*Photograph: Arthur Ellis
LITERARY LOVERS from across the country will descend on Co Clare for the nineteenth Ennis Book Club Festival.
Festival events kick off on Friday with Five Books that Could Save Your Life as Sarah Harte, Irish Examiner columnist and writer, joins Madeline Mc Aleer from Haven Horizons, Helen Crickard from Reclaim the Agenda, and Noelle Collins from Belfast & Lisburn Women’s Aid to discuss the impact of coercive control. Later, Booker Prize nominee Andrew O’Hagan joins Wendy Erskine to talk about his ambitious novel, Caledonian Road.
At 4pm in an interactive event, poet Pat Boran will combine text, photos and moving images and will read from his latest collection, Hedge School. The Art of the Short Story with Cathy Sweeney, Maggie Armstrong & David Butler in conversation with Olivia Fitzsimons, will examine what makes the short story such an intriguing form. Ennis Book Club Festival celebrates Clare-based writers Tracy Fahey, Kitty Murphy and Eilís Haden-Storrie who join Ciana Campbell to discuss their work.
Join the EBCF team and Artistic Director Martina Durac for a warm welcome at the Festival Opening, taking place in the foyer at glór, a perfect opportunity to meet friends old and new. Also in glór, Edwina Guckian, celebrated sean-nós dancer, and author of the children’s book Sparks from the Flagstones, will be in conversation with Paula Carroll. Bringing Friday’s events to a close, award-winning author of the Shetland, Vera and Two Rivers novels Ann Cleeves explores her work with Brian McGilloway.
Saturday morning in Ennis Courthouse sees author of Ghost Mountain, Rónán Hession in conversation with Neil Hegarty followed by festival favourite, Ten Books you Should Read in glór. This year the event features contributions from Mark O’Halloran and Oliver Callan, and is moderated by writer Tara Flynn. Another Festival staple, Debut Novelists this year features Aimée Walsh, Patrick Holloway and Cathy Sweeney in conversation with Declan Hughes.
Clare Youth Theatre present Class Acts, their unique interpretations of renowned texts by literary greats such as William Shakespeare, George Bernard Shaw and more, whilst the Beyond Borders Book Club, featuring Tarsila Krüse, Zainab Boladale & Amanie Issa in conversation with Sarah Clancy takes place at the Temple Gate.
Nicola’s Book Club in De Valera Library features Nicola Lennon, an Irishwoman based in Brussels, who has been running a world literature book club for 20 years. Nicola will introduce her book club, sharing its history and unique approach, and lead a discussion on the book chosen for March, Happiness, by Aminatta Forna.
A writer from Clare who carved out an impressive literary career internationally that lasted 60 years, Edna O’Brien was one of a kind and in a very special event, her wit and knowledge, beauty and talent as a writer will be explored and celebrated in this panel discussion with writers Andrew O’Hagan, Danielle McLaughlin, Eoin McNamee & Sally Hayden in conversation with Rachael English.
Ageing in Life and Literature with gerontologist Rose Anne Kenny, writer Mary O’Donnell and neuroscientist Ian Robertson in conversation with Barbara Scully is a panel event on ageing in life and literature taking place in The Temple Gate.
The Saturday night event is an in-depth interview with Ian McEwan taking place in glór at 8pm. Ennis Book Club Festival is delighted to welcome Ian McEwan, author of Atonement, On Chesil Beach, Machines Like Me and many more, to discuss his life in writing with journalist and broadcaster Seán Rocks.
An early start on the closing day of the festival as we step into Hush Hour in Sweet ‘n’ Green, a reading party that redefines social gatherings for book lovers. At 11am the ever-popular Sunday Symposium takes to the stage with panellists Sally Hayden, Paulo Nunes dos Santos and Vincent Durac in conversation with journalist Katie Hannon to discuss international conflict in a globalised World. In many parts of the world, conflict and civil war are not just a threat to local populations but also have global impacts. The unstable picture keeps changing and our guests will explore what this means for the coming years.
Another festival favourite, The Literary Lunch is this year hosted by Cónal Creedon and Mairéad Hearne in The Old Ground. Mairéad and Cónal will explore the journey through books and writing they both undertook in this engaging and warm-hearted event.
As always, there are lots of other terrific events taking place across the festival weekend including the beloved Books n ‘ Bun’s event on Saturday morning, testing your knowledge of all things literary and fascinating Walking Tours with Jane O’Brien.
Ennis Book Club Festival, in association with Clare Libraries also features an extensive programme for younger readers, with readings and workshops with young adult authors, facilitators and visual artists. Events will take place in De Valera Library, Ennis and Edna O’Brien Library, Scariff and include a Zine Making Workshop; Fighting Words Creative Writing Workshops; Our Sun, the nearest star with astronomer Tony O’Hanlon; Film Production for the Big Screen with Ronan Daly of West Clare Film; author and TV journalist Zainab Boladale talks about her debut novel, Braids Take a Day; A Children’s Bookclub event featuring Shane Hegarty, author of Darkmouth, in conversation with Sarah Moore Fitzgerald; and a Shane Hegarty Children’s Workshop exploring tall tales and story making.
Commenting on the 2025 programme for the Artistic Director Martina Durac notes, ‘We are delighted to welcome you all to this edition of the Ennis Book Club Festival. Our mission is to bring people together to celebrate the beauty and mystery, drama and reflection, the hope and sometimes horror to be found within the pages of a book. It is a privilege to introduce new authors and to welcome the ones that feel like old friends, such is the love we have for their work. Here’s to those words and their creators and deep thanks to the audience that comes to hear and meet them in Ennis in 2025.’
