Listowel Writers’ Week

Sir, – Further to “Listowel Writers’ Week, the curator’s story: ‘It was an oppressive atmosphere’” (Culture, August 19th), I co-founded Listowel Writers’ Week more than 50 years ago with Bryan MacMahon, John B Keane and others. I also served as president of the committee for many years and later as its vice-president. Moreover, I have attended and contributed to every Writers’ Week since its beginning.

As ever, I attended Writers’ Week this year and enjoyed a number of events on the programme. The festival was a success and made its annual valuable contribution to the commercial life of the town.

The curator Stephen Connolly and his assistants did a splendid job in organising it. I acknowledge his disappointment at not being reappointed by the Arts Council. The suggestion that some of the negativity directed towards him was owing to a partitionist attitude in the town is misplaced. I hasten to point out that such an attitude is far from representative of those who reside in Listowel and its vicinity.

The hurt felt by members of the Writers’ Week Committee at their curt and unseemly dismissal and the subsequent restructuring of Writers’ Week was and is understandable. But Writers’ Week is more important than the committee or its members. It is now time for all of us to appreciate that Writers’ Week deserves and needs our full support. – Yours, etc,