A Feast of Irish Film to Screen at Dalkey Book Festival this Weekend
A large programme of Irish films including The Butcher Boy, Tara Road, A Film With Me In It, Da, The Eclipse, and Brothers is set to screen at the 2nd annual Dalkey Book Festival which takes place in Dublin this weekend from the 17th-19th June.
The brainchild of David McWilliams and Sian Smyth, this festival was set up to show that local communities can fight back in the recession if they pull together. As McWilliams explains "It grew out of a wish to promote Dalkey's extraordinary literary wealth. This small town is the birthplace of Shaw, schoolhouse of Joyce, playground of Beckett and home to the likes of Maeve Binchy, Neil Jordan and Jim Sheridan".
Last year was a roaring success with every event sold out. The charm of this festival is undoubtedly the intimate nature of the numerous events, which take place in pubs, cafes, shops, schools and the local town hall as well as the medieval graveyard and a Masonic Lodge.
"We are delighted and privileged to be able to showcase Ireland's best film talent in such a beautiful and intimate setting," said producer AnneMarie Naughton.
For three days, books of every kind will be celebrated and brought to life by their authors. This year, the line up includes local writers and those who have a particular affection for Dalkey such as Paul Murray, Frank McGuinness, Tim Pat Coogan, Brian Keenan, Declan Hughes, Martina Devlin and John Waters. The Dalkey Book Festival will also celebrate the 100th anniversary of the birth of Flann O'Brien with a special tribute to this extraordinary writer. So why not walk the Dalkey Archive trail with "The Brother" himself Eamon Morrissey, cycle to Deco's Cave, hear how Flann O'Brien influences the comic genius of Tommy Tiernan or chuckle with Barry Murphy of Apres Match at the magic of Flann?
Other authors set to attend include Maeve Binchy, Roddy Doyle and John Boyne while Olivia O'Leary and the BBC's world editor John Simpson will be talking politics. RTÉ sports journalist Des Cahill will be discussing his best-selling sports book, while Edgar Allan Poe will be giving a midnight performance in a spooky medieval graveyard. There will also be special debates chaired by Olivia O'Leary, David McWilliams and Pat Kenny.
This year's festival runs from Friday 17th to Sunday 19th June. For more information and to book tickets online see www.dalkeybookfestival.org