Ireland has a new landmark cultural institution. The Museum of Literature Ireland (MoLI) on St. Stephen’s Green in Dublin celebrates Ireland’s world-renowned literary heritage. The museum is a major partnership between University College Dublin (UCD) and the National Library of Ireland. It’s located in one of Dublin’s finest historic houses, UCD’s Newman House, which was the … [Read more...] about News: Museum of Literature Opens in Dublin
Literature
News: New Writing Awards
Dublin’s Dalkey Book Festival is celebrating its second decade by launching two major new annual Irish literary awards worth a total of €30,000. These awards will recognize writers in two categories. One will offer €20,000 for the Novel of the Year, making it the biggest prize that is exclusively available to Irish writers. The other will present €10,000 to the Emerging … [Read more...] about News: New Writing Awards
What Are You Like? Writer Mary Beth Keane
On swanky hotels, Gráinne O’Malley’s tailor-made pirate outfits, and her own unusual hidden talent. ℘℘℘ Mary Beth Keane’s novel, Ask Again, Yes, is a lyrical, moving tale spanning 40 years about family, love, alcoholism and mental illness. Told with tenderness and empathy for the human condition, it is juxtaposed with just the right amount of humor to carry the story along. … [Read more...] about What Are You Like? Writer Mary Beth Keane
James Connolly Visitor Centre Opens in Belfast
At a ceremony on Friday, April 19, President of Ireland Michael D. Higgins officially opened Áras Uí Chonghaile, the new James Connolly Visitor Centre, providing a new space for discovery, education, study, work, meeting, and socializing on the Falls Road in West Belfast, only yards from where Connolly lived. Connolly, a labor leader, was executed for his part in the 1916 … [Read more...] about James Connolly Visitor Centre Opens in Belfast
Book Notes: Novelist Edna O’Brien to Become a Dame of the British Empire
It has been reported that renowned Irish novelist Edna O’Brien will be made an honorary Dame of the British Empire for her contributions to the field of literature. Because O’Brien is a native of County Clare, the title will be unofficial. O’Brien jump-started a career of over five decades with her acclaimed debut novel, 1962’s The Country Girls, establishing a worldwide … [Read more...] about Book Notes: Novelist Edna O’Brien to Become a Dame of the British Empire