Write By The Sea ‘fantastic success’
WRITE by the Sea Festival chairperson Lucy Moore said the organising committee were ‘blown out of the water’ by the success of the second annual event held in Kilmore Quay.
‘It was a fantastic success. We got terrific feedback from the participants. Everyone was so impressed with how approachable and accessible all the authors were,’ said Lucy Moore.
The Booker-shortlisted Irish writer Donal Ryan, in an interview with the Enniscorthy-born author Peter Murphy, headlined a festival line-up which included talks, readings and workshops on travel writing, playwriting, journalism, blogging, poetry, children’s books, book club reading, music journalism and crime writing by Dervla Murphy , Geoff Hill, Billy Roche, Cat Hogan, Lorna Sixsmith, Sarah Webb, Helen Williams, Barbara Scully, Hazel Percival, Jo Neal, Fiona O’ Rourke, Margaret O’ Brien,Thomas McCarthy, Jackie Hayden, Tom Mooney, John Curran, Kieran Cronin and Marcus Connaughton.
One of the highlights of the weekend was an interview by Jackie Hayden with the acclaimed Waterford-based Dervla Murphy who has written over 20 books about her travels all over the world, and the Belfast-based Geoff Hill, the author of Falling Off Motorcycles, A Beginner’s Guide, who has circumnavigated the globe on his motorcycle.
Ms. Murphy surely provided the quote of the festival in her response to a question from the member of the audience who asked if she ever felt afraid going alone into areas of trouble and conflict. ‘No, because there are nice people all over the world,’ she replied simply. And especially in Kilmore Quay, she might have added.
Many of the visiting authors stayed around for the weekend, enjoying the unique atmosphere of the fishing village and the seafood which was in abundance at the opening reception in Stella Maris Hall on Friday night, sponsored by Errigal Bay, Saltees Fish Company, Sofrimar, Kehoe Hardware and Marine Supplies and Brady’s Mace.
The official launch was performed by Peter Murphy who later in the weekend interviewed Donal Ryan in such a natural way that it seemed like a conversation between two friends with Ryan displaying an honesty and humility that impressed the audience.
Hazel Percival from Wexford Library gave a workshop for book club members on how to read critically and analyse books. She offered a list of recommended reading for book clubs which will appear soon on the Write by the Sea website.
Meditation walks and yoga sessions were also held during the weekend and on Saturday night, The Ocelots entertained visitors at the festival club in Coast Hotel which was one of the sponsors of the literary festival. People came from around Ireland and the UK to attend the events.
The honour of closing the festival on Sunday evening was left to the experienced Billy Roche who read a new short story entitled ‘Taking Flight’ which was inspired by the painting The Flight Into Egypt. His appearance drew a large attendance, with many people who had left for a stroll around the village, making a point of returning for his reading.
‘There was a very strong feeling that the festival is here to stay,’ said Lucy. ‘Everyone is urging us to continue it. They feel we have something unique to offer and I do too. We have a perfect location and we are catering for beginning and developing writers as well as established wuthors.’
One of the comments on the feedback form said the festival was of an ‘international standard with a local touch’.
The closing date for the receipt of entries in a Write by the Sea writing competition is October 16.
Entries can be in fiction, non-fiction or poetry and a separate award will be made for each category. The winning entries will be broadcast on the Seascapes programme on RTE Radio 1 presented by Fergal Keane and broadcast on Friday nights.