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Dalkey Book Festival 2026

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SIR TIM BERNERS-LEE

Only in Dalkey can it happen that we got to see and hear two of the world’s greatest inventors. Sir Tim Berners-Lee and Jimmy Wales at the annual Dalkey Book Festival which brings even more crowds to this popular seaside village during its four day feast of books and writing from 18th to the 21st June.

This year’s festival includes authors Salman Rushdie, Sebastian Faulks, Katriona O’ Sullivan, Anne Enright and Jeanine Cummins.  There are writing workshops for adults with Sarah Webb and Dave Rudden hosting ones for kids.

There is something for everyone in the festival as writers, economists and experts, journalists, commentators and great thinkers gather to explore and debate the state of the world we live in.

We had the great privilege to see and hear the incredible Sir Tim Berners- Lee, one of the greatest inventors in the world who created the World Wide Web and decided that the internet it should be free and available to everyone in the world.  At 71 years of age he talked of his goal that it will reach the remaining 20% of people mostly in remote parts of Africa and poorer countries and help to improve their lives.  He was interviewed by journalist Mark Little in the new big marquee overlooking the sea in the school grounds of Loreto Dalkey.

A fascinating and self- effacing man , he spoke of his relaxed childhood in England  growing up with his mathematician parents who encouraged him enquire and explore and how he would build thing out of broken transistors and bits of old televisions. Finding himself eventually in Oxford much to his surprise and then CERN in Switzerland where he began to develop this invention that would transform the world insisting that CERN would agree to it being free having no commercial reward. 

His invention has changed our world beyond recognition and although being used and adapted by some bad players, Berners -Lee still believes we have the power to change the web for the better. We were awed to be in the presence of such an intelligent, kind good man. 

Afterwards we had dinner in one of our favourite restaurants Nova before joining the festival throngs in Finnegan’s pub.

Saturday the sun shone and we were back in the Marquee again for another memorable event.  Jimmy Wales, the American inventor of Wikipedia was being interviewed by scientist Luke O’ Neill.

 A second day with another great mind who wanted to open the world to free knowledge and information for ordinary people, with experts and researchers putting up information on all kinds of topics for users to discover and also enabling them to add to the information and update it as a host of Wikipeediars from all over the world continually add and check it.

As a writer I find it a huge resource for researching books and Jimmy explained how it is crowd funded and crowd sourced.  They do ask at times for a very small donation but it is totally optional for people if they want to do so. It was incredible to see that Jimmy Wales has a similar mindset and goals as to Sir Tim Berners- Lee to continue working for the good of mankind unlike so many others.

Thank you so much to David McWilliams and his wife Sian Smyth and the Dalkey Book Festival team for giving us the incredible opportunity and privilege to hear these two great men speak.

JIMMY WALES OF WIKIPEDIA

Urgent Email Scam Alert Using My Name

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Urgent Email Scam Alert Using My Name

It has come to my attention that someone has created a fake Gmail account using my name and is pretending to be me.

It even has a photo of me.

maritaconlonmckenna@gmail.com

This is not my Gmail account Please know that I never use a generic account, nor will I ever solicit money or personal details over email. Some of the emails are in Irish.

If you receive a message from this address:

 Do not reply, Do not click any links and Report it as Phishing immediately. 

 To all my friends, and fellow writers I am so sorry about this.

Thanks Marita

‘Under the Hawthorn Tree’Exhibition opens in the Ulster American Folk Park

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Marita with Victoria Millar, Ivan O’Brien and Kathryn Thomson at the opening.

I am so excited as after all the hard work and planning the big ‘Under the Hawthorn Tree’ Exhibition in The Ulster American Folk Park in Omagh in Northern Ireland has just opened.  

 I was a little nervous as to how it would look but once I stepped inside the Exhibition I was blown away by the huge illustrations showing Eily, Michael and Peggy and scenes from the book which has been brought to life artist Cat Finney by the amazing design and craft work team from Ulster Museums.There are also historical and relevant pieces from the time of the Great Irish Famine on display from the National Museum’s N.I collection.

You can listen to the story as you go around and also try out the interactive displays and even dress up in costumes of the period.  The highlight is the giant hawthorn crafted from willow by Bob Johnson at the heart of the exhibition which is magical.

It was a wonderful opening with many of the team present including the incredible Victoria Millar, Senior Curator from National Museums, Northern Ireland, who brought the whole exhibition together from the initial concept and the brilliant designer Stefan McKee and his team.  Northern Ireland Museum head Kathryn Thomson opened the exhibition.  St Eithne’s School were invited along for the opening and I just loved watching their reaction to it. 

Most of my family and grandchildren came along from Dublin as did my publisher Ivan O’Brien from O’Brien Press. We all had a great time with everyone exploring the park which brings history to life afterwards

I first visited the Ulster American Folk Park around 1990 when I was researching my book ‘Wildflower Girl’ as I heard they had built a replica ship there.  I remember being so excited going around the park and then spending most of my the time sitting on a tiny bunk in the ship’s steerage section imagining that I was Peggy and was sailing across the Atlantic Ocean to America. Little did I think, that all these years later that the park would be hosting an exhibition based on one of my books.

‘The Under the Hawthorn Tree Exhibition’ will run for the next two to three years.  The park is open every day except Mondays and is a brilliant place to come and explore with its cottages and cabins, school house and Victorian street with shops, and the ship as it brings so much of our history to life.

Marita with pupils from St Eithne’s School and with Exhibition Designer Stefan McKee.

Sitting under the beautiful Hawthorn Tree

‘Happy World Book Day to Everyone.’

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This is such a special fun day for readers young and old everywhere as we celebrate books and reading and stories. In schools and libraries across Ireland everyone is dressing up as their favourite book character, or designing a new book cover or poster, taking part in a book quiz or book treasure hunt.  I always love seeing the different versions of my covers and am so impressed by readers who seem to know my books better that I do.  There are authors and illustrators visiting schools across the country and a Mega author online event being held in the National Library of Ireland today.

Words and books are incredibly important and are a big part of who we are, and who we become.  Life is busy for all of us but making time to read is one of the best things we can do to make us happy and relax and use our imaginations. Special thanks to all the teachers and schools that are taking part. Some of my grandchildren have dressed up for school and Montessori as Where’s Wally, Mr Strong, Luke Skywalker, Angelina Ballerina, and Mr Biff the Boxer.

Children’s Book’s Ireland and An Post are doing something amazing and distibuting 40,000 free books to kids in Hospitals, Direct Provision Centres, Family Centres and In Care on this World Book Day so that everyone gets to own and read a book.

Most of you will receive a special World Book Day token either in school or if you visit your local book shop which can be used to get one of the specially published World Book Day Books, there are some really brilliant Irish books on the list, or tokens can even be used to go towards another book you want to buy.  So use your token and remember the important thing is to keep reading…….

An Post Delivering Books

Getting ready for the ‘Under the Hawthorn Tree’ Exhibition in The Ulster American Folk Park in Omagh.

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I am getting very excited as the time gets nearer for the opening of the ‘Under the Hawthorn Tree’ exhibition in The Ulster American Folk Park in Omagh in Northern Ireland in a few weeks’ time.

I have been working with Victoria Miller and the wonderful team from Northern Ireland Museums on this big project over the past year and a half as they build and bring this Exhibition to life

It is a totally new experience for me getting involved with listening to young actors, musicians helping to choose illustrators and designers and seeing the detailed craft work done for an exhibition like this. I never realised the hard work and dedication mounting such an exhibition takes.   I am learning so much and it is great fun as I can see things begin to come together.

 I was back up in Omagh a few weeks ago to film with a group of wonderful students from the Sacred Heart School , Tattyreagh..They were  in great form and full of questions and chat despite the awful rainy wet weather

It is hard for me to believe that it is over thirty – five years ago since I first visited thre park to do some research for my book ‘Wildflower Girl,’ . Little did I dream that all these years later an exhibition based around  my book ‘Under the Hawthorn Tree ‘would  be opening there.

As the time gets closer there is so much work going on with Stefan McKee designing and creating the exhibition and talented heritage maker Bob Johnson working in the Ulster Museum Folk site using willow to create the most incredible hawthorn tree for the centre of the exhibition and Matthew Walton creating birds that will sit in the tree. I cannot wait to go back up to Omagh and to see the tree in situ.

The exhibition will be open at the end of March, just in time for the Easter Holidays.