A hundred years to the day after he was born at the family seat of Maidenhall, Bennettsbridge, Co Kilkenny, Hubert Butler (1900-1991), essayist and champion of a pluralist Ireland, is to be commemorated in his native county. The author of such essay collections as The Children of Drancy and The Sub-Prefect Should Have Held His Tongue, the widely travelled Butler traversed Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia and Macedonia in the 1930s, and revisited parts of the region in the aftermath of the second World War. His writings on the Balkans remain pertinent today. The Hubert Butler Centenary Celebration starts on Friday, with a welcome by Butler's daughter, Julia Crampton, and an address by Roy Foster entitled "Hubert Butler and His Century". Terence Brown, Edna Longley, Fintan O'Toole, Tim Robinson and John Banville are among the speakers. The closing address, by NealAscherson, is on "Hubert Butler's Contemporary Relevance". Visits to Maidenhall and other landmarks associated with Butler are also taking place. Ticket information from Jane Wright: 05627305.