Writers and Ireland go together like coffee and Jameson. Ask anyone who's been there about the place, and you'll hear that bookish diversions, like the childhood homes of Joyce and Beckett and Yeats, are just as common as fog on the Emerald Isle. The city that Joyce liked to call his "dear, dirty Dublin" is a Mecca for lyrical scribblers. When native Illinoisan NiceGinna went to Listovel for Writers’ Week, she wrote up a journal that would do her forefathers proud. Our Traveler of the Week is putting it all on paper.
“One of Ireland’s prettiest villages,” Adare is a hamlet whose name means “ford of the Oak.” It boasts a history dating back to 1200 CE: “A bit out of town is Desmond Castle castle which was built around this time and was held by the Earls of Kildare until 1536 when it was forfeited to the Earls of Desmond. Across the river is the Franciscan Friary, founded in 1464 by Thomas, the 7th Earl of Kildare, for the ‘Franciscan Friars of the Strict Observance.’ It is now a ruin.” Elsewhere in the village, a “warm and welcoming church,” once demolished by Henry the VIII, gives the tourist a glimpse of the region’s Catholic history.
The Writers’ Week itself was everything she'd expected. In addition to creative writing workshops, the event gave her access to interviews, readings, and more: “There are also pub crawls, literary walks, a storytelling contest, and other events. The main venue for the events is the Listowel Arms Hotel where you can also enjoy meals, entertainment, and a lively pub. Around the town are many other venues, including this year a circus tent and St. John's Theatre and Arts Centre.”
For lovers of Ireland, her journal is a thing of beauty. Definitely take a minute and check it out.
More Great Places in Ireland
Things to Do in Dublin
Things to Do in Cork
Things to Do in Galway
Posted by tdbeckwith (Thomas Beckwith)