THE HIBERNOPHILE French author Michel Déon will be celebrated at a series of events at this month's Cúirt International Festival of Literature, organised in conjunction with the French Embassy and NUI, Galway.
Michel Déon (1919 - 2016 ) was born in Paris but lived in Ireland for more than 40 years, much of that time being spent in Tynagh, County Galway, with his wife and children. His 2005 Cavalier, Passe ton Chemin! chronicles his time in south Galway, and has recently been translated into English as Horseman, Pass By! He was one of the most highly regarded French writers of the post-war era.
Events take place on Tuesday April 25, starting with Found in Translation: France, Ireland and the legacy of Michel Déon, in the Moore Institute seminar room, Hardiman Research Building, NUIG, at 9.30am. The speakers are Sarah Berthaud (on theoretical aspects of translation ); Marie Blom (on translating humour in Roddy Doyle’s writing ); Gavin Bowd (on translating Michel Houellebecq ); and Clíona Ní Ríordáin (on translating Michel Déon ).
Horseman, Pass by! will be officially launched in NUIG's Aula Maxima, at 2pm. In his review of the book for the Galway Advertiser, Des Kenny wrote: "This is essentially a warm book full of humour and humanity...It is Déon’s song of gratitude to the people of south Galway who welcomed him and his family into their midst and see him one of their own."
The events conclude in An Taibhdhearc at 4pm with the screening of Un Taxi Mauve, starring Charlotte Rampling, Fred Astaire, Philippe Noiret, Peter Ustinov, David Kelly, and Niall Buggy. It was filmed in the west of Ireland in 1977, and is based on the 1973 novel by Michel Déon. The film became a point of reference for the French vision of Ireland. It recounts the drama which brings together an assortment of individuals, including the French narrator, who for various reasons find themselves in a remote part of Ireland.
Admission is free to each of the events.
