Category Archives: Events

London Calling

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Emily Hayward-Whitlock, Marita and Caroline Sheldon

Emily Hayward-Whitlock, Marita and Caroline Sheldon

Just back from a busy few days in London, with a special Champagne celebration lunch with my editor Francesca and agent, Caroline Sheldon, to mark the success of Rebel Sisters and its upcoming paperback edition in October.

I barely had time to get back to my hotel and change for the big party held at The Art Workers’ Guild on Queen’s Square to celebrate the 30th Anniversary of the Caroline Sheldon Literary Agency.

What a fantastic night! The old portrait lined hall was thronged with authors and illustrators, editors and publishers, all delighted to congratulate Caroline on her hard work and achievements over the years, looking after so many of us writers and illustrators. Caroline knows the book industry inside out and it is lovely to know that you have her there to support and encourage you.

All around the room, Caroline and fellow agent Felicity had on display some of the wonderful books that they have worked on. It was a very special night with great food, wine, chat and lots of fun at what was one of London’s publishing parties of the year!

Shadowed Women Art Exhibition

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IMG-20160729-WA0001It was an honour to open talented textile artist Ciara Harrison’s Exhibition ‘Shadowed Women’ in Limerick’s Hunt Museum. Ciara’s portraits of the seven widows of the 1916 Easter Rising have an ethereal and almost ghostly quality.

Her charcoal drawings and embroidered layers in black cotton organdie, although seeming fragile, give a unique perspective to these often forgotten women. The portraits include sisters Grace and Muriel Gifford, Maud Gonne, Kathleen Clark, Agnes Mallin, Aine Ceannt, and Lily Connolly.

IMG-20160729-WA0002‘Shadowed Women’ was commissioned by The Little Museum of Dublin and is on view at The Hunt Museum until the end of August. Downstairs in The Hunt Museum, artist Robert Ballagh’s 1916 Centennial Reflection Exhibition ‘A Terrible Beauty’ is also on show until 28th August 2016.

Both exhibitions are well worth a visit over the summer in this wonderful museum!

From Limerick, I travelled down to the Ardmore Pattern Festival in Waterford, which this year is celebrating its 10th Anniversary. The sun was shining and huge crowds turned out for the week of varied events.

Saturday morning started with a big gang of young readers coming along to meet me at the school, with their books, ideas and questions.

Later on the venue was the 300 year old St Paul’s Church, which was the perfect setting to discuss and talk about history, 1916 and my book Rebel Sisters to a wonderful group of history enthusiasts and book lovers.

Books and Bealtaine Festival

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Marita with Sarah Webb and Cormac KinsellaI am having one of these madly busy weeks. Just got back from talking down in Scoil Mhuire in Abbeyside, Waterford and headed to The Ark in Temple Bar to take part in the Bealtaine Festival at an event with Sarah Webb and Cormac Kinsella. Lots of lovely book talk!

On Tuesday night it was off to Hodges Figgis for the launch of Sam Blake aka Vanessa O’Loughlin’s new crime thriller book Little Bones. It is set in Ireland and I’m sure will be a big success. Vanessa has done so much to inspire and help other people get into print, so now it is her turn to write a best seller. Met lots of lovely ladies who just happen to be crime writers too, so be prepared – there will be lots of fictional murders heading your way!!!

Finally I am delighted to hear the very good news that my friend the illustrator PJ Lynch is the new Children’s Laureate 2016.

Signatories – a great 1916 drama

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SignatoriesI saw Signatories at the Pavilion Theatre last night and really enjoyed and was moved by this rich, multi layered dramatic reflection on the lives of the seven signatories of the Irish Proclamation and Elizabeth O’Farrell, the young nurse charged with bringing the surrender order from garrison to garrison.

The series of eight ten minute monologues was commissioned by UCD as part of its Decade of Centenaries Programme. Directed by Patrick Mason with writers Frank McGuinness, Emma Donoghue, Thomas Kilroy, Eilis Ni Dhuibhne, Marina Carr, Joseph O’Connor, Rachel Fehily and Hugo Hamilton each writing about one of the signatories.

Emma Donoghue’s piece on an aging Elizabeth O’Farrell – played by Barbara Brennan – recalling the surrender, waving her white flag as she moved from place to place was a strong and most memorable opening to this dramatic and emotive piece of theatre. It was first staged in Kilmainham Jail over three nights and now will be staged in a few more places including the National Concert Hall and the Civic Theatre in Tallaght, a hundred years after the men faced their executions in Kilmainham.

Watching and listening to the last hours and words and thoughts of some of the signatories as they waited in their cells to be executed, certainly brought the humanity and tragedy of the 1916 Rising to life.

The bravery and courage of Padraig Pearse, Thomas MacDonagh, Joseph Plunkett, Tom Clark, Sean MacDiarmada, James Connolly and Eamonn Ceannt, and their belief in a free Ireland certainly deserves to be remembered by some of Ireland’s finest writers.

Book a ticket as soon as you can and hope that Signatories will transfer in time to a theatre near you.

Easter 1916-2016

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O'Connell Street Easter Sunday 2016

O’Connell Street Easter Sunday 2016

Easter Sunday

The streets of Dublin were crowded as thousands of us gathered to watch the Easter 1916 Centenary Commemoration Parade. The day was bright and dry as the massive crowds made their way along the long parade route which led towards O’Connell Street. There were wide screens to display the formal ceremony outside the GPO, as the main street of Dublin city was reserved for family member and relatives of those who fought in 1916.

The parade of the Irish Defence Forces received huge cheers as they passed us, army bands, navy services and all types of military vehicles. President Michael D. Higgins, Taoiseach Enda Kenny, Dublin’s Mayor Criona Ni Dhalaigh and the Minister for Defence, Simon Coveney, all received a warm welcome on this very special day. Everyone watched and was moved by the reading of the Proclamation by Captain Peter Kelleher outside the GPO, the lowering of the Irish tri-colour flag and the army band playing Mise Eire.

Reading of the Proclamation Easter Sunday 2016

Reading of the Proclamation Easter Sunday 2016

The whole city stood still to remember that day a hundred years ago when a small band of rebels took the GPO and declared an Irish Republic. The Irish Air Corps with their plumes of green white and orange flew over O’Connell Street which brought huge cheers from everyone watching below. This important part of our history was honoured, the brave men and women of 1916 were recalled and their effort to fight for Irish freedom commemorated on this very special Easter Sunday 2016.

Reflecting the Rising

On Easter Monday, the city was transformed for RTE’s large scale event organised for families and all those with an interest in the Rising.
Artist and writer Don Conroy and I were delighted to take part. We gave two 1916 story and drawing workshops in DIT College, Aungier Street, (site of the former Jacob’s biscuit factory and the garrison led by Thomas MacDonagh and Captain John MacBride during the 1916 Rising).

There was fun and hundreds of events and talks on all aspects of the Rising and re-enactments by drama groups with packed events in O’Connell Street, Smithfield and St. Stephen’s Green. Alongside the family activities and entertainment in in St Stephen’s Green, there was the poignant reminder by a children’s drama group of all the children who died during the Rising.

The skies stayed bright and sunny and the marvellous events of the weekend were finished off by RTE’s Centenary concert, broadcast live that night from the Bord Gais Theatre.

It was a weekend to remember and a fitting tribute to Padraig Pearse, Tom Clarke, James Connolly Sean MacDiarmada, Thomas MacDonagh, Eamonn Ceannt and Joseph Plunkett and all those who went out a hundred years ago, on that Easter Monday 1916.

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