Menu
After the cancellation of the 2020 Festival due to the pandemic we had hopes that we could resume normal activities in 2021. So we approached a number of authors about being our Festival Competition judges. In due time it became clear that we would not be able to hold our normal Literary Festival 2021 and we decided that we would go virtual.
While we abandoned our normal Competitions, we did decide on another variation – letter writing. A skill that is not so commonplace in the days of emails and texts but one that Maria Edgeworth was quite prolific at. Therefore we had a Letter writing Competition for local secondary schools.
Secondly, we approached some local artists about recording performances. Additionally videotaping some extra readers and a local ecologist Noreen McLoughlin.
Also, Matt Farrell and Des Rynn ‘Made the Case for Maria’. Furthermore some key people in the Digital Edgeworth Network discussed an important initiative.
The Festival Video section has all the videos featured in one playlist but each individual section has an individual video contribution linked if you prefer.
Read about the history of the Festival here.
Each of the tabs below expands to tell you a bit about the contributor and provides a link to their video.
Angela Tuite – Chairperson of the Edgeworth Literary Festival Committee and Mary Carleton Reynolds – Longford County Librarian and Creative Ireland Coordinator introduced the Edgeworth Literary Festival 2021 which was held virtually due to covid-19 restrictions.
ANNEMARIE NÍ CHURREÁIN is a poet from the Donegal Gaeltacht. Her publications include Bloodroot (Doire Press, 2017) and Town (The Salvage Press, 2018). She is a recipient of The Next Generation Artist Award from the Irish Arts Council and a co-recipient of The Markievicz Award. Additionally she is a former literary fellow of the Akademie Schloss Solitude in Germany and the Jack Kerouac House of Orlando. Ní Churreáin was the 2019-20 Writer in Residence at Maynooth University of Ireland and a 2020 Artist In Residence at The Centre Culturel Irlandais Paris. Her second full-length poetry collection is forthcoming with The Gallery Press in 2021. Visit www.studiotwentyfive.com
John Connell is a multi award winning author, investigative journalist, documentary producer and columnist for the Irish independent. His debut memoir The Cow Book was a bestseller and is being adapted to a documentary. Also his latest book The Running Book was released in late 2020.
Matt Farrell, Chairman of the Edgeworth Society in conversation with Des Rynn from Radio Mostrim for our Literary Festival 2021.
Fiona Sherlock is an author of crime novels and Meath writer in residence.
Kate O’Donohoe is a member of Mostrim Players and has featured in many of their productions. Listen to her, reading some letters by Maria Edgeworth.
Down through the years our town has been blessed with an abundance of talented singers and musicians. Consequently they performed during many of our Literary Festivals. This year we have some more examples of local talent on display for your enjoyment.
Follow the links below to our YouTube channel which features videos from the Festival.
Each of the tabs below expands to tell you a bit about the contributor and provides a link to their video.
This year’s writing competition took a different format to that of other years, where people chose to enter poems or short stories. Honoring the fact that Maria Edgeworth was a prolific letter writer, this year’s competition invited students from Longford secondary schools to write a letter instead. In an age of tweets, emails and texts this was a unique challenge to the students. In this video our judge Laura McKenna gives her feedback on the letters submitted and on the winners of our Literary Festival 2021. The winners read their letters.
Author Laura McKenna, the judge of the Literary Festival 2021 Letter Writing Competition.
Ciara Tuite is a Writer/Visual Artist originally from the Midlands, Ireland. Her background in Fine Art, Performing Arts and Journalism results in a multidisciplinary approach. Using imagery and word to explore dark yet real elements with a touch of colourful serenity and artistic licence. Extensive travels, living among aboriginal artists in Australia, to Butoh dancers in Scandinavia, to researching refugee camps in Palestine in 2019 and her most recent residency at Cill Rialaig Artist Retreat, Co. Kerry, Ireland has shaped her creativity. Her paintings have been exhibited widely and held in private collections in Ireland and abroad. Also her writing is published in various magazines online. She is currently working on a creative non-fiction novel and a first collection of poetry which will be published soon. She was accepted for a solo show in the Backstage Theatre, Atrium Gallery, Longford which will be held in 2021.
Dr Clíona Ó Gallchoir, School of English and Digital Humanities, (UCC), Prof Ros Ballaster (Oxford), Dr Máirín MacCarron (UCC), Dr Anna Senkiw (Oxford)introduce the ‘Digital Edgeworth Network’ (DEN). Its aim is to explore and analyze the manuscript archive of the celebrated author Maria Edgeworth (1768-1849) and the Edgeworth family, an archive that is divided between the Bodleian and the NLI. The DEN focuses on establishing collaborations between disciplines, between institutions, and between researchers and the community. Therefore establishing optimal approaches to the application of digital tools and methods to this manuscript archive in order to unlock and enhance its potential for scholarly research and for cultural and heritage tourism in Edgeworthstown, Co. Longford.
David Butler is a novelist, playwright, short story writer and poet. Furthermore he once won the Maria Edgeworth Festival Short Story competition.
One recent feature of our Festival has been a trip out to nearby Glen Lake nature preserve. Here local ecologist Noreen McLoughlin takes us on a virtual tour of the preserve.
Down through the years our town has been blessed with an abundance of talented singers and musicians. Consequently they performed during many of our Literary Festivals. This year we have some more examples of local talent on display for your enjoyment.
The best way to keep in touch and to be aware of our events
Don’t forget to confirm your subscription in the Email we just sent you!
Please pre-book your visit over Christmas at least 24h in advance via Email or Online booking.
MondayClosed
Tuesday10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Wednesday10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Thursday10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Friday10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Saturday11:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Sunday11:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Adult €7.50
Children 10 to 16 €3
2 Adults & 2 Children €15
Adult is 16 years+
Family Ticket is 4 family members together
Children under ten are free but must be accompanied by an Adult
The Maria Edgeworth Centre is operated under the direction of the Edgeworthstown District Development Association (EDDA) – a Not for Profit Voluntary Community based registered charity Reg:223373. Registered Charity Number 20101916
© 2023 Maria Edgeworth Centre – All Rights Reserved