By Eimear O’Dwyer
THE opening of the 25th West Cork Literary Festival took place last Friday, marking the beginning of a week of celebration of literature.
Audience members, workshop participants, sponsors, and writers spilled into Bantry Library to hear the opening speeches from festival director Eimear O’Herlihy, deputy mayor Cllr John Healy, Cork county librarian Emer O’Brien and author and comedian Maeve Higgins.
‘Bantry really is the perfect festival town,’ said Eimear O’Herlihy. She described the cheerful atmosphere in Bantry and said that ‘the town really opens its arms to us every year’.
The festival is a wonderful opportunity for people to come down and see their favourite authors, discover new favourites, and to discover how amazing West Cork is as well, Eimear told The Southern Star.
Deputy mayor Cllr Healy commended the work of West Cork Music who run the festival each year. He said that they were ‘a beacon of creativity, bringing joy and inspiration to our community’ and a ‘cornerstone of our cultural heritage’.
Ber Twomey (Whitegate), Liz Maguire (Bantry) and Mary O’Mahony (Glengarriff) enjoying the opening night.(Photo. Darragh Kane)
Cllr Healy also referenced the economic benefit to Bantry each year and the employment opportunities the festival creates.
Emer O’Brien highlighted the importance of libraries and she outlined the strong increase in reading trends recently. She said that there were almost one million library visitors last year and more than one million books borrowed in the county.
A passion for books and reading was voiced by Maeve Higgins who emphasised the importance of reading and writing in promoting understanding of important social topics.
One audience member said they were delighted that children can attend so many events for free, inviting them to explore the world of writing at a young age. Many others were looking forward to the scheduled talks, readings and interviews.
Authors and readers alike gathered to soak up the atmosphere and celebrate literary creativity. The main opening event was an interview at the Maritime Hotel with broadcaster and author Graham Norton by fellow writer Maeve Higgins.
Other writers attending the festival include John Banville, Donal Ryan, India Knight, William Wall and Catherine Ryan-Howard.
