Tuesday 2nd July 2013
CROSS-COMMUNITY READERS’ SYMPOSIUM AN ENORMOUS SUCCESS
Marking the Completion of ‘Dialogues through Literature,’ an Eighteen Month Project Celebrating a Shared Interest in Literature and Language
On Friday morning (28th June), a major cross-community literary event – the Dialogues through Literature Readers’ Symposium 2013 – opened in Ballinamore, Co. Leitrim, bringing together the wider reading public and book group members from different cultural backgrounds. Organised by Ballinamore Sean O’Heslin’s GAA club, the event was an enormous success with over 250 people across the two days attending from across Leitrim, Cavan, Fermanagh and Tyrone to celebrate a shared interest in literature and language.
The previous evening, the event organisers were delighted to host a cross-cultural concert ‘Words through Music’, where an audience of 300 people was treated to a truly inspiring musical celebration by one of Ireland’s foremost singers Eleanor Shanley along with friends including Lambeg drum player Davy Angus. This was followed on Friday and Saturday by a packed programme allowing participants to come together and engage with renowned authors, poets, fiction and non-fiction writers, journalists and critics from across the island of Ireland, north and south.
Featuring lectures, discussions and workshops, this year’s symposium marks the completion of the ‘Dialogues through Literature’ project funded by the International Fund for Ireland (IFI) under its Community Based Economic and Social Regeneration Programme and administered by Ballinamore Sean O’Heslin’s GAA club in partnership with Leitrim County Library and in co-operation with Cavan County Library and Libraries Northern Ireland.
The project used books and reading to enhance the levels of interaction, communication and reconciliation among communities from both traditions by developing contacts between existing reading groups in the targeted counties with the ultimate goal of challenging stereotypes, developing greater mutual understanding and building sustainable cross-community relationships.
‘Dialogues through Literature’ began in November 2011 by bringing together cross-community partners to identify and select literature for reading groups with a view to exploring ‘perceptions of the past ‘, perceptions of ‘the other’ as well as commonality across the geographical, cultural and community borders.
Event Line-up
On Friday morning, the symposium opened with a session entitled ‘Fact and Fiction,’ exploring the relationship between the past and present within the imaginations of the writer as well as reflecting lived realities. The session, which examined the topic of ‘history and the fictionalising of history to explore the present,’ was lead by Fermanagh-based writer Carlo Gébler, author of How to Murder a Man and The Dead Eight, and Queens University lecturer Dr Darran McCann, whose debut novel After the Lockout deals with lesser told historical narratives. Both authors explored ideas around truth, historical, social and emotional truths, and ‘the rendering of past events as narrative’. The session also raised challenging and interesting questions including the ‘enduring nature of sectarianism.’
The Friday afternoon focus switched to exploring women’s literary voice, reflecting that local centenary anniversaries being marked this decade also include issues around women’s suffrage. An inter-generational conversation between acclaimed writers Jennifer Johnston and Claire Kilroy was hosted by writer and commentator Susan McKay, who is a frequent traveller across borders. This session included short readings by Claire Kilroy from her novel The Devil I Know and a passage from Shadowstory by Jennifer Johnston. The three women discussed whether there is a cohesive women’s voice in Irish literature, their respective role models as women writers and the ease or difficulties with which they observe and write both female and male characters.
The session concluded with a reading by author Catherine Dunne from her novel The Things We Know Now about a family in crisis dealing with the loss of a child through teenage bullying suicide, a relevant issue for many families and communities today.
The programme continued on Saturday, focusing on a celebration of language, writing and authors with connections to place. It featured a line-up of award-winning authors and critics, including recently published Rebecca O Connor, film critic and commentator Ted Sheehy and established author Martina Devlin who looked at the significance of ‘place’ in their work. Parallel sessions exploring the decline of the Irish language took place as well as a reading and talk by author Eilis Ni Dhuibhe.
DBC Pierre, on his way to the Hays Festival in Kells, spoke eloquently and with refreshing honesty about winning the Man Booker prize for his debut novel Vernon God Little, drawing parallels between the lived experiences of the writer and the creative writing process itself. Saturday was brought to a close with a reading and talk by the Leitrim-based writer Michael Harding, who has worked closely with reading groups in the area in the past and is no stranger to both sides of the border. Mr Harding read from his latest work Starring at Lakes - A Memoir.
Speaking at the opening, Catherine Ryan of the International Fund for Ireland said: “The Fund is committed to the long-term task of breaking down traditional barriers in order to help build positive relations and contact between the two main communities on the island of Ireland. That is why we are proud to be associated with Ballinamore Sean O’Heslin’s GAA club and the Dialogues through Literature project. Harnessing our shared interest and love of literature, this project has been an enormous success in building cross community relationships and bringing people closer together. We believe it will have a very positive impact for reconciliation by promoting greater mutual awareness among communities in the border area.”
Ms Ryan also expressed a collective thanks to the international donors who have supported the work of the International Fund for Ireland for more than twenty-five years – the United States of America, the European Union, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
Paddy Connaughton, Secretary of Ballinamore Seán O’Heslin’s GAA Club, noted that community engagement and outreach is an important part of the club’s heritage and broad cultural agenda which goes beyond sporting activity and seeks to play a wider role in the community as a cultural organisation in line with the significant contribution made by the GAA in supporting the peace process.
Mr Connaughton said: “The last eighteen months of hosting the Dialogues through Literature project has been a fantastic learning experience for our club. This ambitious project has provided a truly innovative way to help address some of the wider cultural diversity issues faced by both traditions and helped encourage new conversations within and between communities. This has been made possible by the generous support of our funders, the International Fund for Ireland.”
“I would also like to thank our partners and staff in Leitrim County Library, Cavan County Library and Libraries Northern Ireland for the way in which they engaged wholeheartedly with the project. I would like to particularly thank Ruth Moore Gonsalves for her professionalism, guidance and co-ordination, without which the project would not be the success that it is."
Ruth Moore Gonsalves, Cultural Coordinator for the project, said: “Our 2013 Symposium has built on the success of last year’s event and has been the culmination of months of cross-border engagement with reading groups and people from different community backgrounds. Again, we are fortunate to have been able to secure the inputs of such a high calibre of writers. The contributions were provoking and very fitting. Some of the authors have contributed to the project over the duration of the project and that commitment has contributed to the event’s continuity. This has been an important element in its success, helping to create a unique forum for readers to explore our cultural makeup and historical background.”
“We believe the ‘Dialogues through Literature’ programme has raised the bar and expectations around being able to engage with the very best of authors. As a whole, the project has also demonstrated that literature and literary-based projects can and do play a valuable role in peace building endeavours. The project has been informative as to the ways in which literature can support the making and building of community connections.”
ENDS
About the International Fund for Ireland
The International Fund for Ireland is an independent, international organisation established by the Irish and British Governments in 1986. The Fund’s main objectives are to promote economic and social advance and encourage contact, dialogue and reconciliation between Unionists and Nationalists throughout Ireland.
Contributors to the Fund are the United States of America, the European Union, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. Since its inception, the Fund has committed more than £707 million/€890 million to a wide variety of projects in Northern Ireland and the southern border counties of Ireland. Developing and funding initiatives that tackle segregation and promote integration to build a lasting peace in Northern Ireland and the southern border counties is a key priority for the Fund.
Ballinamore Sean O’Heslin’s GAA Club
Ballinamore Sean O’Heslin’s GAA Club is the oldest established Community/Sporting organisation in Ballinamore and celebrated its 120th anniversary in 2009. The club puts a major emphasis on cultural development and has a broad cultural agenda that goes beyond its sporting activity. It has been one of the leading GAA clubs nationally in promoting Scór – an initiative promoting Irish music, song and dance, drama and comedy, ballad groups, solo singing, and sean-nós dancing.
In recent years, the club has been involved in diverse cross community and cross border projects including the Mary McAleese GAA Social initiative, an initiative directly targeting older men; and they successfully led and delivered a cross-border sports project “Together Through Sports” in 2010, involving 210 children and ten team coaches from 8-14 years from the counties of Leitrim, Cavan, Tyrone and Fermanagh.
All media enquires or to arrange interview please contact:
Eoin Quinn+353 (0) 87 2332191 / +353 (0) 1 6760168
Weber Shandwick
or
Seán Ó Súilleabháin, PRO+353 (0) 876821566
Ballinamore Sean O’Heslin’s GAA Club