1. art and entertainment
2. theatre

InternationalLiterature
LiteratureFestival
FestivalDublin
Dublin2015
2015May
May16–24
16–24
International
ilfdublin.com
You complete the story
International
Literature Festival
Dublin 2015
May 16–24
ilfdublin.com
Lord Mayor’s Welcome
A UNESCO City of Literature deserves a world-class literary festival
and I’m very proud to welcome you to the seventeenth (and first!)
International Literature Festival Dublin. This year’s festival is an
all-new affair, with a new director and a brand new name, but
one thing hasn’t changed: our commitment to delivering
an exciting, surprising and wide-ranging programme of
events that will have the city reading, talking, listening
and debating over nine magical days in May. Whether
you want to meet Australia’s greatest living writer, throw
yourself into the LA Riots, plunge down the rabbit hole with
Alice, find out what life is really like in Guantánamo, discover the
secrets of a teenage superspy, make an appointment with the Book
Doctor, or understand the crisis in Ukraine, You Complete the Story.
I look forward to sharing it with you.
Christy Burke
Lord Mayor of Dublin
Programme Director’s Welcome
It’s a great privilege – and great fun – to shape the programme as the International
Literature Festival Dublin sets off in new creative directions, and to present
dispatches from Turkey, The Democratic Republic of the Congo, Iran,
Finland, South Korea and many more countries, alongside a celebration of
Ireland’s finest contemporary writers.
Translating literature from one language to another, or from one
artform to another, offers a touchstone for the festival, whether
in contemporary novels, in classics like Finnegans Wake, or
indeed in poems written over a thousand years ago, on
which Ireland’s literary heritage rests.
I love the buzz of meeting writers from around the world,
and I also value the space that literature festivals offer to listen,
think, debate and celebrate. I look forward to meeting you here…
Martin Colthorpe
Programme Director
Event
Venue
Time
Pg
Sat 16 May
Date with an Agent
Belvedere House
10am – 5pm
58
Craft of Fiction Seminars
Irish Writers Centre
10.30am –1.30pm
59
The Paper Princess
The Ark
8
The Mouse who Ate the Moon:
Petr Horáček
The Ark
10.30am &
12.30pm
11.30am
8
Event
Venue
Time
Pg
Lost in Music with Ryan Gattis
The Liquor Rooms
5pm
19
Christian Kracht, Clemens Setz
& Carmen Stephan:
New Writing in German
Smock Alley Theatre
6pm
20
Maurice Riordan, Ciarán Carson
& Eiléan Ní Chuilleanáin:
The Finest Music
Smock Alley Theatre
6pm
21
The Only Jealousy of Emer
Henrietta Street
6pm & 8pm
11
Picturing Stories with
Chris Haughton
The Ark
2pm
9
Gavin Corbett & Lisa McInerney
Smock Alley Theatre
8pm
22
2pm – 6pm
10
Wurm im Apfel
Oscars Café Bar
8pm
19
Blue is the Warmest Colour:
Sepideh Jodeyri Talk & Screening
The Gutter Bookshop
& Hodges Figges
Irish Film Institute
1.30pm
12
Mon 18 May
Elif Shafak
Smock Alley Theatre
4pm
12
Petr Horáček
The Ark
62
Sara Baume & Brian Dillon
The LAB Gallery
6pm
13
Rumble with the Romans:
Gary Northfield
The Ark
10.15am &
11.30am
11.15am
62
Claire-Louise Bennett &
Christine Montalbetti
Smock Alley Theatre
6pm
13
The Only Jealousy of Emer
Henrietta Street
6pm & 8pm
John Gray
Smock Alley Theatre
Festival Club with Anna Jordan
Oscars Café Bar
Dublin Book Doctor
Scéinséirí Stairiúla /
Thrilling Histories
An Siopa Leabhar
6pm
23
11
Ryan Gattis
Smock Alley Theatre
6pm
24
8pm
14
The Only Jealousy of Emer
Henrietta Street
6pm & 8pm
11
9pm
56
Poetry Ireland
Introductions Series
Irish Writers Centre
7pm
24
Smock Alley Theatre
8pm
25
Sun 17 May
Johann Hari
Heroes of the Wild: Nicola Davies
The Ark
12pm
16
Trail Tales
The Ark
1pm – 4pm
17
Guantánamo Diary
O'Reilly Theatre
6pm
26
Book Clinic: Meet the Book
& Doodle Doctors
The Ark
1pm – 4pm
16
Smock Alley Theatre
6.30pm
27
The Ark
3pm
17
Oliver Jeffers:
Words and Pictures
Irish Writers Centre
7pm
24
Suzanne O'Sullivan
Smock Alley Theatre
2pm
15
Poetry Ireland
Introductions Series
Cogaí / Wars
Smock Alley Theatre
8pm
28
Alice in Wonderland:
150th Anniversary
Smock Alley Theatre
4pm
18
Jon Ronson
O'Reilly Theatre
8pm
29
Bestselling Besties with
Judi Curtin & Sarah Webb
Tue 19 May
Seminars/Workshops
Children’s Events
Fringe Events
Event
Venue
Time
Pg
Wed 20 May
Event
Venue
Time
Pg
Sat 23 May
Once Upon an If...
The Ark
11.15am
62
Mindshift
Irish Writers Centre
10.30am – 4.30pm 61
Thought Stories:
Philosophy for
Young Audiences
The Ark
6pm
30
Story Weavers
11am & 3pm
44
The Big Book Club Show
Smock Alley Theatre
6pm
31
The Ark
11.15am
9
European Literature Night
Various venues
6.30pm
32
Everyone’s a Translator:
Sarah Ardizzone
The Vagabond @
St Patrick’s Park
1pm
44
Paul Muldoon
Liberty Hall
8pm
33
The Vagabond @
St Patrick’s Park
2pm
45
Bodies That Can Never Tire:
The Whole City Must Dance...
Henry Street
8am – 8pm
38
Dublin Book Doctor
The Vagabond @
St Patrick’s Park
2pm – 6pm
10
10.15am
63
Smock Alley Theatre
2pm
43
Killer Cats & Crummy Mummies:
Anne Fine
Central Library
(ILAC Centre)
Eun Hee-kyung
Books Upstairs &
Dubray Books
Pearse Street Library
10.30am
63
Azar Nafisi
Smock Alley Theatre
4pm
46
Smock Alley Theatre
6pm
34
Anne Enright
Smock Alley Theatre
6pm
47
Alas Awake
7.30pm & 9pm
39
Poetry Ireland
Introductions Series
Irish Workman's Club
7pm
24
13 North Great
George’s St, D1
Smock Alley Theatre
8pm
48
Second Book Syndrome
Irish Writers Centre
7.30pm
59
Alain Mabanckou
Smock Alley Theatre
8pm
35
Bodies That Can Never Tire
RDS Concert Hall
8pm
49
Cuisle / Pulse
Smock Alley Theatre
8pm
36
Festival Club with Nialler9
Oscars Café Bar
9pm
57
Alexander McCall Smith
Smock Alley Theatre
8pm
37
Alas Awake
13 North Great
George’s St, D1
9pm
39
Writing Art Criticism with
Paper Visual Art Journal
The LAB Gallery
10am – 5pm
61
9pm
56
Sofi Oksanen
Smock Alley Theatre
12pm
50
Gerbrand Bakker
Smock Alley Theatre
2pm
51
Dermot Bolger &
Christine Dwyer Hickey
Smock Alley Theatre
4pm
52
Deirdre Madden, Selina Guinness
& Eoin McNamee:
All Over Ireland
Smock Alley Theatre
6pm
53
Alas Awake
7.30pm & 9pm
39
Only Himself: A Tribute to
Dermot Healy
13 North Great
George’s St, D1
O'Reilly Theatre
8pm
55
Thur 21 May
City Dreams with Bali Rai
Diarmaid Ferriter & Maurice
Walsh: Writing Revolution
Festival Club with Isobel Anderson Oscars Café Bar
Fri 22 May
Diversity in Children's Literature
The Ark
11am – 1pm
60
Peter Carey
Smock Alley Theatre
6pm
40
Cré Na Cille / The Dirty Dust
Smock Alley Theatre
8pm
41
Irvine Welsh
Liberty Hall
8pm
42
Alas Awake
13 North Great
George’s St, D1
9pm
39
9pm
57
Festival Club with Dylan Tighe
Oscars Café Bar
A Retelling of Alice in Wonderland
Mr Leon’s Taxi: Sarah Ardizzone
Anne Applebaum &
Peter Pomerantsev
Sun 24 May
AT
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TG
RK
S
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How to Book /
Venues
Tickets to all events are available
online www.ilfdublin.com
Festival Box Office
In person & by phone
(only from 9 May – 24 May)
B Filmbase
Curved St, Temple Bar, Dublin 2
Opening Hours
11am – 6pm Mon – Sat
12 – 5pm Sunday
T +353 (0) 1 687 7977
E [email protected]
Festival Administration
Dublin City Council Arts Office
The Lab, Foley St, Dublin 1
T +353 (0) 1 222 5455
E [email protected]
Ticket concessions are available for students,
senior citizens and the unwaged. Subject to
availability. All sales are final. No substitutions
or exchanges. Online and phone bookings are
subject to a €1 booking fee.
1
10
1
13 North Great George’s St,
Dublin 1
2
3
4
5
6
Books Upstairs
Central Library
Ilac Centre, Henry Street, Dublin 1
24 Grafton St, Dublin 2
Henrietta Street
Hodges Figgis
56-58 Dawson St, Dublin 2
8
Irish Writers Centre
9
Liberty Hall
19 Parnell Square, Dublin 1
12
Pearse Street Library
13
RDS Concert Hall
14
Smock Alley Theatre
19
20
18 19
O’Reilly Theatre &
Belvedere House
Oscars Café Bar
18
2
1 Eden Quay, D1
11
17
9
6 Eustace St, Dublin 2
Great Denmark St, Dublin 1
16
3
14 Henrietta St, Dublin 1
Irish Film Institute
15
17
Dubray Books
7
10
5
17 D’Olier St, Dublin 2
16-18 Fishamble St, Dublin 8
14
FISHAMBLE ST.
Festival Bookseller
The Gutter Bookshop
Cow’s Lane, Temple Bar, Dublin
T +353 (0) 1 679 9206
E info@gutterbookshop
Venues
8
N
DE
EE
TR
B
7
12
16
11
144 Pearse St, Dublin 2
6
Merrion Rd, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4
Exchange St, Lower, Temple Bar,
Dublin 8
4
15
St. Patrick’s Park
Patrick St, Dublin 8
The Ark
11a Eustace St, Temple Bar, Dublin 2
The LAB
Foley St, Dublin 1
The Liquor Rooms
7 Wellington Quay, Dublin 2
20
The Workman’s Club
10 Wellington Quay, Dublin 2
An Siopa Leabhar
6 Harcourt St, Dublin 2
13
7
Date Sat 16 May
Time 10.30am & 12.30pm
Venue The Ark
Age 3 – 7
Picturing Stories
with Chris Haughton
Tickets €5 (Note: capacity
is limited to 30 for each
performance)
Monkeyshine Theatre Company presents The Paper Princess, a delightful show for younger
children based on the book by Elisa Kleven. A little girl makes a paper princess but, before
she has finished, the princess blows away! Told using a miniature theatre with tiny lights,
and accompanied by live music, this beautiful story follows the princess’ journey as she tries
to find her way home.
Presented as a birthday party, the performance also includes an opportunity to make your
own paper doll using crayons, sequins and stars, ready to be taken home after the show.
Date Sat 16 May
Time 2pm
Venue The Ark
Join Chris Haughton, author of the award-winning Shh! We Have
a Plan (Irish Book Awards), for a mixture of stories, pictures,
puppets, action and participation to delight young readers, and
watch as he brings your ideas to life with live drawing. A favourite
of art and design aficionados, as well as parents, Chris is the
creator of picture books A Little Bit Lost and Oh No, George!
A perfect way to celebrate National Drawing Day.
The Mouse
Who Ate the Moon:
Petr Horácek
Everyone’s a
Translator with
Sarah Ardizzone
Date Sat 16 May
Time 11.30am
Venue The Ark
Date Sat 23 May
Time 11.15am
Venue The Ark
Age 4+
Tickets €5
When Little Mouse wakes one morning, she finds her dream has
come true. Outside her burrow, a piece of the moon has fallen from
the sky and it smells delicious. Peep through the cut-out holes in this
beautiful and heart-warming tale from the much-loved Petr Horáček.
After the reading, children can make their own little books to take
home.
Age 4+
Tickets €5
Sat 16 &
Sat 23 May
The Paper
Princess
Age 6+
Tickets €5
Join award-winning translator Sarah Ardizzone for this unique event. In this special
workshop, Sarah invites you to help her translate Marjolaine Leray’s witty picture
book Un Petit Chaperon Rouge from the original French into English. But don’t worry
– no knowledge of French is required! A fun and stimulating event for everyone aged
six and up.
Petr Horáček has won many awards for classics such as Suzy Goose
and A New House for Mouse and was shortlisted for the prestigious
Kate Greenaway Medal in 2012.
8
9
Sat 16, Sun 17, Mon 18
& Sat 23 May
Dublin Book Doctor
The Only Jealousy
of Emer
Date Sat 16 May
Time 2pm – 6pm
Venue The Gutter Bookshop &
Hodges Figgis
Date Sat 16, Sun 17 & Mon 18 May
Time 6pm & 8pm
Venue Henrietta Street
Tickets €10 / €8
Date Sat 23 May
Time 2pm – 6pm
Venue Books Upstairs & Dubray Books
Tickets €5
Sometimes you just don’t know what to read next. But don’t worry – the Book Doctors
are here to help! Drop into our bookshop ‘clinics’ for a consultation with one of our
highly trained book doctors, including Paul Howard, Sarah Bannan, John Banville,
Gavin Corbett, Lisa McInerney, Eoin McNamee and Ryan Tubridy amongst others.
Once they’ve taken the pulse of your reading habits, they’ll prescribe a brand new
book-from cookery to crime-that’s guaranteed to be just what you need. Do take a
chance on getting a great recommendation from a Book Doctor you might not know.
All proceeds go to Alone, the independent charity that works with older people in crisis.
Presented in association with Dublin Book Doctor volunteers.
Part of the Cúchulainn Cycle of five plays about the life and death of the mythic Irish
hero, The Only Jealousy of Emer continues Yeats’ experiments with Japanese Noh theatre
as a way of bringing onto the stage demons, ghosts and supernatural events.
Cúchulainn has killed his son and, in grief, attempts to fight the sea. Half drowned,
he lies in a state between life and death with his wife Emer and his mistress Eithne
watching over him. But, as these two women struggle to revive him, is something far
more sinister about to occur?
Produced by the City Arts Office in association with Yemi and Deji Adenuga for
Nigerian Carnival Ireland, the production is designed by Robert Ballagh, with
costumes by Marie Tierney and choreography by Liz Roche.
Performers
Yemi Adenuga
Deji Adenuga
Oluwayomi Ogunyemi
Esosa Ighodaro
Penelope Anyaji-Aniuzu
This production has been generously supported and forms part of the National Yeats
2015 programme.
10
11
Date Sat 16 May
Time 1.30pm
Venue Irish Film Institute
Tickets €12 / €10
Date Sat 16 May
Time 6pm
Venue Smock Alley Theatre
Tickets €10 / €8
Sat 16 May
Claire-Louise Bennett
& Christine Montalbetti
Blue is the
Warmest Colour:
Sepideh Jodeyri
Talk & Screening
When the poet Sepideh Jodeyri published a Persian translation of Blue is the Warmest
Colour, a prize-winning graphic novel about a passionate relationship between two
young women, she faced a campaign of intimidation in her native Iran so fierce it
drove her into exile in Prague. In this special event, Jodeyri joins LGBT activist
Ailbhe Smyth to explore the cost of freedom of expression in a country where
homosexuality is illegal. The discussion will be followed by a special screening of Blue
is the Warmest Colour, Abdellatif Kechiche’s adaptation of Julie Maroh’s graphic novel,
which won the Palme d’Or at Cannes in 2013.
This event brings together two writers whose experimental take on narrative is pushing
fiction in exciting new directions. Claire-Louise Bennett won the inaugural White Review
Short Story Prize in 2013 and writes both fiction and creative non-fiction. Her debut
collection of stories, Pond, has just been published. Christine Montalbetti is a professor of
literature at the University of Paris and the author of several scholarly works on narrative.
Her playful and digressive tales like Western (in which the story of a mysterious gunslinger
is continually sidetracked by the viewpoint of passing ants) are finally appearing in English,
confirming her reputation as one of the most engaging experimental writers working today.
Presented in association with the Irish Film Institute and Art for Amnesty.
Presented in association with the Embassy of France in Ireland.
Elif Shafak
Sara Baume &
Brian Dillon
Date Sat 16 May
Time 4pm
Venue Smock Alley Theatre
Tickets €10 / €8
“the most exciting Turkish novelist to reach Western readers in years”
The Irish Times
The prolific writer and journalist Elif Shafak is one of the most significant voices in
contemporary fiction. An outspoken campaigner and champion of minority rights, she
is not afraid to tackle controversial subjects, from the Armenian genocide in The Bastard
of Istanbul, to honour killings in Honour. Her new book, The Architect’s Apprentice, is a
spellbinding magic-realist tale set at the height of Ottoman power and telling the story
of the great imperial architect Mimar Sinan through the eyes of Jahan, a young stowaway
who arrives in Istanbul with nothing but a white elephant in tow. Shafak discusses her new
work with Brendan Barrington, editor of The Dublin Review.
12
Date Sat 16 May
Time 6pm
Venue The LAB Gallery
Tickets €10 / €8
Art critics don’t always make good novelists (and vice versa), and this event
explores the challenges of combining the critical and the creative in writing.
Sara Baume studied fine art at Dun Laoghaire before turning to writing, and
her debut novel Spill Simmer Falter Wither has been showered with the sort of
acclaim usually reserved for Booker Prize winners. Brian Dillon is a lecturer at
the Royal College of Art whose research into ruins produced a critical study, an
exhibition at Tate Britain and the novella Sanctuary. His new novel, The Great
Explosion, brings to life a forgotten tragedy that took place during the First
World War.
13
Sat 16
& Sun 17 May
John Gray
Suzanne O’Sullivan:
It’s All in Your Head
Date Sat 16 May
Time 8pm
Venue Smock Alley Theatre
Tickets €12 / €10
Date Sun 17 May
Time 2pm
Venue Smock Alley Theatre
Tickets €10 / €8
“Gray forces us to face the mirror
and see ourselves as we are”
Anyone who has experienced joy or grief knows the extreme reactions that our bodies
can have to our emotional state. But the phenomenon goes much deeper than we’re
prepared to admit. Many physical illnesses begin in the mind.
James Lovelock
The acclaimed philosopher, sceptic and writer makes a welcome return to the
festival with his new book, The Soul of the Marionette, a characteristically provocative
exploration of the nature of human freedom that ranges over everything from
cybernetics to fairground marionettes. Why do we flatter ourselves that we enjoy free
will, Gray asks, when our actions are determined, directed and restricted by a whole
range of forces: biological, social or metaphysical? Through a dazzling parade of
writers, thinkers and ideas, Gray argues that instead of deluding ourselves about our
true nature we should learn to embrace it.
14
For twenty years consultant neurologist Dr Suzanne O’Sullivan has worked with
patients with psychogenic disorders – an experience that inspired her controversial new
book, It’s All in Your Head. In this event, O’Sullivan talks to writer Brian Dillon (author
of The Hypochondriacs: Nine Tormented Lives) about her book, asking why we continue to
insist on the separation of body and mind – even at the risk of our health.
15
Date Sun 17 May
Time 12pm
Venue The Ark
Age 7 – 10
Tickets €5
Trail Tales
Date Sun 17 May
Time 1pm – 4pm
Venue The Ark
Sun 17 May
Heroes of the Wild:
Nicola Davies
Age 3 – 9, family friendly
Tickets Free (Drop in)
Did you know that a two-year-old child could crawl through the
arteries of a blue whale? Or that its heart is the same size as a smart
car? Meet Nicola Davies as she shares the secrets of her work with
animals from all over the world. Nicola is a trained zoologist, a
former presenter of BBC’s The Really Wild Show, and the awardwinning author of The First Book of Nature, The Promise and the
Heroes of the Wild series. Find out where she gets her inspiration,
ask her all your questions and share stories about your favourite and
not-so-favourite animals!
Become part of a knee-high board game (created by Spanish designers Milimbo) and
create your own fairy tales. As you journey through a cardboard forest, watch out for
The House of the Dwarf, Rapunzel’s Tower and The Lost Mountain. Solve the story
puzzle and get to the Treasure Chest to make a wish.
Book Clinic:
Meet the Book &
Doodle Doctors
Bestselling
Besties:
Judi Curtin &
Sarah Webb
Date Sun 17 May
Time 1pm – 4pm
Venue The Ark
Age All ages
Tickets Free (Drop in)
Presented in association with Artsadmin and the Bamboo network, supported through the
EU Culture Programme.
Date Sun 17 May
Time 3pm
Venue The Ark
Age 8+
Tickets €5
Are you a young reader? Feeling uninspired by your bookshelves at home? Then pop
along to the Book Clinic! Parents and children are invited to drop in for an informal
consultation with one of Children’s Books Ireland’s friendly panel of Book Doctors,
ready to offer the best advice to the young readers in your family.
Bestselling authors Judi Curtin and Sarah Webb have been friends for many years.
Find out where they first met and how they help each other’s writing in this very special
event. They will also answer all your questions about their brand new books, so don’t forget
to bring your best friend!
First families meet the Doodle Doctors, specialists in making the waiting room more
fun! Then, when the Book Doctor is ready, the consultation begins. When the Book
Doctor has made their diagnosis he/she writes a prescription for your local library or
bookshop, and every patient leaves with their own personalised Reading Passport!
Judi Curtin is the bestselling author of the Alice and Megan series (including Alice to the
Rescue and Viva Alice!). She is also the author of the Eva series, including her latest book,
Only Eva. Sarah Webb’s first book in her new children’s series, The Songbird Cafe Girls:
Mollie Cinnamon is Not a Cupcake, has recently been published. She is also the author of
the Ask Amy Green series and many other children’s books.
16
17
Date Sun 17 May
Time 5pm
Alice in Wonderland:
150th Anniversary with
Robert Douglas-Fairhurst,
Fiona Shaw and Vanessa Tait
In the age of Spotify and iTunes, the mixtape – that personal collection of favourite
songs – has all but vanished from our lives. But, for many writers, mixtapes are still
central to their work: a source of inspiration and the soundtrack to their stories. In this
one-off event for ILF Dublin, Ryan Gattis presents Lost in Music: a musical journey
through his acclaimed new novel All Involved, a kaleidoscopic tale of race, revenge and
loyalty set during the 1992 LA Riots (see page 24). Ryan plays the songs that feature
in the novel – everything from Cypress Hill to The Supremes – and explains how they
inspired the characters and scenes.
Date Sun 17 May
Time 4pm
Venue Smock Alley Theatre
Tickets €12 / €10
Wurm im Apfel
It’s 150 years since an obscure English writer called Charles Lutwidge Dodgson
published the curious tale of a little girl who falls down a rabbit hole under the
pseudonym Lewis Carroll. Since then, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland has been through
more than 100 editions, sold millions of copies worldwide, been translated into 174
languages, and is now widely acknowledged as a timeless classic. Join us for this special
event of live readings, debate and celebration, featuring Robert Douglas-Fairhurst,
author of a new biography of Carroll, actress Fiona Shaw, who has recorded readings of
the book for the BBC and Vanessa Tait, the great-granddaughter of Alice Liddell, the
girl who inspired the Alice character, and the author of The Looking Glass House.
Date Sun 17 May
Time 8pm
18
Venue The Liquor Rooms
Tickets €5
Sun 17 May
Lost in Music
with Ryan Gattis
Venue Oscars Café Bar, Fishamble St
Tickets €5
Wurm im apfel is a Dublin-based poetry organisation co-founded by Kit Fryatt and
Dylan Harris. Taking its name from a poem by the late German artist and writer
Reinhard Döhl, Wurm presents fresh, unusual or experimental poetry to audiences all
over Dublin and beyond. This special event for ILF Dublin offers an eclectic mix of
music and experimental poetry from a wealth of talent, including performance poet
Máighréad Medbh and sound/performance artist Vicky Langan.
19
Sun 17 May
Christian Kracht, Clemens Setz,
Carmen Stephan:
Maurice Riordan, Ciarán Carson
& Eiléan Ní Chuilleanáin:
New Writing in German
The Finest Music
Date Sun 17 May
Time 6pm
Venue Smock Alley Theatre (Boy’s School)
Tickets €10 / €8
Date Sun 17 May
Time 6pm
Venue Smock Alley Theatre
Tickets €12 / €10
The German-speaking world is producing some of the most exciting writers working
today. This special event brings showcases the depth of talent with three leading
writers from Austria, Germany, Switzerland.
Three of our best poets join forces for this unique event exploring the ancient poems
on which Ireland’s rich literary heritage rests. Maurice Riordan is the driving force
behind The Finest Music, a recent anthology that gathers Riordan’s own translations
of medieval Irish poems alongside versions by everyone from Tennyson and Auden
to Heaney and Muldoon, as well as fresh interpretations by acclaimed contemporary
poets like Eiléan Ní Chuilleanáin and Ciarán Carson, both of whom join Riordan
onstage. Featuring readings in both Irish and English, lively debate and music from
Ciarán Carson himself, this is an unmissable celebration.
Through novels such as Faserland, Swiss novelist Christian Kracht has established
himself as one of the foremost German-language writers, a master of irony, ambiguity
and suggestion. German writer Carmen Stephan’s first novel, Mal Aria, won a clutch
of prestigious awards, including the Jürgen Ponto-Siftung Literature Prize and the
Buddenbrookhaus Debut, while Clemens Setz is an award-winning Austrian novelist,
twice nominated for the German Book Prize, whose psychological thriller Indigo was
translated into English last year.
Presented in association with Poetry Ireland.
This event is presented in association with the Austrian Embassy Dublin,
the Goethe-Institut Irland and the Embassy of Switzerland in Ireland.
20
21
Sun 17 &
Mon 18 May
Gavin Corbett &
Lisa McInerney
Scéinséirí Stairiúla /
Thrilling Histories
Date Sun 17 May
Time 8pm
Venue Smock Alley Theatre
Tickets €12 / €10
Dáta / Date Mon 18 May
Am / Time 6pm
Ionad / Venue An Siopa Leabhar
Áirithint / Tickets €5
“[Gavin Corbett is] a wonderful
new voice”
Joseph O’Neill
“[Lisa McInerney is] totally and
unmistakably the real deal”
Kevin Barry
This event brings together two of the most exciting and original new voices in Irish
fiction to discuss their work with RTÉ’s Paula Shields.
“Every sentence throbs with power” wrote Emma Donoghue of This is the Way,
Gavin Corbett’s award-winning debut. His new work, Green Glowing Skull, is a
delirious comedy set in Manhattan, where a young Irish immigrant arrives with
dreams of reinventing himself as a tenor.
Lisa McInerney’s blog about life on a Galway council estate prompted The Irish Times
to describe her as “the most talented writer at work today in Ireland”. Her first novel,
The Glorious Heresies, delivers on that promise with a darkly comic tale of five postboom misfits drawn together by murder.
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Tá an-éileamh go deo ar fhicsean stairiúil le blianta beaga anuas agus tá an tóir chéanna air
as Gaeilge agus atá air as Béarla. Bígí linn le haghaidh díospóireacht bhríomhar phainéil
le Cathal Póirtéir mar chathaoirleach uirthi ina ndéanfar plé ar chuile rud ó Chath
Fontenoy go húrscéalta bleachtaireachta atá spreagtha ag gnéithe áirithe den stair. I measc
na bpainéalaithe beidh Liam Mac Cóil, údar Fontenoy, a bhí ar ghearrliosta na Comhairle
Ealaíona le déanaí le haghaidh an Laureate i gComhair Ficsean Éireannach, Darach Ó
Scolaí, údar An Cléireach a bhuaigh Gradam Uí Shúilleabháin, Gradam Leabhar na Bliana
i 2008 agus Seán Ó Dúrois, údar Rí na gCearrbhach agus Crann Smóla.
Historical fiction has stormed the bookshelves in recent years and is as popular in the Irish
language as in English. Join us for a lively panel, chaired by Cathal Póirtéir, that will discuss
everything from the Battle of Fontenoy to historically inspired detective novels. Panelists
include: Liam Mac Cóil, recently shortlisted for the Arts Council’s Irish Fiction Laureate
and author of Fontenoy; Darach Ó Scolaí, author of An Cléireach which won Gradam Uí
Shúilleabháin Book of the Year Award in 2008; and Seán Ó Dúrois (Rí na gCearrbhach
and Crann Smola).
Curtha i bhur láthair i gcomhar le hÁras na Scríbhneoirí agus IMRAM.
Presented in assocation with the Irish Writers Centre and IMRAM.
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Date Mon 18 May
Time 6pm
Mon 18 May
Ryan Gattis
Venue Smock Alley Theatre
Tickets €12 / €10
In April 1992, the acquittal of three white police officers accused
of beating black teenager Rodney King sparked frenzied rioting in
South Central Los Angeles. Out of this chaos, novelist, lecturer and
graffiti artist Ryan Gattis has woven one of the novels of the year: an
adrenaline-fuelled story of race, revenge and loyalty that follows the
intersecting lives of a huge cast of Chicano gangsters, drug dealers,
graffiti artists, medics and Korean vigilantes over six terrifying days.
Gattis explores how he came to write this coruscating portrait of a
multi-ethnic city in revolt.
Poetry Ireland
Introductions Series
Johann Hari
Date Mon 18 May
Time 8pm
Venue Smock Alley Theatre
Tickets €12 / €10
“Johann Hari’s book is the perfect antidote to the war on drugs,
one of the most under-discussed moral injustices of our time”
Glenn Greenwald
Date Mon 18 & Tue 19 May
Date Thur 21 May
Venue Irish Writers Centre
Venue Workman’s Club
Time 7pm
Time 7pm
Tickets €8 / €5 (to book visit poetryireland.ie)
Since its establishment in 1989, Poetry Ireland’s Introductions Series has offered talented
emerging poets a chance to showcase their work. Many acclaimed poets have come
through this series including Enda Wyley, Kerry Hardie, Alan Jude Moore, Pat Boran and
Caoilinn Hughes. This year, the Poetry Ireland Introductions Series teams up with the Irish
Writers Centre, The Workman’s Club and ILF Dublin to reveal 16 promising new voices
over three cabaret-style evenings that also feature specially selected accompaniment from
emerging musicians, singers and songwriters.
Poetry Ireland in association with the Irish Writers Centre, The Workman’s Club and
International Literature Festival Dublin presents Poetry Ireland Introductions Series 2015.
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To mark the 100th anniversary of the first drugs ban in the United States, awardwinning British journalist Johann Hari set off on an epic journey across the world
and into the war on drugs. Meeting the people whose lives have been devastated – in
different ways – by drugs, Hari made some astonishing discoveries: drugs are not what
we think they are, and the war on drugs has very different motives from the ones we see
on TV. The result was Chasing the Scream, a New York Times bestseller and a passionate
and timely intervention into one of the most controversial questions of our time.
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Tue 19 May
Guantánamo Diary:
Oliver Jeffers:
Nancy Hollander & Larry Siems
Words and Pictures
Date Tue 19 May
Time 6pm
Venue O’Reilly Theatre
Tickets €15 / €12.50
Date Tue 19 May
Time 6.30pm
Venue Smock Alley Theatre
Tickets €8 / €5
“the most profound account yet written of
what it is like to be … collateral damage”
“Jeffers’s illustrations delight, inspire and
surprise with their variety and ingenuity”
Mohamedou Ould Slahi’s Guantánamo Diary is one of the global publishing events of the
year. Handwritten from his cell in 2005, and published after years of legal wrangling, it
describes the ordeal of a man who, despite never being charged, has spent fourteen years
in the prison, subjected to endless forms of torture under Donald Rumsfeld’s “special
interrogation plan”.
Born in Australia, brought up in Northern Ireland and now living in New York, Oliver
Jeffers’ work takes many forms. His distinctive paintings have been exhibited all over
the world. Oliver’s picture books have been translated into over 30 languages and
include Lost & Found, Stuck, The Hueys, The Incredible Book Eating Boy, The Great Paper
Caper, This Moose Belongs to Me, The Day the Crayons Quit written by Drew Daywalt,
and his most recent book Once Upon an Alphabet. He won an Emmy in 2010 for his
collaborative work with MacPremo, with whom he co-directed the U2 video Ordinary
Love in 2013. For a unique insight into his life and work, join him for a whistle-stop
tour around the world of Oliver Jeffers.
The New York Times
Larry Siems, the book’s editor, joins Nancy Hollander, Slahi’s attourney (and one of
the few people to have got to know Slahi since his incarceration), to discuss how Slahi
wrote the book and what life is like in an institution that President Obama promised to
close. The event is chaired by Carole Coleman, journalist and author, and RTÉ’s former
Washington correspondent, who reported from Guantánamo shortly after it was opened
and who challenged George Bush on the conditions at the prison in a live interview.
Featuring live and recorded readings by actors and writers, Guantánamo Diary is one of the
festival’s must-see events.
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The Guardian
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Tue 19 May
Cogaí / Wars
Jon Ronson
Date Tue 19 May
Time 8pm
Venue Smock Alley Theatre (Boy’s School)
Tickets €10 / €8
Date Tue 19 May
Time 8pm
Venue O’Reilly Theatre
Tickets €15 / €12.50
Damhsa, ceol, prós, íomhánna ar scáileán – léiriú ar an gcogaíocht agus ar an bhforéigean
síoraí, bunaithe ar chnuasach gearrscéalta den teideal céanna le Dáithí Ó Muirí. Páirteach
ann tá Fearghus Ó Conchúir, rinceoir agus fear cóirithe rince, giotáraí agus cumadóir Enda
Reilly, agus Margaret Lonergan a bheidh i mbun na n-íomhánna scáileáin. Coimeádaí an
tionscadail: Liam Carson, IMRAM Féile Litríochta Gaeilge.
Exploring the theme of unending war and violence, Cogaí is a stunning multi-media
show that fuses dance, music, prose and screen projections – and is based on the short
story collection of the same title by Dáithí Ó Muirí. It features acclaimed dancer and
choreographer Fearghus Ó Conchúir, guitarist and composer Enda Reilly and screen
projections created by Margaret Lonergan. Curated by Liam Carson, IMRAM Irish
Language Literature Festival.
“my God, he is funny”
The Observer
Jon Ronson is one of the most original (and funniest) investigative journalists
working today. Whether hanging out with the Klu Klux Klan in Them, exploring
the US military’s fascination with the paranormal in The Men Who Stare at Goats, or
attending a UFO convention with Robbie Williams in Lost at Sea, his work exposes
the paranoid, the deluded and the bizarre. But in his new book, So You’ve Been Publicly
Shamed, Ronson tells the stories of ordinary people with ordinary flaws – people who,
after making mistakes, have found themselves at the centre of a social media storm.
The age of Twitter is often said to have democratised justice but what, asks Ronson, if
‘justice’ really means ‘the mob’?
The event will be chaired by Today FM presenter Anton Savage.
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Wed 20 May
Thought Stories:
The Big Book Club Show
Philosophy for Young Audiences
Date Wed 20 May
Time 6pm
Venue The Ark
Tickets €5
Date Wed 20 May
Time 6pm
Venue Smock Alley Theatre
Tickets €12 / €10
Philosophy will be introduced into secondary schools from 2017, and many argue for
its formal introduction to primary schools.
Ever wondered how to write the perfect thriller? Or perhaps you’re a culture vulture
who knows a lot about books? If so, The Big Book Club Show is for you!
Thought Stories explores the potential of literature to introduce philosophy and
critical thinking to children and young people, and will be of interest to parents,
educators and literature-lovers alike.
In the first part of the show, Irish Times Digital Editor Hugh Linehan talks to acclaimed
thriller writers Liz Nugent (Unravelling Oliver) and Sinéad Crowley (Can Anybody Help
Me?), asking how they went about creating characters who do terrible things.
Peter Worley is Co-Founder and CEO of The Philosophy Foundation and President
of SOPHIA, the European Foundation for the Advancement of Doing Philosophy
with Children. He is also an award-winning author of The If Machine.
In part two, The Big Book Club Quiz offers you a chance to test your literary knowledge
against a team of experts captained by Hugh Linehan, and a crack book club squad
captained by comedian and writer Colm O’Regan. Hosted with irrepressible cheek by
Stephen Faloon, manager of the Bord Gáis Energy Theatre, who likes to award bonus
points for clever answers and whisk them away for mistakes, The Big Book Club Show
is a fast, fun and competitive night. You might even win a prize!
Anne Fine is one of Britain’s most distinguished writers for both adults and children,
twice voted UK Children’s Author of the Year. Anne was UK Children’s Laureate
from 2001 to 2003. She set up www.myhomelibrary.org, to inspire children to form
their own home libraries.
Dr Philomena Donnelly (chair) introduced Philosophy With Children into Irish
primary schools in 1989 and since then has been an advocate of having philosophy in
the form of Socratic dialogue present at all levels of education.
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Wed 20 May
Words on the Street
Paul Muldoon
European Literature Night
Date Wed 20 May
Time 6.30pm – 8.30pm
Venue Various venues
Tickets Free
Date Wed 20 May
Time 8pm
Venue Liberty Hall
Tickets €12 / €10
Try a taste of contemporary European writing on a literary trail around hidden, and
not-so-hidden, architectural gems from Parnell Square to North Great George’s
Street. Listen to the best modern writing from 12 countries read by Irish (and a Scot)
celebrities – Alexander McCall Smith, Síle Seoige, Aidan Power, Mary Kennedy
and many more in places such as Belvedere House, Findlater’s Church, DARC Space,
ICTU HQ. Pick up a programme from local libraries, venues and tourist offices.
“the definitive 21st century poet”
www.dublincityofliterature.ie
The Irish Times
New Weather, Paul Muldoon’s debut collection (published when he was just 20
years old), prompted Seamus Heaney to describe him as “the most promising poet
to appear in Ireland for years”. 42 years later, that promise has been amply fulfilled.
Muldoon is a master of language and form, a Pulitzer Prize-winner celebrated for
his linguistic dexterity, his technical brilliance and his ability to make connections
between the unlikeliest of things. All those skills are on display in this special event
for ILF Dublin, in which Muldoon showcases One Thousand Things Worth Knowing,
his acclaimed new collection that “anyone interested in new writing will want to read”
(The Irish Times).
Presented in association with Poetry Ireland.
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Thur 21 May
Diarmaid Ferriter &
Maurice Walsh:
Alain Mabanckou
Writing Revolution
Date Thur 21 May
Time 6pm
Venue Smock Alley Theatre
Tickets €10 / €8
Three years into the ‘decade of centenaries’, and with the hundredth anniversary of the
Easter Rising rapidly approaching, ILF Dublin brings together two leading historians
whose work offers fresh perspectives on the most dramatic years in Irish history.
Diarmaid Ferriter’s “magisterial” (Irish Independent) new book, A Nation and Not a
Rabble, draws on newly released archive materials to tell the stories of the ordinary
men and women who lived and fought in the revolutionary years, while Maurice
Walsh’s Bitter Freedom restores the conflict to its international context, showing how
the Irish revolution was at the forefront of a global movement for independence.
The event will be chaired by Catriona Crowe.
Date Thur 21 May
Time 8pm
Venue Smock Alley Theatre
Tickets €10 / €8
“one of the continent’s greatest writers”
The Guardian
Novelist, poet and essayist Alain Mabanckou has been shortlisted for the Man Booker
International Prize 2015, and is one of the most celebrated Francophone writers of
our times, feted for his intoxicating mix of Congolese rhythms and Parisian slang. In
a string of award-winning novels such as Broken Glass and African Psycho, Mabanckou
displays a flair for exuberant satire that has led him to be dubbed Africa’s Samuel
Beckett. Fresh from the World Voice Festival in New York, Mabanckou reflects on
his work in the company of award-winning translator Sarah Ardizzone, and talks
about The Lights of Pointe-Noire, a memoir about his return to the Congo and a tender
reflection on the meaning of home.
Presented in association with the Embassy of France in Ireland.
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35
Thur 21 May
Cuisle: Tionscadal Dordfhilíochta /
Pulse: The Poems and Bass Project
Alexander McCall Smith
Date Thur 21 May
Time 8pm
Venue Smock Alley Theatre (Boy’s School)
Tickets €10 / €8
Date Thur 21 May
Time 8pm
Venue Smock Alley Theatre
Tickets €12 / €10
Oíche speisialta ina mbeidh filí ag léamh/rapáil/caint is gan de thionlacan acu ach
dordghiotáir. I measc na bhfilí beidh Marcus Mac Conghail, Ailbhe Ní Ghearbhuigh,
Liam Ó Muirthile, agus Séamus Barra Ó Súilleabháin. Is iad na hoirfidigh ar an
ngiotár ná Martin Brunsden (a sheinn le leithéidí Sinéad O’Connor, P J Harvey agus
Iarla Ó Lionáird), Neville Lloyd agus Eoin O’Brien. Coimeádaí an tionscadail:
Liam Carson, IMRAM Féile Litríochta Gaeilge.
“McCall Smith is a literary phenomenon”
A magical night in which poets read/rap/talk to the sole accompaniment of bass
guitars, both acoustic and electric. Poets include Marcus Mac Conghail, Ailbhe
Ní Ghearbhuigh, Liam Ó Muirthile and Séamus Barra Ó Súilleabháin. The bass
players are Martin Brunsden (who has played with Sinéad O’Connor, P J Harvey
and Iarla Ó Lionáird), Neville Lloyd and Eoin O’Brien. Curated by Liam Carson,
IMRAM Irish Language Literature Festival.
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The Daily Telegraph
It’s 15 years since The No.1 Ladies’ Detective Agency introduced the world to Precious
Ramotswe, Botswana’s leading (in fact, only) female PI. Since then her creator,
Alexander McCall Smith, has become one of the UK’s best-loved authors, selling over
20 million books, launching several successful new series (including Scotland Street),
and becoming perhaps the second most famous resident of Edinburgh’s New Town
(where JK Rowling also lives). In this special event, McCall Smith comes to Dublin
to talk about the characters and themes that have won him millions of readers all over
the world.
Presented in association with the British Council.
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Thur 21, Fri 22, Sat 23
& Sun 24 May
Bodies That Can Never Tire
Alas Awake
The Whole City Must Dance –
The Whole City Must Bid!
Date Thur 21 May
Time 8am – 8pm
Venue Henry Street
Tickets All Welcome
Date Thur 21 & Fri 22 May Time 9pm
Date Sat 23 & Sun 24 May Time 7.30pm & 9pm
Venue 13 North Great George’s Street, Dublin 1
Tickets €12 / €10
The first of two events in honour of WB Yeats’ 150th birthday – and inspired by his
famous lines, ‘That he follow with desire/Bodies that can never tire’ – Bodies That Can
Never Tire: The Whole City Must Dance – the Whole City Must Bid! is an all-day dance
marathon taking place on Henry Street, one of Dublin’s major shopping streets.
Drawing on contemporary choral work, collage, improvisation, live electronics
and installation this ambitious project is an abstract homage to one of literature’s
great works of abstraction. The acclaimed composer and performer Seán Mac
Erlaine presents a new site-specific setting of Finnegans Wake for improvising choir,
woodwinds, electronics and film.
Part of Dublin’s bid to be European Capital of Culture 2020, this event extends an
invitation to Dublin’s dancers to mix contemporary, hip-hop, ballet, tap, jazz (and
everything in between) in an exuberant celebration of movement, creativity and dance.
All dance groups, amateur or professional, in any form, are welcome. Groups wishing to
participate should contact [email protected]. More details will be available online at
www.dublin2020.ie.
Bodies That Can Never Tire: The Whole City Must Dance – the Whole City Must Bid! is a
collaboration between Dublin2020, International Literature Festival Dublin, Dublin
Dance Festival and Dublin Town.
Free Event – all donations and fundraising proceeds go to Temple Street Children’s Hospital.
Photo: Dublin Youth Dance Co. Photographer Karla Holden.
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Presented as a theatre-style promenade piece, audiences will be led through an
abandoned Georgian residence in a heightened environment conjuring the world and
epoch of Joyce’s Dublin.
These innovative artists will work with the poetic elements of the book, without an
overt attempt to translate the text, creating an atmospheric sound-and-image world
both immersive and beautiful.
Clarinets, electronics, composition: Seán Mac Erlaine
Vocals: Dorothy Murphy, Georgia Cusack, Sue Rynhart and Tuula Voutilainen
Film: Donal Dineen; Lighting: John Crudden; Producer: Jen Coppinger
Presented with support by the Arts Council, Dublin City Council, Rough Magic Production
Support and James Joyce Centre.
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Fri 22 May
Peter Carey
Cré Na Cille: Tionscadal an
Chadhnaigh / The Dirty Dust:
The Ó Cadhain Project
Bi-lingual event
Date Fri 22 May
Time 6pm
Venue Smock Alley Theatre
Tickets €12 / €10
Date Fri 22 May
Time 8pm
Venue Smock Alley Theatre (Boy’s School)
Tickets €10 / €8
“Carey can do anything”
Is dóigh le cách gurb é Cré na Cille príomhúrscéal na Gaeilge. Faoin bhfód atá na
carachtair ach leanann siad leo ag cabaireacht agus ag tabhairt amach an t-am ar fad,
an chúlchaint chéanna a bhí ar siúl acu i dtír na mbeo. Is é atá sa seó ilmheánach
dhátheangach seo ná an leagan spleodrach fódúil a rinne Alan Titley den úrscéal,
The Dirty Dust, agus Graveyard Clay, leagan sofaisticiúil den úrscéal a rinne Liam Mac
Con Iomaire i gcomhar le Tim Robinson agus a fhoilseofar go luath. Chum Colm
Ó Snodaigh ceol le haghaidh an léirithe, míreanna a sheinnfidh sé féin. Margaret
Lonergan a bheidh i mbun na n-íomhánna ar scáileán. Coimeádaí an tionscadail:
Liam Carson, IMRAM Féile Litríochta Gaeilge.
The Independent
Peter Carey is one of only three writers to have won the Booker Prize twice. In a career
spanning forty years he has turned his hand to a remarkable range of genres, from
historical fiction (The True History of the Kelly Gang) to futuristic burlesque (The Unusual
Life of Tristan Smith), infusing every novel with ferocious energy and wit. He talks to RTÉ
presenter Seán Rocks about Amnesia, his rapturously received new book, tells the story of
Felix Moore, a down-at-heel journalist commissioned to write the biography of ‘Angel’, a
cyber-activist on trial for unleashing a virtual ‘worm’ that throws open the doors of prisons
all over the world.
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Máirtín Ó Cadhain’s Cré na Cille is consistently ranked as the most important novel
in Irish. Its characters all lie dead in the graveyard, but continue the banter, backbiting
and petty gossip that characterized their lives. This multi-media bi-lingual show
features brilliant English versions by Alan Titley, from his just-published translation
The Dirty Dust, and by Liam Mac Con Iomaire, who has collaborated with Tim
Robinson on their forthcoming version, Graveyard Clay. The show features music
composed and performed by Colm Ó Snodaigh, and screen projections by Margaret
Lonergan. Curated by Liam Carson, IMRAM Irish Language Literature Festival.
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Fri 22 &
Sat 23 May
Irvine Welsh
Eun Hee-kyung
Date Fri 22 May
Time 8pm
Venue Liberty Hall
Tickets €12 / €10
Date Sat 23 May
Time 2pm
Venue Smock Alley Theatre
Tickets Free (booking essential)
“you never know what you’re going to get with
Irvine Welsh, other than guaranteed intelligence”
Eun Hee-kyung is one of Korea’s most distinguished writers, long celebrated for her
unique voice, sophisticated cynicism and biting humour. In a career spanning twenty
years she has published three acclaimed novels and several short story collections,
exploring themes such as the impossibility of true human communication. She has
received many of South Korea’s highest awards, including the Yi Sang Literary Award,
and with works translated into English, French, German and other languages, is
rapidly gaining admirers in the West. Eun joins Martina Devlin to read from her
work and explore some of the themes that inspire her.
The Observer
Irvine Welsh has created some of the most memorable characters in recent British
fiction, including Begbie, the charismatic psychopath of Trainspotting; Bruce
Robertson, the cross-dressing alcoholic police detective in Filth; and Lucy Brennan,
the crazed fitness trainer of The Sex Lives of Siamese Twins. In his new novel, A Decent
Ride – packed with his usual razor-sharp dialogue, black humour and zest for breaking
taboos – Welsh reintroduces one of his most popular characters: ‘Juice’ Terry Lawson,
the uncontrollably libidinous drug dealer, taxi driver and self-styled “gonzo porn
star” first encountered in Glue, who finds himself investigating the whereabouts of
a missing beauty. Welsh discusses Lawson’s return with journalist and broadcaster
Sinéad Gleeson.
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Presented by the Korean Embassy in Ireland and Literature Translation Institute of Korea
in association with International Literature Festival Dublin.
43
Sat 23 May
The Vagabond @ St Patrick’s Park
Date Sat 23 May
Time 11am – 4pm
Venue St Patrick’s Park
Tickets Free (booking essential)
The Vagabond, Monkeyshine’s wondering venue, is coming to
St Patrick’s Park, bringing with it some beautiful stories old
and new. The Vagabond is a place for families to gather and
enjoy some of the simple things in life: stories, music, nature
and good company.
Enjoy wonderfully relaxed, free family events throughout
the day in the quiet heart of the city. Situated beside the
impressive St. Patrick’s Cathedral, the park also boasts a
children’s playground, café and literary parade.
Story Weavers:
Find your own Wonderland
Time 11am & 3pm
Join the Story Weavers as they prepare to weave a story. There’s
a basket for everyone to gather inspiration and then it’s back to
the Story Tent to weave a brand new story! Where might you
find your own magical opening into wonderland?
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A Retelling of Alice in Wonderland
Time 1pm
Gather around the hearth to hear a story inspired by Alice’s
Adventures in Wonderland, with live music and some beautiful
surprises. This promises to be a magical experience for people
of all ages.
Mr Leon’s Taxi: Sarah Ardizzone
Time 2pm
Mr Leon, the flamboyant taxi-driver created by French
illustrator Barroux, travels the world without ever leaving his
home city of Paris. But, as a special favour to The Vagabond, he’s
driving his taxi to Dublin. Now it’s your turn to step inside and
spin us a short yarn about your own taxi ride – real or imaginary.
The big question is: where are you going? Hop in and tell Mr
Leon where to take you, and watch you journey being illustrated
before your eyes.
Presented in association with Dublin City Council Parks and Landscapes Service.
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Sat 23 May
Azar Nafisi:
Anne Enright
The Republic of the Imagination
Date Sat 23 May
Time 4pm
Venue Smock Alley Theatre
Tickets €10 / €8
Date Sat 23 May
Time 6pm
Venue Smock Alley Theatre
Tickets €12 / €10
“her words are essential”
“Anne Enright is the perfect writer for our times”
In 1995 Azar Nafisi left her job as a lecturer in Tehran to become a private tutor,
teaching controversial literary classics to a small group of students from her home.
She turned that experience into Reading Lolita in Tehran, an uplifting exploration of
the power of fiction that won a clutch of literary prizes and sold 1.5 million copies
worldwide. Her latest book, The Republic of the Imagination, focuses on classic American
fiction, and the imaginative freedom that great novels can provide in the twenty-first
century. She discusses her writing with Selina Guinness.
In January, when Anne Enright was chosen as the first Laureate for Irish Fiction,
few people were surprised. Since The Portable Virgin, Enright has built a reputation
as a writer of astonishing range, equally at home writing a bestselling memoir of
motherhood (Making Babies), a bawdy historical novel (The Pleasures of Eliza Lynch)
or a coruscating dissection of the boom years (The Forgotten Waltz). Her Man Booker
Prize-winning novel The Gathering explored the grief of one family at their brother’s
wake, and her new novel, The Green Road, considers another gathering of sorts, when
the children of an ailing matriarch return home for a final Christmas together.
Marjane Satrapi
Programmed in association with Art for Amnesty.
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Nuala Ní Chonchúir
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Sat 23 May
Anne Applebaum &
Peter Pomerantsev:
Bodies That Can Never Tire
Faultline: Russia & Ukraine
Date Sat 23 May
Time 8pm
Venue Smock Alley Theatre
Tickets €12 / €10
“[Iron Curtain is] exceptionally
important, wise, perceptive,
remarkably objective”
Antony Beevor
Date Sat 23 May
Time 8pm
Venue RDS Concert Hall
Tickets €20 / €18
“[Nothing is True and Everything
is Possible is] a riveting portrait of
the new Russia”
Tina Brown
With relations between Russia and the West at their worst since the end of the Cold
War, ILF Dublin brings together two leading writers to examine the geopolitical fault
lines exposed by the crisis in Ukraine.
Historian and Washington Post columnist Anne Applebaum is one of the world’s
leading intellectuals and an acknowledged expert on the Soviet era. Her bestselling
study Gulag: A History of the Soviet Camps won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 2004
and her latest book, Iron Curtain, has been hailed as a masterpiece by reviewers.
Peter Pomerantsev spent many years working as a TV producer in Moscow and his
book, Nothing is True and Everything is Possible, delivers a devastating (and strangely
entertaining) critique of the Putin era.
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“That he follow with desire
Bodies that can never tire”
In WB Yeats’ great play, An Baile Strand, Cuchulain is asked to take an oath to defend the
country. Against his will he agrees and sings the oath, including the lines above. Being half
man, half god, Cuchulain himself is a ‘body that can never tire’, but in these lines Yeats
focuses on the artist’s inner drive to satisfy dreams, visions and supernatural impulses.
These ‘bodies that can never tire’ are different for everybody and fuel ambition, obsession
and revolution. They are central to artistic creation.
In celebration of Yeats’ 150 birthday, ILF Dublin presents the second of two special
events inspired by Yeats’ words. Bodies That Can Never Tire gathers some of Ireland’s
most remarkable figures – from community activists to hip-hop artists, social justice
campaigners to poets – to explore what Yeats’ vision means to them. Featuring readings,
music, poetry and dance, Bodies That Can Never Tire is a unique celebration of the legacy of
Ireland’s great national poet in aid of Temple Street Children’s University Hospital.
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Sun 24 May
Sofi Oksanen
Gerbrand Bakker
Date Sun 24 May
Time 12pm
Venue Smock Alley Theatre
Tickets €10 / €8
Date Sun 24 May
Time 2pm
Venue Smock Alley Theatre
Tickets €10 / €8
“a literary phenomenon”
“an assured and mature new voice ... in European fiction”
Sofi Oksanen has long been celebrated in her native Finland. But it was her
bestselling novel Purge, a dazzling tale of two generations of Estonia women grappling
with Soviet occupation and the sudden freedoms of the 1990s, that shot her to
international fame. She talks to award-winning Soviet historian Anne Applebaum
about When the Doves Disappeared, a new novel that tells the gripping story of two
cousins – principled freedom fighter Roland and slippery Edgar – whose paths cross
in the 1960s, when Edgar is a communist apparatchik desperate to conceal his past.
With just two novels (IMPAC-winning The Twin and The Detour, which won
the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize), Dutch novelist Gerbrand Bakker has
established himself as one of the leading figures in contemporary European fiction.
His work – spare, unsentimental and rooted in sensory descriptions of place – often
maps the territory of grief, and his new novel, June, is no exception. When Anna
Kaan, grandmother of the Kaan clan, retreats into the family hayloft with a bottle
of Advocaat and stubbornly refuses to come down, her protest gradually exposes the
impact of one terrible day, forty years before, on three generations of lives. Bakker
discusses June with journalist and broadcaster Mick Heaney.
The Times
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The Guardian
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Sun 24 May
Dermot Bolger &
Christine Dwyer Hickey
Deirdre Madden, Selina
Guinness & Eoin McNamee:
All Over Ireland – New Irish Short Stories
Date Sun 24 May
Time 4pm
Venue Smock Alley Theatre
Tickets €10 / €8
“Christine Dwyer Hickey is as
diverse and original a talent as
one could hope to find”
The Irish Times
Date Sun 24 May
Time 6pm
Venue Smock Alley Theatre
Tickets €10 / €8
“Bolger combines the subtlety of a
poet with the artistry of a master
storyteller”
Joseph O’Connor
This event pairs two major Irish writers whose new work explores the simmering
tensions and suppressed desires of the suburbs.
Dermot Bolger is one of Ireland’s best-known poets, playwrights and novelists.
Tanglewood, his first novel for ten years, follows the mounting tensions in two
marriages when neighbours agree to build a townhouse on shared land.
To mark the launch of All Over Ireland, a new anthology of Irish short stories, ILF
Dublin brings the book’s editor, Deirdre Madden, together with two contributors –
author and lecturer Selina Guinness and novelist Eoin McNamee – to explore the
unique challenges and opportunities of the form. The short story, VS Pritchett once
said, is “exquisitely difficult” to write, yet it’s a form at which Irish writers excel. In the
age of tablets and ebooks there may never have been a better time to be a short story
writer, but what does it take to write a great one? The event is chaired by Stephen
Matterson, professor of English at Trinity College Dublin.
Acclaimed novelist and short story writer Christine Dwyer Hickey’s last work, The
Cold Eye of Heaven, won the Irish Novel of the Year in 2012. Her latest, The Lives of
Women, takes place in the 1970s, when suburban teenager Elaine takes her first fateful
steps into the adult world.
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including Kevin Barry, Anthony Cronin,
Roddy Doyle, Anne Haverty, Martin Hayes,
Jennifer Johnston, Neil Jordan,
Patrick McCabe & Timothy O’Grady
Sun 24 May
Only Himself: A Tribute
to Dermot Healy
Date Sun 24 May
Time 8pm
Venue O’Reilly Theatre
Tickets €15 / €12.50
When a young Dermot Healy sent some poems to
Seamus Heaney, he soon received a phone call in reply.
‘Do you know how good you are?’ Heaney asked, before
publishing them all. Over the next thirty years, Healy
amassed an astonishing body of work celebrated for its
unique voice and style: thirteen plays, five collections of
poetry, an acclaimed memoir, The Bend for Home, and five
novels, including A Goat’s Song, often cited as “one of the
great Irish novels of recent times” (The Guardian). Dermot
Healy died in June of last year, aged sixty-six.
“[Dermot Healy] speaks out of a world
I never knew existed ... I don’t know how
he makes this world mythical, but he does”
In this special tribute, Timothy O’Grady, in collaboration
with ILF Dublin, gathers leading artists including Kevin
Barry, Anthony Cronin, Roddy Doyle, Anne Haverty,
Martin Hayes, Jennifer Johnston, Timothy O’Grady,
Neil Jordan and Patrick McCabe to reflect on one of the
most original voices in Irish writing. Featuring music
from Martin Hayes and friends, Only Himself is a unique
celebration of the writer’s life and work.
Presented in association with Bealtaine and Poetry Ireland.
Neil Jordan
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Sat 16, Thur 21,
Fri 22 & Sat 23 May
Festival Club @ Oscars Café Bar
Dylan Tighe
Time Doors 9pm
Start Performance starts 9.30pm
Tickets Free (booking essential)
“an exquisite songwriter”
Venue Oscars Café Bar, 16-18
Fishamble Street, Dublin 8
Anna Jordan
Date Sat 16 May
Anna Jordan and Dennis Cassidy have collaborated over the
years on many musical ventures, but Selk is the first time they
have worked together solely as a two piece. With Cassidy the
anchor man and drummer of Dublin’s jazz and hip-hop collective
Mixtapes from the Underground and Jordan a unique vocalist
and lyricist, the results are apart from much of what you’ll hear
elsewhere in the country at the moment.
Date Fri 22 May
The Irish Times
Playwright, actor, musician: there’s not much Dylan Tighe
can’t do, and few people were surprised last year when his
debut album, Record, was met with a chorus of acclaim. Tighe’s
assured songwriting encompasses everything from acoustic
numbers to experimental soundscapes, all tied together by his
hushed, warm vocals and dark lyrics. His live performances have
earned rapturous receptions everywhere from the Liverpool
Philharmonic to the Irish Arts Centre in New York. Followed by
a dj set from Siobhán Kane.
Isobel Anderson
Lyrical Ballads with Nialler9
Date Thur 21 May
Date Sat 23 May
Since the release of her debut album in 2010, Isobel Anderson
has been carving out a distinctive career with intimate folk songs
whose gentle melodies belie lyrics with real bite. Her albums
have attracted an illustrious following, including Lauren Laverne
and Jamie Cullum, and she has performed live everywhere from
Glastonbury to Belfast’s Open House Music Festival. Followed by
a dj set from Billy O Hanluain.
Good songwriting isn’t just about the tune, it’s about the lyrics
as well but, too often, today’s bands find their music let down by
their words: unfortunate combinations of the obvious, the clichéd
and the absurd. In this unique event for ILF Dublin, celebrated
dj Nialler9 introduces some of his favourite bands whose turn
of phrase is as sharp and compelling as their tunes. Interspersed
with dj sets from Nialler9 himself, Lyrical Ballads is a unique
celebration of the songwriter’s craft.
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Date Sat 16 May
Time 10am – 5pm
Craft of Fiction
Seminars
Venue Belvedere House
Tickets €50
Last year, our Date With An Agent initiative drew submissions from talented writers
all over the world and culminated in an information-packed event at Dublin Castle.
This year – again in association with The Inkwell Group and Writing.ie – Ireland’s
largest ever literary talent-spotting initiative returns, poised to discover the stars of the
future. We’re looking for 75 aspiring writers who will pitch their work to one of five
leading literary agents, but this year we also have a limited number of tickets available
to the rest of the day for writers not yet ready to pitch or who just want to find out
more about how the business works. With an agent panel, an editor author discussion
and an editorial panel, as well as Vanessa Fox O’Loughlin discussing what to submit,
how and who too, if you want to get published this is a not-to-be-missed opportunity.
Participating agents: Simon Trewin, Partner and Head of Literary at WME London;
Clare Wallace, Literary Agent at Darley Anderson Literary, TV and Film Agency;
Sallyanne Sweeney Literary Agent at Mulcahy Associates, London; Julia Churchill,
Literary Agent at AM Heath, London and Paul Feldstein of The Feldstein Agency.
Running Order
9.30
10.00 – 11.30
11.30
12.00
12.00 – 13.30
13.30 – 14.30
14.40 – 15.40
15.45 – 16.45
16.45
17.00
Registration
Agent Panel with Q&A
CoffeeBreak
Pitching begins
Vanessa Fox O’Loughlin on Getting Published
Lunch
Mary Costello in conversation with Francis Bickmore
Chair: Vanessa Fox O’Loughlin
Editorial Panel: Patricia Deevy of Penguin Random House
and Paula Campbell of Poolbeg Press discuss what editors
are looking for and how to increase your chances of success
Wrap up
Finish
Date Sat 16 May
Time 10.30am – 1.30pm
Venue Irish Writers Centre
Tickets €20 / €18*
Sat 16 &
Thur 21 May
Date with
an Agent
These back-to-back seminars, aimed at seasoned writers and curious readers, will get to
the heart of crafting fiction.
Christine Montalbetti and one other author will each deliver a one-hour lecture on
different aspects of writing; aspects they feel play a strong role in their work, be it
character development, plot, dialogue or pace.
The seminars are designed to enlighten emerging writers and enrich technical aspects
of their work, giving all writers present a chance to soak up the authors’ knowledge and
experience. Each lecture will be followed by a brief Q&A.
Second Book
Syndrome with
Kathleen MacMahon,
Liz McManus & Donal Ryan
Date Thur 21 May
Time 7.30pm
Venue Irish Writers Centre
Tickets €10 / €8*
The book industry loves a debut novelist; the thrill in finding that fresh new voice. But
what happens when the sheen of first fiction wears off and the pressure is on to draft a
novel to rival, or even better, the first?
Broadcaster Pat Kenny talks to Kathleen MacMahon, Liz McManus and Donal Ryan
about the challenges of publishing that second manuscript. Kathleen MacMahon’s
second novel, her follow-up to This is How it Ends, is being released this summer; 23
years have passed between Liz McManus’ first and second novels; and award-winning
author Donal Ryan famously had his second manuscript published ahead of his first.
* To book tickets for these events please visit www.irishwriterscentre.ie
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Irish Writers Centre supported by WORDS Ireland
Date Sat 23 May
Time 10.30am – 4.30pm
Venue Irish Writers Centre
Tickets €60 / €50*
Fri 22, Sat 23 &
Sun 24 May
Mindshift:
The Connected Writer –
Getting the Gig, Doing it Well
This professional development day, supported by WORDS Ireland and aimed at
established writers, will help you to improve your skillset for readings, panel discussions
and interviews, and to connect with – and even wow – audiences.
Diversity in Children’s Literature
with Sarah Ardizzone, Siobhan Parkinson,
Bali Rai & Alexandra Strick
Date Fri 22 May
Time 11am – 1pm
Venue The Ark
Tickets €5
Diversity can be explored from many angles. In this special event, we explore ways to
support excellence in children’s literature, while broadening our perspective on how
children and cultures are represented.
Siobhan Parkinson is an award-winning Irish writer/translator, publisher (Little Island)
and former Laureate na nÓg.
Sarah Ardizzone is an award-winning translator, festival curator and journalist reporting
on multicultural and multilingual issues.
Raised in a Punjabi household in Leicester, author Bali Rai writes about teenage lives in
multicultural, multi-racial communities in inner-city Britain.
Alexandra Strick is a consultant in books and disability issues. She is co-founder of
Outside in World (the UK organisation dedicated to books from around the world) and
Inclusive Minds.
Sarah Webb (writer and Children’s Curator of Mountains to Sea Book Festival), Martin
Colthorpe (International Literature Festival Dublin) and Keith Acheson (Belfast Book
Festival) discuss knowing your USPs, connecting with curators, and ‘getting out there’.
Doireann Ní Bhriain tackles preparation for the gig and onstage presence, while Martina
Devlin looks at maintaining momentum.
*To book tickets for this event please visit www.irishwriterscentre.ie
Writing Art Criticism
with Paper Visual
Art Journal (PVA)
Date Sun 24 May
Time 10am – 5pm
Venue LAB Art Gallery
Tickets Free (booking essential)
This is the first of two day-long workshops at the LAB on writing art criticism. Led
by PVA editors and art critics Nathan O’Donnell and Marysia Wieckiewicz-Carroll,
these workshops will combine theory and practice, including reading and discussion
sessions as well as creative writing exercises. Participants will be encouraged to engage as
critics with the two exhibitions on show at the LAB. These will be open and welcoming
sessions, exploring some of the major questions facing the writer on visual art.
Presented in association with Children’s Books Ireland.
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City Dreams
with Bali Rai
Venue The Ark
Tickets€5/€4.50(bookingrequired,[email protected])
Date Thur 21 May
Time 10.15am
Venue Central Library
(ILAC Centre)
Petr Horácek: The Mouse who ate
the Moon
Date Mon 18 May
Time 10.15am & 11.30am
Class Jnr & Snr Infants
Class 5th – 6th
All bookings for library
events arranged locally
Mon 18 &
Wed 20 May
School Events @
The Ark
Bali Rai is an award-winning author of books for children and teenagers about
teenage lives in multicultural, inner-city Britain. Join him as he talks about what an
author goes through to write novels, the creative process and his passion for Liverpool
FC (but we won’t hold that against him!).
Peep through the cut-out holes in this beautiful and
heart-warming tale from the award-winning Petr Horáček.
After the reading, children can make their own little books
to take home.
Rumble with the Romans:
Gary Northfield
Date Mon 18 May
Time 11.15am
Class 3rd & 4th
Join Julius Zebra and his motley menagerie of friends as
they gear up to be gladiators in this fun-packed event with
celebrated cartoonist Gary Northfield (creator of The Beano’s
Derek the Sheep).
Once Upon an If
Date Wed 20 May
Time 11.15am
Class 3rd – 6th
A highly interactive workshop using telepathy, magic necklaces
and shrinking machines! Peter Worley takes his young audience
on a number of short philosophical adventures, but don’t worry:
they’ll come back in one piece!
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Killer Cats and
Crummy Mummies:
Anne Fine
Date Thur 21 May
Time 10.30am
Venue Pearse Street Library
Conference Room
Class 3rd – 5th
All bookings for library
events arranged locally
Longlisted for a UKLA Book Award 2015, On Planet Fruitcake
is the latest book from award-winning author (and former UK
Children’s Laureate) Anne Fine. Join her as she talks about her
work and where she gets her ideas
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Thanks
International Literature Festival Dublin is a programme of the City Arts
Office, part of the Culture, Community & Recreation Department of Dublin City
Council (Chief Executive Owen P. Keegan, Assistant Chief Executive Brendan
Kenny). The work of the Arts Office is made possible by the support of the Lord
Mayor of Dublin, Christy Burke, and the members of Dublin City Council.
Noel Hayes, Ursula Donnellan, Michael Noonan, Leo Fitzpatrick, Ross Styles,
Mary Weir: Dublin City Council. Sarah Bannon, Members & Executives of the
Arts Council. Elaina Ryan & Aoife Murray: Children’s Books Ireland. Jane Alger,
Elizabeth Cuddy: Dublin UNESCO City of Literature. Terry Wogan, Mary
McLaughlin & all the team: Dublin City Libraries. Bill Shipsey. Claire Looby,
Laurence Macken: The Irish Times. Aisling O’Gorman & Mitzi D’Alton: The Ark.
Cormac Kinsella: Repforce Publicity. Declan Heeney: Gill Hess Ltd. Maureen
Kennelly & Jane O’Hanlon: Poetry Ireland. Valerie Bistany, Amy Herron & Brendan
MacEvilly: Irish Writers Centre. Lorraine Allis & Anne McKiernan: Brooks Hotel.
Amy O’Hanlon: Fringe Festival. Cliona Dukes & all the team at Smock Alley Theatre.
Liz Kelly: Age & Opportunity. Sinéad Gleeson. Vanessa O’Loughlin: Writing.ie.
Darragh Doyle. Ju Yearn Sun: Embassy of the Republic of Korea. Barbara Ebert:
Goethe-Institut Ireland. Ralf Hospodarsky: Austrian Embassy. Norbert Arnold &
Deirdre Sweeney: Embassy of Switzerland in Ireland. Nicky Childs: Arts Admin UK.
Discover Story Centre. Irma Grothuis. Emma Worley. The Philosophy Foundation.
Kate McBride. Laura McNaughton. Sheena Barrett. Jen Coppinger. Liam Carson:
IMRAM. Timothy O’Grady. Clare Fox. Iida Simes: Finnish PEN. Stephanie Muchint:
Embassy of France in Ireland. Una Carmody. Gillian Clarke. Iseult Byrne. Julia
Carruthers & Carina McGrail: Dublin Dance Festival. Ronan Flood: Oscar Café Bar.
4 Star Boutique Hotel, two minutes walk from Grafton Street
Offical Host Hotel to the International Literary Festival of Dublin
Discover the Difference at Brooks Hotel
Brooks Private Cinema Hosts movie nights forthnightly
Whiskey Tasting Sessions at Jasmine Bar
Francesca’s Restaurant featuring an innovative irish menu
Executive Director
Ray Yeates
General Manager
Aimée van Wylick
Design & Website
Zinc
Programme Director
Martin Colthorpe
Administration
Vicky Kearney
Catherine Neville
Maura Carty
Copywriter
Alistair Daniel
Family & Children’s
Programmer
Sinéad Connolly
Marketing Assistant
Caoimhe Connolly
PR
Kate Bowe PR Ltd.
Photographer
Michael Nolan
“Brooks exemplifies the hotel-ness of an hotel, offering not just a welcome, but a real sense of well-being”
McKenna's Guides
Brooks Hotel, Drury Street, Dublin 2.
Tel: 01 670 4000 Email: [email protected]
www.brookshotel.ie
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International
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May 16–24
ilfdublin.com