The birth of the Dromineer Nenagh Literary Festival in 2004 really was a result of “when two worlds collide”!
Lamenting the end of summer activity on Lough Derg, and desiring to have something to look forward to, a group of local thespians heard that the newly arrived arts officer, Melanie Scott, was developing a strategy for festivals in the county. The two groups got together and with funding from the Arts Council, Tipperary Co Council and independent local sponsors the first festival took place in Dromineer in 2004. Venues included the Sail Inn hotel, Neddy’s Cottage, the Whiskey Still and the Yacht Club. The Yacht Club still regard its ties with the festival as a significant part of their outreach to the community.
Over the years the festival grew in size and reputation. Guests have included national and international poets and writers of fiction. Competitions in poetry and flash fiction attracted entries from all over the world, and a children’s poetry competition receives a huge response every year. The festival features a launch party which provides emerging writers with a platform for their work.
The committee has developed great working partnerships with the Library Service, Nenagh Arts Centre, Conradh na Gaeilge, Waterways Ireland, Creative Ireland and Tipperary Arts Office. When the Sail Inn hotel closed in Dromineer the festival moved into venues in Nenagh. To reflect the growth of the festival and the increasing support of businesses in the town the committee decided this year to rebrand the festival and it has now become the Dromineer Nenagh Literary Festival.
Lough Derg and the Yacht Club still provide the inspirational setting for workshops for students and adults. One of the highlights of every festival is the event held on board the Qu-Ee-Tu when skipper, Teddy Knight, takes us out on Lough Derg for a reading afloat. The wonderfully preserved historical centre of Nenagh provides us with atmospheric venues like the 800-year-old Nenagh Castle, and this year sees us use the Heritage Centre which was the former house of the Governor of the County Gaol to host a reading of great local interest.
We now have events taking place throughout the weekend around the town with cafe trails, lunchtime theatre, historical walks, meditation, children’s workshops, culminating each night with our guest authors and interviewers in the Nenagh Arts Centre. The committee has very successfully developed a writer in residence programme which has become a very important part of the festival. This year’s writer in residence, John W Sexton, has been working with a group of local people gathering stories and turning them into performance pieces. Come and hear their debut in the Yacht Club in Dromineer on Saturday afternoon.
In keeping with our logo, Creativity Connection Community, the committee aims to nourish and develop its links with local people and businesses while attracting visitors to the area by providing interesting, stimulating and entertaining events for young and old to enjoy. We have developed a reputation on the literary circuit for running a well organised, warm, intimate festival. Writers and performers feel they are being celebrated and appreciated. The festival is what it is today because of the continued local support and enthusiasm for the hard work of the volunteer committee who continue to run the festival. Over the years the chairpersons included: Tom O’Donoghue, Pat Kelly, Paul O’Dwyer, Eleanor Hooker, and today Geraldine McNulty is chairperson/curator.
This year is our biggest festival to date running from October 1st to 6th. Highlights will include readings and discussions with brilliant writers such as Joseph O'Connor, Niamh Boyce, John Boyne, Anne Griffin, Rosita Boland and of course local man Donal Ryan. There is a full weekend's entertainment for all the family so join us to celebrate autumn and listen, interact, engage and be stimulated by our wonderful line up.
Find out more at www.dnlf.ie
