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Exploring the History of Lady Gregory, WB Yeats and Raifteirí an File.

A new short film has been developed highlighting the collection of Lady Gregory and the treasure trove of Coole Park artifacts contained in the Kiltartan Gregory Museum.  The film highlights the connection between Raftery an file and WB Yeats to the famed Kiltartan Cross in South Galway, Ireland.   Filmed in conjunction with Yeats Thoor Ballylee Society at Kiltartan Gregory Museum with support The Western Development Commission and  SpotLit.eu.

Kiltartan Gregory Museum is a former National School built in 1892 at the behest of the local landlord, Sir William Gregory of Coole Park, Gort. The Museum is Largely devoted to the works of Lady Gregory (1852 – 1932), widow of Sir William. During her time there, Coole became the meeting place for writers, chief of whom was W.B. Yeats who later bought Thoor Ballylee, artists, actors, statesmen, irish language enthusiasts, folklorists and  traveling musicians.

Coole Park was the home of Augusta, Lady Gregory, folklorist, dramatist, co-founder of the Abbey Theatre and catalyst for the Irish Literary Revival. As an Irish speaker and accomplished translator, playwright, and keeper of journals, Lady Gregory’s linguistic and literary ability was key to resurgence of the west of Ireland culture, with her home providing space and support for the nation’s literary and artistic giants (including Douglas Hyde, George Bernard Shaw, Sean O’Casey, Jack B. Yeats, and John Millington Synge) to create and respond to the tumultuous social and political events of the times.

Antoine Raifteirí was a nineteenth century poet whose lyrics in Irish were translated into English by both Lady Gregory and Douglas Hyde (the first president of Ireland) who later published them. Ó Raifteirí died at the house of Diarmuid Cloonan of Killeeneen, near Craughwell, County Galway, and was buried in nearby Killeeneen Cemetery. In 1900, Lady Gregory, Edward Martyn, and W.B. Yeats erected a memorial stone over his grave, bearing the inscription “RAFTERY”. A statue of him stands in the village green, Craughwell.

https://www.spot-lit.eu/wp-content/uploads/kiltartan-gregory-museum-video-image.jpg 547 1030 spot-lit-admin https://www.spot-lit.eu/wp-content/themes/master/images/spotlit-npa-eu.png spot-lit-admin2022-03-14 19:31:342022-03-15 08:31:23Exploring the History of Lady Gregory, WB Yeats and Raifteirí an File.

The Wild Atlantic Way Literary Performance Framework Model.

The Wild Atlantic Way (WAW) is not only one of the world’s longest defined coastal routes, but it is also a magical coastal route that has drawn people to Ireland’s west coast because of the natural beauty of its surrounding landscape, enchanting villages, ancient monuments, and literary heritage that has the potential to attract visitors. Ireland has long been known around the world as a country of great writers, poets, and playwrights, and the Wild Atlantic Way is no exception. The aim of the WAW Literary Performance Model was to create a bespoke and unique literary performance-based model that is economically sustainable in the future and can attract both domestic and international audiences to experience the Wild Atlantic Way’s unique literary heritage.

The Wild Atlantic Way  literary Tourism Framework Model for the Republic of Ireland has been developed by The Western Development Commission.  Literary Producers Dani Gill and Brendan MacEvilly have desiged a model, consisting of two major elements-an original stage show blending literature with music, film and live performance, that will travel to a number of festivals and venues along the Wild Atlantic Way, and a site-specific commissioning project based on lighthouses, that engages stakeholders across the western region and allows regional writers and artists to be part of a unique, national literary offering.

  • The key aims of the project were to create a bespoke programme using immersive techniques to engage people (literary enthusiasts and culturally curious) in the literature of the region.
  • Collaborate and engage with existing and new partners to provide co-produced literary offerings that enhance literary based experiences in the region.
  • Raise public awareness of contemporary literature, promoted domestically and internationally.
  • Engage writers regionally to be part of a paid collaboration, and stimulate legacy for the project through attracting stakeholders.
  • Produce a site specific work that can be launched by a major festival but that can also continue to happen in certain locations after the festival events in a self-guided fashion.

The Wild Atlantic Way (WAW) Literary Performance Model focuses on enhancing and complementing the Wild Atlantic Way’s existing tourism product and its wealth of literary assets through immersive and creative performance-based activity. The model offers opportunities for the connection between physical spaces and literary works to be exploited through performance (song, dance, art, etc.) that allows visitors to feel as if they have ‘jumped into’ the related literary work, thereby stimulating enriched visits and increased business opportunities.

The WAW Literary Performance Model focuses on modern literature, but it can be applied to a broad range of literature. Find Out More About The two literary performance Models, The Lighthouse Project and The Alphabet of Birds. 

 

https://www.spot-lit.eu/wp-content/uploads/to-the-lighthouse-videos.jpg 535 959 spot-lit-admin https://www.spot-lit.eu/wp-content/themes/master/images/spotlit-npa-eu.png spot-lit-admin2022-03-14 16:15:212022-03-14 16:15:21The Wild Atlantic Way Literary Performance Framework Model.

Tertulia – A Bookshop like no other, Westport, County Mayo.

“Tertulia, a bookshop Like no other” was chosen as the name for our venture after much deliberation. We wanted it to be more than just a bookshop, we wanted to create a space for people to engage in and experience literature and philosophy. Tertulia is a Spanish word for circle of people who meet regularly to discuss literature, current affairs, life etc. We found our word and our modus operandi. Our mission is to contribute to a positive change in the way the world thinks.

Our aim with the support of Spot-Lit was to develop the bookshop in Westport as a hub for literary and philosophy events, to tap into a gap in the market for cultural and make literature and philosophy accessible and fun and useful. Olga Tokarczuk, Nobel Prize Laureate 2018, posits that how we “think” about the world and therefore how we “narrate” the world has a massive significance. Tourists and locals are encouraged to visit the shop and participate in events being held, they can then continue that connection by becoming members and participating in our on-line membership/community forums. 

Through Spot-lit, a new experiential product offering has been developed for visitors to Westport; half and full-day “Literature and Philosophy” events throughout the year. These events involve speakers, workshops and debates based on the model of a mini Citizen’s Assembly, using experts and informed debates. During the pandemic events took place online via the innovative Tertulia TV YouTube show beamed into book lover’s homes throughout Mayo, the west and beyond.

In partnership with Lukasz Krzywon from Creative Together (in Cong, Co. Mayo) we began The Philosopher’s Hat Club, inviting participants to put their philosopher’s hat on and once a month to engage in a meaningful and facilitated conversation with other participants about the world we live in. The meetings are facilitated by Lukasz Krzywon from Creative Together and Brid Conroy from Tertulia bookshop. The club held numerous well attended events online in 2020/2021 and continues to grow with a full schedule of events for 2022.

Tertulia and Paper Lanterns Literary Journal have also run a Teen Short Story Competition 2021, young writers from all over Ireland competed for prizes of €250, sponsored by Tertulia in association with Spot-Lit.eu. We have also partnered with Westport Music and Arts Festival bringing fiction, debate, workshops, art, literature, authors to a wide audience in 2021. Find Out More HERE.

In 2022 we plan to host literature and philosophy days with 2-3 experts/authors and workshops for children aged 8-12 introducing them to the ideas and thinking in literature. We are also beginning a bookclub for young readers.

Contact Tertulia: https://tertuliabookshop.com/ 

 

https://www.spot-lit.eu/wp-content/uploads/photo-interior-shop-tertulia-web.jpg 773 1030 spot-lit-admin https://www.spot-lit.eu/wp-content/themes/master/images/spotlit-npa-eu.png spot-lit-admin2022-03-08 21:03:182022-03-14 12:31:06Tertulia – A Bookshop like no other, Westport, County Mayo.

Connemara Writers Pilgrimage in Letterfrack, County Galway.

February 2022 marks the centenary of the publication of Ulysses a significant date in Irish and world literature. Spot-lit.eu partner, Artisan House inaugural literary tourism event entitled ‘Mid-week break with Buck Mulligan’ will take place over a two-night retreat in Renvyle House Hotel on Wednesday, 23rd and Thursday, 24th March, 2022.  The 2-night break will include B&B on both nights and a 5-course dinner on the evening of 24th March; a performance of ‘Nora’ by Curlew Theatre Company on the 23rd March, a workshop led by Ray Burke, author of Joyce County, and a 5-course meal on the evening of 24th March. Hosts will be Mary Ruddy & Vincent Murphy of Artisan House and Books at One bookshop, Letterfrack.  For more information, visit www.artisanhouse.ie or email artisanhouseeditions@gmail.com.

_______________________________________________________________________

Writers have long been drawn to Connemara, W.B. Yeats with his new wife Georgia, spent their honeymoon at Renvyle House, the country house of Oliver St John Gogarty. Gogarty played host to countless distinguished friends including Augustus John and W.B. Yeats whose Noh play was first performed in the Long Lounge there.

Oliver St John Gogarty, himself a writer, poet, politician and raconteur is probably most celebrated now as Joyce’s model for Buck Mulligan in Ulysses. Indeed, the novel’s very first four words ‘Stately, plump Buck Mulligan’ refer to Oliver St John Gogarty then proprietor of Renvyle House Hotel, and sometimes friend of James Joyce. Today he is probably remembered mostly as Buck Mulligan in Ulysses.

Louis MacNeice, Irish poet and playwright whose father John Frederick MacNeice, was born on Omey Island, that most desolate and haunting of Connemara places. His father’s father, William MacNeice from Sligo, was the schoolteacher in Omey.  Nearby Claddaghduff is where MacNeice mother  Elizabeth Clisham, was born.

Cleggan was home to Richard Murphy, the distinguished Irish poet who was born in at Milford House, near Shrule on the Mayo-Galway border, into an Anglo-Irish family.  Murphy devoted his life to a poetry that sought to reconcile Ireland’s and his own two traditions. He established his reputation with The Last Galway Hooker, a poem inspired by his experience of buying and restoring a sailing boat of traditional design. He started a fishing and tourism business in Cleggan and in 1969 he purchased High Island where he could work in solitude.

Oscar Wilde’s parents, Sir William and Lady Jane Wilde, had a hunting lodge close to Rosroe, the small fishing village where Wittgenstein wrote some of his seminal philosophical work and referred to the area as ‘the last pool of darkness’ – subsequently used as a book title by Tim Robinson. Rosroe is also where Richard Murphy spent his first period in Letterfrack, although he is now associated more strongly with Cleggan, Inishbofin and High Island.

 

 

https://www.spot-lit.eu/wp-content/uploads/buck-mulligan-flier-artisan-house-1.jpg 835 399 spot-lit-admin https://www.spot-lit.eu/wp-content/themes/master/images/spotlit-npa-eu.png spot-lit-admin2022-03-08 18:26:072022-03-14 20:13:56Connemara Writers Pilgrimage in Letterfrack, County Galway.

Connecting the Literary Landscape in South Galway.

Anna O’Donnell the chairperson Yeats Thoor Ballylee Society.

The Yeats Thoor Ballylee Society work with the Western Development Commission through the Spot-li.eu project has allowed us to develop not only a strong profile for our site but to begin to build awareness of the significance literature has had in the region since the sixth century.

Our site houses a 14th century Norman Tower House that became the home of Nobel Laureate for literature WB Yeats. This tower was where he and his family lived in the 1920s. Here, he conceived and wrote such major works as The Tower and The Winding Stair. By highlighting the other important literary locations close by we could encourage slow tourism, where a visitor can immerse themselves in the literary landscape that inspired so many over the centuries. The visitor would not just visit Thoor Ballylee, but gain an understanding of how the written word played such an important part of the culture. We have produced five videos:

  • An Introduction to WB Yeats & His Home at Thoor Ballylee Gort, Co Galway.
  • Coole Park Galway: Lady Gregory and the Celtic Literary Revival.
  • Doorus House: Birthplace of the Abbey Theatre.
  • Kiltartan Museum: Lady Gregory, Yeats and Raftery.
  • The Flaggy Shore, County Clare.

By bringing Literary tourism in a connected approach through the Spot-lit.eu project, we are able to strengthen the economy of our businesses, via hotel stays, restaurant and cafés and other sites of interest for tourists. We hope you enjoy the videos and would love to welcome you in person to our amazing and inspiring landscape.

Supported by The Western Development Commission through the Spot-liot.eu Project funded by Interreg Northern Periphery and Arctic Programme.

https://www.spot-lit.eu/wp-content/uploads/1-thoor-ballylee-galway-image-by-luis-de-morais.jpg 1920 1280 spot-lit-admin https://www.spot-lit.eu/wp-content/themes/master/images/spotlit-npa-eu.png spot-lit-admin2022-03-08 13:40:312022-05-27 18:13:39Connecting the Literary Landscape in South Galway.

Raftery Returns Arts & Poetry Festival:March 25th to 30th.

Anthony Raftery (Ó Raifteirí) – 1779-1835 – was born, one of ten children, in the townland of Cill Aodáin, Kiltimagh on the estate of the, then, landlord, Frank Taaffe. When Raftery was about ten, disaster struck when nine of his siblings died of smallpox and he lost his sight. It is said the last thing he saw was his nine siblings laid out on the floor. Friar Taffee, Frank’s uncle, is said to have seen to Raftery’s basic education.

The story goes that Raftery was banished after a dispute with the landlord when he was about twenty-four. He was to spend the rest of his life in south and east Galway where he lived from his poetry and his fiddle. He was partial to a drink and to such beauties as Breedeen Vasey and Máire Ní hEidhin. Among other things, Raftery wrote about his support of the ‘Whiteboys’ and for this he was charged with sedition in Galway.

Lady Gregory of Coole Park, first heard of Raftery about the year 1900  when visiting the workhouse in Gort. She overheard two old women arguing about the relative merits of poets from the area. Raftery was mentioned and thus began her research into his life and work. With the aid of WB Yeats, Edward Martyn and residents of the Gort area, she had a headstone erected to his memory in Killeeneen graveyard, where he is buried.

None of his poetry was written down but it remained in folk memory until it was collected by Douglas Hyde (The first president of Ireland) around the beginning of the 20th Century. Lady Gregory and Hyde visited Cill Aodáin on several occasions and with the help of local man, Thady Conlon, they translated his work and collected stories and legends relating to his early life.

His work covered a very broad spectrum: poetry on love, religion and aspects of political life. Among his most enduring poems are Eanach Chuin and Cill Aodáin. In Cill Aodáin, he sings the praises of his birthplace and eulogizes about returning – which sadly, he never does.

”The awareness of Anthony Raftery (1779 to 1835) has always been in the air around Cill Aodáin, Kiltimagh, so when a Raftery committee, Kiltimagh Tourism and the Tidy Towns team put their heads together, the idea of, symbolically, returning Raftery to his place of birth, became an exciting and meaningful project. It was felt that promoting the Raftery legend and tradition could be of huge economic benefit to the town and surrounding area.

We were aware from his writings and poems of his love for Mayo and his home in Cill Aodain Kiltimagh. Everybody in Ireland probably learned the poem (song) “Cill Aodain” in school. It was used in Riverdance and was considered one of Raftery’s greatest pieces. In the poem he describes his longing to come back to Cill Aodain and the journey he would take on his return.

On the route he’d dreamed of returning in his poem, he will be returned by a group of cyclists via Claremorris, Balla and Ballinamore – who will undertake the 100 kilometre journey from his grave in Killeeneen County Galway to his birthplace in Cill Aodain, Kiltimagh. More and more cyclists will join the group in Claremorris, Balla and Ballinamore, and when they get to Kiltimagh, they will escort Raftery in a horse and carriage to the market square – here, with great jubilation, he will be welcomed in poetry and song.

 

Raftery Returns Arts & Poetry Festival Programme – March 25th to 30th  2022

Friday March 25th

  • Sean Keane Concert in The Park Hotel Kiltimagh.
  • Doors Open at 7pm. Show starts 7.45pm Sharp.
  • Tickets €20. Available at The Park Hotel, Ryans Bar, Teach O Hora or any committee member or call Martin 087 3501626.
  • 30 pm: Open Mic and Music in Teach O’Hora.

Saturday March 26th

Writing Workshop

  • 10am to 11.30am: creative writing workshop with Terry McDonagh and Gabriel Fitzmaurice in The Parish Hall, Kiltimagh.
  • 11.45 to 1pm: publisher Alan Hayes (Arlen House) talks on publishing in Ireland today.

Literary walk through Killedan

The intention of The Raftery Returns Arts festival is to promote the memory and work of the blind bard. As part of the festival on Saturday 26th March a bus will collect those interested at the Market Square and bringing them to Kileadan. Our own poet Terry McDonagh, a Killedan native, will lead a group through the townland pointing out landmarks and sharing poems and lore relating to Raftery and the area. Places of interest such as Lios Ard (The High Fort) where Raftery got the gift of poetry will be pointed out – as will the contribution of the McManus family of Killedan House to the awareness of Raftery. Lottie McManus, a prolific author, established The Gaelic League in the area. Lady Gregory and Douglas Hyde visited when researching Raftery on several occasions. Their main source of information on Raftery’s early life in Killedan, was bard and teacher, Thady Conlon, who is buried in Killedan graveyard. He was Terry McDonagh’s great grandfather.
When the walk is over the bus will return to the Market Square.

  • Bus leaves the Market Square at 3pm.
  • Poets, Terry McDonagh, Gabriel Fitzmaurice, Colette Nic Aodha and others…
  • Ending with readings and music in the Cill Aodain graveyard.

Music Comedy & Poetry at the Theatre

  • Doors open at 7.15pm. Admission €10. in The Town Hall Theatre: an evening of music, poetry readings with acclaimed poets, Gabriel Fitzmaurice and Colette Nic Aodha…also with special guest comedian and unforgettable entertainer, Aindrias De Staic.
  • Afterwards, all come back to Kitty’s for open mic session.

Sunday March 27th 

Raftery Returns Cycle

When planning the Raftery Returns Arts festival, the committee were interested in connecting the two communities where Raftery was buried in Kileeneen Graveyard near Croughwell in County Galway to Kiltimagh where he was born. We were aware from his writings and poems of his love for Mayo and his home in Cill Aodain Kiltimagh. Everybody in Ireland probably learned the poem (song) “Cill Aodain” in school. It was used in Riverdance and was considered one of Raftery’s greatest pieces. In the poem he describes his longing to come back to Cill Aodain and the journey he would take on his return.

When the spring comes, and the days get longer after St Brigid’s day.
To Kiltimagh I will go and I will not stop until I sit down in County Mayo.

He talks about spending his first night in Claremorris and Balla where he will have a drink.
Then he will head for Kiltimagh where he will spend a month and visit Ballinamore House which is just two miles away.
He says he will then travel to his home in Cill Aodain where everything grows and he will be happy among his own people.

We decided that a cycle from his grave in Kileeneen to Kiltimagh (100K) would be an ideal way to connect the two areas. In doing so we decided to take the route he has outlined in his poem.

  • 100k cycle from Raftery’s grave in Killeeneen Co. Galway to his birthplace in Kiltimagh – following his journey in his famous poem Cill Aodain.
  • Elite cyclists will cycle from his grave that morning to Claremorris arriving at 1pm where they will by joined by all cycling enthusiasts. Further stops at Balla and Ballinamore Gates before arriving in Kiltimagh at 3pm.
  • A symbolic parade will take place from Keane’s Garage to the Market Square led by a horse and trap carrying Raftery.
Antaine Ó Raifteirí 1784-1835

“Anois teacht an Earraigh
beidh an lá dúl chun shíneadh,
Is tar eis na féil Bríde
ardóigh mé mo sheol.
Go Coillte Mach rachad
ní stopfaidh me choíche
Go seasfaidh mé síos
i lár Chondae Mhaigh Eo.”

I gClár Chlainne Mhuiris
A bheas mé an chéad oíche,
Is I mballa taobh thíos de
A thosós mé ag ól
Go Coillte Mách rachad
Go ndéanfad cuairt mhíosa ann
I bhfogas dhá mhíle
Do Bhéal an átha Mhóir.

Fágaim le huacht é
go n-éiríonn mo chroí-se
Mar a éiríonn an ghaoth
nó mar a scaipeann an ceo
Nuair a smaoiním ar Cheara
nó ar Ghaileang taobh thíos de
Ar Sceathach an Mhíle
nó ar phlánaí Mhaigh Eo.

Cill Aodáin an baile
a bhfásann gach ní ann,
Tá sméara is subh craobh ann
is meas de gach sórt,
Is dá mbéinnse i mo sheasamh
i gceartlár mo dhaoine
D’imeodh an aois díom
is bheinn arís óg.

Bíonn cruithneacht is coirce,
fás eorna is lín ann,
Seagal i gcraobh ann,
arán plúir agus feoil,
Lucht déanta poitín
gan licence á dhíol ann,
Móruaisle na tíre ann
ag imirt is ag ól.

Tá cur agus treabhadh
is leasú gan aoileach
Is iomaí sin ní ann
nár labhair me go fóill,
áitheanna is muilte
ag obair gan scíth ann,
Deamhan caint ar phingin cíosa
ná dada dá shórt.

Now with the coming of spring
The days will grow longer
And after St. Bride’s day’
My sail I’ll let go
To Kiltimagh I will go
And I never will linger
Till I find myself back
In the County Mayo.In Claremorrris
I will stay the first night
and then in Balla below it
I will have my first drink.
To Kiltimagh  I shall go where
I shall make a month of my visit
That’s just two miles from Ballinamore.I solemnly swear that the heart in me rises
as the wind rises up and the mists break below. When I think about Ceara
or  Gaileang down from it, the bushand the mile or the plains of Mayo.Kileadan is my townland
where everything grows.
There are blackberries and raspberries
and every sort of fruit
and were I to be standing
in the centre of my people
age would depart from me
and I would be again young.There is wheat and oats
barley and flax there,
rye in abundance there,
flower-bread and meat
and folk who make moonshine
without a licence or care
as the pride of the country
are playing and drinking.There is sowing and plowing
and fertilizing without manure
and it’s many the thing there
of which I have not yet spoken:
kilns and mills
working without rest there
with hardly any talk about a penny rent
or about nothing of that sort.

Monday March 28th

  • 9pm: Basil Burke talk on The McManus Family of Killedan House – in Langan’s Bar.

Tuesday March 29th 

  • 9pm: Seamus Corry talk on the history of Kiltimagh GAA – in Ryan’s Bar.

Wednesday March 30th 

  • 9pm: Brian McDonagh talks on ancient artifacts discovered in the area – in The Tavern Bar.

 

 

 

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Launch of Connemara Writers’ Pilgrimage and the Buck Mulligan mid-week break in Renvyle House Hotel.

Over the past three years – and despite Covid and its many restrictions -Artisan House/Books at One in Letterfrack has been actively involved in a new tourism initiative supported by the Western Development Commission under the EU NPA Programme. The aim of the Spot-lit (www.spot-lit.eu) is to assist SMEs and local communities to develop new liteary tourism products in peripheral regions.
‘Despite the difficult circumstances we faced in delivering this programme, we are delighted to report that the six partners in the west of Ireland have managed to develop exciting and innovative projects as you can see from the programme Artisan House have drawn up and which we are confident will develop further now that we are operating in less restrictive times’ stated Ian Brannigan, Western Development Commission.
The 2-night break will include B&B on both nights and a full 5-course dinner on the evening of 24th March; a performance of ‘Nora’ by Curlew Theatre Company on the 23rd March, a workshop led by Ray Burke, author of Joyce County, and a full 5-course meal on the evening of 24th March.

‘Our inaugural literary tourism event, entitled ‘Mid-week break with Buck Mulligan’ will take place over a two-night retreat in Renvyle House Hotel on Wednesday, 23rd and Thursday, 24th March, 2022. Such events will be on offer and we are also developing a literary trail reflecting the rich literary heritage of Connemara’ said Mary Ruddy. 

Hosts will be Mary Ruddy & Vincent Murphy of Artisan House and Books at One bookshop, Letterfrack.

For more information, visit our website www.artisanhouse.ie
or
email: artisanhouseeditions@gmail.com

https://www.spot-lit.eu/wp-content/uploads/artisan-house-launch.jpg 847 1283 spot-lit-admin https://www.spot-lit.eu/wp-content/themes/master/images/spotlit-npa-eu.png spot-lit-admin2022-02-24 19:22:162022-03-14 19:59:54Launch of Connemara Writers’ Pilgrimage and the Buck Mulligan mid-week break in Renvyle House Hotel.

Cairde Sligo Arts Festival Literary Events.

An eight-day cultural festival set in Co. Sligo, Cairde has developed a reputation for presenting an exceptional and thought-provoking arts festival programme which sees a great coming together of regional, national and international artists, thinkers, communities and audiences.

With the support from the Spot-Lit project, Cairde Sligo Arts Festival have developed two special strands of the arts festival programme. Strand one, Cairde Word a series of high-quality literary performances and a literary trail incorporating poetry, readings and performance art.

In July 2020 Cairde Sligo hosted Cairde Word and Vagabond Voices online –  details HERE

Sligo town and county are synonymous with art and literature. Endowed with recognition by the Yeats family and its connections to Sligo, as well as a wealth of distinguished contemporary writers who call (or have called) Sligo their home including Kevin Barry, Sally Rooney, Dermot Healy, Una Mannion and many more. Cairde Sligo Arts Festival’s aim is to complement the existing and celebrated literary scene and provide a platform for contemporary voices both from the region and beyond set amongst the stunning backdrop of the Wild Atlantic Way.

#CairdeConnected was the re-imagining of Cairde Arts Festival programme 2020 to continue to connect artists, audiences and communities.

#CairdeConnected, a thought provoking and stimulating literary programme under the banner of Cairde Word, supported by the Spot-lit Literary Development Programme.

View Events on YouTube

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The Flaggy Shore, County Clare.

Irish poet laureate Seamus Heaney wrote the poem ‘Postscript’ about visiting the Flaggy Shore in County Clare.  The poem is about the exhilaration of being alive, written following a road trip along the ‘Flaggy Shore’ where W.B. Yeats, Lady Gregory and so many other persons of literary significance gathered at Mount Vernon.

https://www.spot-lit.eu/wp-content/uploads/the-flaggy-shore.jpg 478 1030 spot-lit-admin https://www.spot-lit.eu/wp-content/themes/master/images/spotlit-npa-eu.png spot-lit-admin2022-01-31 12:25:062022-01-31 12:50:12The Flaggy Shore, County Clare.

Doorus House: Birthplace of the Abbey Theatre

Doorus House, the birthplace of the Abbey Theatre, (the national theatre of Ireland) where WB Yeats, Lady Gregory and Edward Martin first conceived the idea of an Irish National Theatre at the home of  Florimond Comte de Basterot in Doorus Kinvara, on December 27th 1904. W.B. Yeats in his autobiography mentions his visits to the property. The Abbey Theatre opened on 27 December 1904 with three performances including premieres of On Baile’s Strand by W.B. Yeats and Spreading the News by Lady Gregory.

https://www.spot-lit.eu/wp-content/uploads/doorus-house.jpg 587 1030 spot-lit-admin https://www.spot-lit.eu/wp-content/themes/master/images/spotlit-npa-eu.png spot-lit-admin2022-01-31 12:19:362022-01-31 12:23:02Doorus House: Birthplace of the Abbey Theatre
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Attractions

  • Anthology Poetry AwardJune 2, 2022 - 9:32 am
  • Exploring the History of Lady Gregory, WB Yeats and Raifteirí an File.March 14, 2022 - 7:31 pm
  • The Wild Atlantic Way Literary Performance Framework Model.March 14, 2022 - 4:15 pm
  • Digital Innovations for Growth Literary Framework Model.March 14, 2022 - 2:35 pm
  • Young Peoples Literary Framework Model; Storybook Dumfries.March 14, 2022 - 2:25 pm
All Attractions

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