Ballinasloe Booksuckin’ Book Club is hosting its inaugural Literary and Heritage Day on Saturday November 19. It is a great opportunity for young and not-so-young to investigate the art of story writing and to embrace the heritage of the local community. Whether it’s autobiographies or fiction, there is a story to be told within everyone.
Writers, authors, and heritage experts will be on hand to share their experiences, knowledge, and vision with the people of Ballinasloe in a lighthearted and meaningful way. Listening and talking to the professionals is the theme of this Ballinasloe Literary and Heritage Day. Truth, fantasy, and fiction are on the menu for all to partake in, along with learning the basics of how to write your memoirs or exploring your fictional side. The event is being complemented by talks on local heritage which will enthrall those in attendance for its wealth of awareness and local knowledge.
A fantastic line-up of local and national authors are giving of their time for this cultural and heritage event. Well-known presenter Ciana Campbell of RTE is the host and MC for the event. Local author Nuala Ní Chonchúir whose debut novel You was called “a heart-warmer” by The Irish Times will be sharing her experiences of sensual frankness and vivid wit. Nuala will be launching her latest book of poetry.
Mary O’Rourke, who is writing her memoirs to be published in 2012, will be reading a prologue from her book. Declan Kelly and Eamon O’Donoghue will be sharing their love of poetry, prose, and archeology respectively, with Declan having published his work locally and nationally. Deirdre Mulryan will be on hand to share her love of the arts, with humanity and spirituality being the cornerstone of her published work. Ballinasloe native John Boland will be sharing some of his scripting for children’s drama, and theatre in educational material.
Stephen Heery, a qualified ecologist, will be sharing his natural and genuine interest in wildlife and history. Anne McCabe is a writer and television director famed for her social documentaries and original TV drama. Most recently, Anne co-wrote the screenplay for TV3’s Jack Taylor, a crime thriller set in Galway, based on the novels of Ken Bruen. Margaret Hickey will be revisiting her experiences from The Pat Kenny Show and Morning Ireland with her novel, Irish Days.
Workshops will be given by Mary Mullen entitled ‘So, what’s your story?’ and by internationally acclaimed author Emer Connolly on journalism. Emer lectures in journalism in the university of Limerick, writes for a number of publications, and is best known for her book Lying Eyes.
The Ballinasloe Literary and Heritage Day is guaranteed to be full of drama and mystique. There is something for everyone so you can be guaranteed to walk away with insights, adventurous ideas, and the correct approach to writing your yet-to-be-published work of art.
Admission is very reasonable and you are reminded to bring along a pen and small notebook to pen some ideas and thoughts.
The literary side of the day commences at 2pm in Gullane’s Hotel, with each author sharing their experiences and knowledge in 15 minute cycles drawing to a close at 6pm. The heritage part of this inaugural day takes place at 7.30pm in Gullane’s Hotel ending at 9pm.
The event is being organised by Community Hearts of Ballinasloe. Contact Community Hearts secretary, Maureen on (087 ) 6787667 or email [email protected] for further information.
