Now a significant date in Dublin’s literary calendar, The Franco-Irish Literary Festival is preparing for its 20th anniversary edition – set to take place between April 5 – 7.
Since its inception, the festival’s aim has been to widen and enhance the long-standing friendship that exists between Ireland, France and other French-speaking countries. It welcomes writers in both the English and Irish languages, together with writers of the wider francophone world.
Each year the festival presents a central theme and writers, professionals or artists are given the opportunity to exchange experiences and ideas on the subject in an informal setting. Panel discussions, interviews, readings, signings and exhibitions take place over the event’s three days.
The festival’s opening night will kick off on Friday evening at the Multimedia French Library located within Alliance Française Dublin’s city headquarters. Situated at the corner of Nassau and Kildare Street in the heart of the capital, the first day will centre around a special performance or screening.
This will then be followed on Saturday at Dublin Castle with the main events, book sales and various exhibitions taking place. The festival will then come to an end with a literary brunch on Sunday back at Alliance Française HQ.
For its 20th anniversary the Franco-Irish Literary Festival has prepared a very special line-up of guests and events to explore this year’s central theme of Women. Acclaimed poet, short story writer and dramatist Biddy Jenkinson will be attending. Her work is noteworthy for being written entirely in the Irish language.
Joining her is novelist, short story writer and playwright Christine Dwyer Hickey, whose highly anticipated upcoming novel The Narrow Land is released March 7. Set in Cape Cod in the late summer of 1950, it tells the story of a 10-year-old German war orphan and the son of an American officer killed in action who strike up an unlikely friendship with acclaimed artists Edward and Jo Hopper.
Other Irish guests include Emilie Pine, whose collection of essays Notes to Self won An Post Irish Book of the Year 2018; John Boyne, author of the best selling 2006 novel The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas; and Ailbhe Smyth, an academic, feminist and lesbian activist.
The festival will also welcome a host of acclaimed French artists. These include TV presenter Claude Sérillon, novelist Eric Reinhardt, Academy award nominated actress Marie-Christine Barrault, TV reporter and writer Mathilde Daudet, journalist and professor Mazarine Pingeot and many more.
All events are open to the public and free of charge, while simultaneous interpreting will be provided in English and French.
The Franco-Irish Literary Festival is the result of the successful collaboration between Alliance Française Dublin, the Cultural Service of the French Embassy and a Franco-Irish committee composed of significant figures from the worlds of literature, publishing and academics. It has been supported to great effect by the Arts Council, Foras na Gaeilge, Poetry Ireland, Irish Writers’ Centre, and various cultural and commercial sponsors from Ireland and France. The festival also has been awarded the prestigious Dublin UNESCO City of Literature label.
For more information on this truly unique event in Dublin’s cultural calendar, see here. Meanwhile, be sure to visit Alliance Française Dublin’s site to discover all the upcoming events the French language and cultural centre have to offer.
Located in a listed Irish Heritage site, the non-profit organisation and registered charity seek to promote French culture, along with providing a place for intercultural exchanges. Their venue hosts a multimedia library aimed at francophiles, a café named La Cocotte and an exhibition space for an ever-changing array of interesting contemporary artworks.
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