THERE’S always been a magic and mysticism associated with making a ferry journey, venturing from the mainland to an island. It’s far more layered for Eoin Warner.
Whiddy Island has a depth of meaning for the much-loved naturalist and broadcaster, who hails from Bantry. Eoin’s father David was the pilot for the oil tanker Betelgeuse which exploded on January 8th, 1979. David was one of the 50 people who died in the disaster.
That tragic event will always shape Eoin’s feelings about the island, but it’s not a singular emotion.
‘Obviously I first travelled to Whiddy as a child, and what happened to my father on Whiddy is something that is part of our family but there are different emotions there. What happened to my father is kind of associated with the other side of the island. I have very happy memories of Whiddy, too.’
Eoin will be in conversation with Tim O’Leary, in a special event at this year’s Literary Festival supported by Creative Places West Cork
Islands and Cork County Council.
The event will see attendees travel by ferry and then out to the island for the discussion. Tim is a familiar face to anyone who has made the journey to the island – he runs the ferry, as well as the much-loved bar and restaurant on Whiddy, the
Bank House.
‘I had my 21st party in Whiddy, back in 1997, in the Bank House,’ said Eoin. ‘And even before that, I remember as an altar boy, going out to do ‘the stations’ on Whiddy. I actually did a station in the house of Tim O’Leary’s parents,’ says Eoin.
‘The Whiddy station was always one you wanted as an altar boy. If you were an altar boy and you were doing a station, you might get a half day from school. But if you were doing the station on Whiddy you got the whole day off!’
But naturally, the tragedy on Whiddy will never be forgotten by Eoin and his family. The verdicts of unlawful killing in the inquests into the deaths of 48 people in the Stardust tragedy, recorded in March, brought a long-awaited closure for many families. The families of those that died on Whiddy have never had such closure.
‘I know some people might say ‘what’s the point, we can’t bring them back’, and I know my mother felt a little bit like that,’ says Eoin. ‘But I think the more people pass away, and their siblings and partners pass away, you kind of feel there’s an urgency to get some closure.
Michael Kingston (whose father died in the disaster) has done some great work in that and has been driving it so hopefully that will happen.’
Eoin’s acclaimed series Ireland’s Wild Islands brought him to Whiddy last year, as part of a journey around some of the great islands. His next project will be for TG4, on the wonders of the Burren.
He is delighted to be a guest at the West Cork Literary Festival, and his work as a naturalist in and around Ireland’s coast will be a hot topic of discussion.
He certainly won’t be at a loss for something to talk about. No, he has never seen a great white shark in Irish waters, though the concerning rising sea temperatures make migration here a real possibility. Yes, he was delighted with the passing of the Nature Restoration Law, ‘even if it is a watered-down version’.
He is passionate about protecting our natural resources, and knows we need to be doing more, but is conscious that a balance must be struck with farming and fishing communities.
‘There is certainly more awareness now of our environment, but when I see the changes in our biodiversity, I think we really have a long way to go in Ireland, on the land and in the water.
‘Even in Bantry, with what is happening with the threat of destruction of the kelp in Bantry, we need to be doing more to stop this happening.’
Eoin’s mother Mary died two years ago but the broadcaster still feels the pull of home, and though living in Galway gets down to Bantry as much as possible. ‘I think home will always be the place where you grew up,’ he says.
This weekend he will be enjoying other events at the Literary Festival.
‘My wife Rióna Ní Fhrighil is chairing a discussion with poets Victoria Kennefick and Paula Meehan on Sunday (3pm at the Marino Church) at the festival. After the weekend I have to go back to Galway but I’ll certainly be around over the summer too.’
This year’s West Cork Literary Festival runs from July 12th to July 19th, with 82 different events, featuring more than 80 authors, over eight days. There has been a huge response to this year’s line-up, with several events already heavily booked and sold out.
But there are also places still available at many events and lots of free events taking part in Bantry Library and Bantry Bookshop, with free events focusing on children and families across the week.
Tickets are still available for big names including Booker Prize winner Paul Lynch, Anne Enright, and David Nicholls, Laureate for Irish Fiction Colm Tóibín, multi-award winning poet, Jason Allen-Paisant, Pulitzer Prize winner Hisham Matar, best-selling crime writers Andrea Mara, Shari Lapena, and Nita Prose, Palestinian author Adania Shibli, Jan Carson, Mark O’Connell, Paula Meehan, Irvine Welsh, Emer Martin, Sinéad Gleeson and many more.
The festival opens on Friday July 12th with two events – a reading by Caleb Azumah Nelson and Rónán Hession followed by Nuala O’Connor with her new novel Seaborne.
• www.westcorkliteraryfestival.ie
