At the first Kate O’Brien Weekend in 1984 to mark the tenth anniversary of Kate’s death, the poet Eavan Boland spoke of Kate’s legacy and of the enduring quality of her work saying that ‘by accepting that if a work of art is good it is good not because it is feminine, but because it is human.’ She went on to end her talk with the following words of wisdom that by remembering writers who were banned during their lifetimes ‘we will have discharged our debt to writers like Kate O’Brien, who made their way in a harder time, unaware of the gratitude we now feel and unable to benefit from it. Who told their own truth and therefore made the way safe for ours. And now we, in turn, have to make a truth which justifies that safe passage’.
Building on this significant history, the Limerick Literary Festival seeks to promote Limerick nationally as a place of literary excellence and to provide a platform where readers can meet their favourite authors and other readers.
The 2024 Festival will be opened with an intimate evening of words and music by spoken word artist and musician Denise Chaila and the full weekend programme feature authors Vona Groarke, Mary Morrissy, Antoine Laurain, Francis Spufford, Dorothy Cross, Dr Jana Fischerova, Elaine Feeney and Jane Clarke, it will also feature perennial favourite Desert Island Books and a session with Poetry Pharmacist William Sieghart and the presentation of the 2024 Kate O’Brien Award for a debut novel from a female Irish author, the winner of the Award will be chosen from the following shortlist:
Slant by Katherine O'Donnell published by New Island Books
The Red Bird Sings by Aoife Fitzpatrick published by Virago
The Last Days of Joy by Anne Tiernan published by Hachette
The Festival will close on Sunday the 25th with internationally renowned author Claire Keegan. The festival is generously supported by the Arts Council through the Festival Investments Scheme, Limerick City and County Council through Festivals and Events and the French Embassy in Ireland.
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