To mark the 90th anniversary of Lady Gregory’s death, the organisers of the Autumn Gathering are back - in person - for the 28th Autumn Gathering in Coole Park and Thoor Ballylee.
In Coole Park, Lady Gregory provided the space and support needed by the literary giants of the time to shape the nation’s artistic and literary response to an Ireland in revolution e.g. Yeats’ Easter 1916 poem.
The magic of the Autumn Gathering is to bring people together from all corners of the world - to listen and learn, laugh and share, with academics and artists, local historians and literary figures; to meet descendants of Lady Gregory and Yeats, renew friendships and make new friends – all enjoying and celebrating the prominent role of Lady Gregory in shaping the theatrical, poetic and cultural life which thrives today.
Celebrated amidst the rich and unrivalled landscape of the trees and beauty of south Galway, the Gathering includes lectures, discussions, theatre, social events, a guided walk through Coole Park woods, and the special experience of Thoor Ballylee, described by the late Nobel laureate, Seamus Heaney, as ‘the most important public building in Ireland’.
Within Coole Park’s historic walled garden, sits the famous ‘autograph tree’ where world-renowned authors such as Yeats, George Bernard Shaw, Sean O’Casey, John Millington Synge and George Moore, carved their initials, marking Coole Park as the centre of the Irish Literary Revival in the 20th century.
Speakers include:
Jane Murray Brown, Great-Granddaughter of Lady Gregory, who will formally open the Gathering on Saturday at 10.00.
Barry Houlihan, Archivist NUIG, will c hair the Gathering.
Christopher Griffin, Smithsonian Journeys Lecturer, will speak of Gregory, Yeats, and the Political Violence in the Gort Area 1919-1923.
Dr. Cecily O’Neill, Author and international authority on Drama Education and Theatre, will present Portrait of the Artist as an Old Man: Letters of John B. Yeats from New York.
Ella Swift Redding, a self-confessed Lady Gregory ‘SuperNerd’ since her Master’s thesis at Trinity College, and Creatrix of Burly Mermaid Media, will present Revolutions Ahead — Augusta Gregory’s Bold Spin with Victorian Bicycling. On Sunday, 10.30am, in Thoor Ballylee,
Ronnie O’Gorman, Director Autumn Gathering and Thoor Ballylee, will share The Unexpected Gift of Books.
Anna O’Donnell, Chair Thoor Ballylee, will speak about the Mill Wheel Restoration and the Biodiversity Project at Thoor Ballylee, including George’s Garden and WB’s Poetry! Also, a second staging of Portrait of the Artist as an Old Man: Letters of John B. Yeats from New York will be held in the tower.Participants can continue to enjoy the Open Forum discussion, plus entertainment and the famous Barm Brack.
For further information and booking, please go to:https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/lady-gregory-yeats-autumn-gathering-2022-tickets-414867859937
You can also contact Marion Cox, 1 Kiltiernan East, Kilcolgan, Co. Galway H91 YH1F. email: [email protected] and www.autumngathering.com Tel: 086-8053917
