera Library, Ennis
