'The 2nd Forge at Gort Literature Festival' - Our Thanks!

national | arts and media | press release Monday March 30, 2009 13:29 by Fred Johnston - The Western Writers' centre - Ionad Scríbhneoiri Chaitlín Maude - Galway westernwriters at eircom dot net Canavan House, Nuns Island, Galway 087.2178138

A heart-felt Thank You to everyone who supported us!

The Western Writers' Centre - Ionad Scríbhneorí Chaitlín Maude - have just successfully celebrated their second 'Forge at Gort' Literature festival in Gort, Co Galway. This would not have been possible without the open generosity of writers and musicians who took part.

The Forge At Gort, which W.B.Yeats commemorated in a poem, still stands in the main street

From the marvellous evening with poet and biographer, Ulick O'Connor in Sullivan's Royal Hotel, to the magical wire-strung harp-playing of the celebrated Early Irish harpist, Siobhán Armstrong at Gort Library on Saturday evening and the first-ever public reading by poet Clare Sawtell, it was a memorable second festival. There was, we hope, something for everyone, and Original Writing Ltd even gave a marvellous presentation of the now highly-professional art of self-publishing. Cork-poet Gerry Murphy complemented wonderfully the work of Cavan poet P.J. Kennedy, while Gabriel Fitzmaurice's reading for children at the library went down a treat; as did the introduction by the editors of Albedo 1 to Ireland's world of alternative and speculative fiction and the reading production at The Gallery Café of John Arden and Margaretta D'Arcy's play, now fifty years old but socially relevant, 'The Happy Haven' and a great reading by novelist Juliet Bressan. Michael Gibbons illustrated lecture on the heritage of sacred pilgrimage places in Ireland was fascinating; the readings by Patricia Burke Brogan and Gerry McDonnell were delightful. One event led to another as Friday and Saturday progressed.
Our sincere thanks to all who attended and especially to those who combined to create this second festival in difficult times. This was all achieved without funding from The Arts Council, who withdrew funding from The Western Writers' Centre earlier this year.
The festival is especially grateful for the assistance or sponsorship of Poetry Ireland, Indymedia Ireland (who permitted us to post notices of the festival,) O'Grady's Bar and Restaurant, Quinn's Pharmacy (Gort), Minihan's SuperValu (Gort), AIB (Gort), Sullivan's Royal Hotel, Scéal Éile bookshop (Ennis), The Galway Advertiser (Kernan Andrews), The Galway Independent, Dubray Books (Galway), Galway Bay FM (Gary McMahon), The Clare Champion, The Clare People, Lyric FM, The Alcazzar Pizzeria (Gort), The Gallery Café (Gort), The Irish Times, Barney Sheehan (White House poets, Limerick), Original Writing Ltd., Mary O'Sullivan, Natalia Surina, Galway County Council, Gort Public Library (our special thanks to Eileen, who worked tirelessly to put everything in place), and to a group of other individual writers and the editors of a magazine who contributed individual funding and showed remarkable and heartening solidarity. Our thanks, of course, to Marvelle Maguire, our Administrator, and Sylvia Crawford, our Company Secretary, whose energy was unfailing on the day and to Kevin for his technical assistance.
To all of you - and to the people of Gort - our heartiest thanks. We are in your debt. See you all next year!