Join our MC for the night Tony Liston and musician Mark Langan in Mc Intyre's Saloon for our first Festival Club, an informal and often irreverent gathering of revellers, writers, poets and singers. You'd better have your party piece ready!
Valerie Cox will deliver this year's Allingham Lecture, marking the official opening of this year's festival. Valerie's lecture will focus on the refugee crisis, and Europe's response to the crisis. Abbey Arts Centre, 8.00pm.
Join us at 7pm for a wine reception in the Abbey Arts Centre to mark the Official Opening of the Allingham Arts Festival 2016 (Please note, the venue for this event is confirmed as the Abbey Arts Centre, contrary to the information printed in other versions of the programme). The official opening will include a Festival Preview by Festival Chairperson Tom Sigafoos at 8pm, followed by Olive Travers speaking about the Foróige Garden Project. This will be followed by the Allingham Lecture with Valerie Cox, the first of many free events taking place over the weekend. FREE
Join us at the Live Final of our Songwriting Contest in Dicey Reilly's, Ballyshannon, on Friday Nov. 4th.
Judges on the night are songwriter and Eurovision Song Contest winner Charlie Mc Gettigan, local virtuoso Niamh Currid and songwriter Ian Smith. Entry: €5.
“Local Memories of World War One and the Battle of the Somme”. An illustrated talk by Anthony Begley, local historian, will reveal new research on how Ballyshannon people were involved in the War. The talk will include letters, correspondence, songs, images and poetry from local participants in World War One.
'Fractured Love', a dramatic re-creation of the life of Constance Gore-Booth / Countess Markievicz and the 1916 Rising, written and performed by Maura Logue.
A musical celebration of the life of Éamonn Ceannt(1881-1916) by uileann piper Paul Harrigan and Caoihmín Mac Aoidh. Ceannt, one of the leaders of the 1916 Easter Rising and signatory of the Proclamation of Independence, was also an avid uileann piper and founder of Cumann na bPíobairí in Dublin.
‘Coming& Going’– looking at global migration & refugee issues. Change Makers Donegal will facilitate a workshop on the issue of global migration as part of this year's festival. The workshop is open to people of all ages, and is a free event.
3D printers, laser cutters and other digital fabrication equipment will be used to design and make personalised objects and introduce the participants to the tools and techniques used by the world wide maker movement. Running from 10.30 to 16.30, the day will be organised into a series of practical sessions. Each session can accommodate between 10 to 20 people, is open to all age groups and is free of charge.
This year's Allingham Concert promises to be another wonderful night of entertainment with guest reader Anne Enright and performances by Niamh Currid, Niall Gallagher, Siobhán Calpin, and Kieran Quinn.
Monica Corish will launch her latest collection, 'A Dying Language', at this year's Allingham Festival. 50% of the profits from sales of the collection at the Allingham Festival will be donated to the North West Hospice.
Join the finalists in the Allingham Flash Fiction and Poetry Competitions as they receive their awards from judges Anne Enright, Afric Mc Glinchey and Monica Corish.
History Ireland Hedge School: 'Keeping the head down - Protestants in Independent Ireland'.Tommy Graham returns to his native Ballyshannon once again with the History Ireland Hedge School. This year's topic has a particular resonance in a border town like Ballyshannon.
A programme of nine short films inspired by the subject of 1916 and what it has left in its wake, commissioned by the IFB. Programme includes fiction and non-fiction, live-action and animation, contemporary and period pieces. FREE
The winners of this year's Allingham Young Writers Awards in association with AIB will receive their trophies and be invited to read their work in front of other finalists. This is always a fantastic event celebrating new young talent and is open to all.
Anne Enright, Man Booker prize winner and Laureate for Irish Fiction, will take part in a public interview with Sinéad Gleeson ('The Book Show' on RTE). Topics for discussion will include Enright's novel 'The Green Road' and her other writing, the Laureateship, and the state of writing in Ireland today. Dorrian's, Ballyshannon, 3.30pm, €10.
The winners of this year's Allingham Young Writers Awards in association with AIB will receive their trophies and be invited to read their work in front of other finalists. This is always a fantastic event celebrating new young talent and is open to all.
Award-winning film-makers Garry Keane & Jamie D'Alton will take part in a Q&A session about the production of 'Toughest Place To Be...' amongst other topics. This is a fantastic opportunity to put your questions to two of the most respected and prolific documentary film-makers working in Ireland today.
IFTA Award-nominated'Toughest Place To Be...' (2016, Motive TV, directed by Garry Keane) takes a Dublin street cleaner and transports him to a crowded, impoverished suburb of Manila to try his hand at street cleaning there. Award-winning director Garry Keane and producer Jamie D'Alton will hold a Q&A directly after the screening.
Teresa Davis Maguire will facilitate a beginner crochet workshop suitable for both adults and children. Perfect for individuals or a “parent and kid team event”, the two hour workshop will teach the basics of crochet. We will make a snood scarf which will be started on the day and can be finished at home. €10, 10 places available.
Requirements: Three balls of chunky wool, size 6 crochet needle, or the wool and needles will be available to purchase on the day at the workshop.
Wild Atlantic Writers will bring together writers and poets from across the north west for a talk on professional development with Bernadette Greenan of the Irish Writers' Centre, Dublin.
Ken Fox, Principal Lecturer in the School Media at Canterbury Christ Church University, returns to his home-town to deliver a lecture on aspects of the film 'The Fighting Prince of Donegal' and how this affected him as a young film buff in Ballyshannon.
Barry Sweeny will facilitate this painting workshop. As a “nod” to Helen Allingham, we will choose the subject of Ballyshannon’s thatched cottages to paint in watercolour. Suitable for both beginners and intermediate this will be a fun and relaxed INDOOR session...it’s November after all! Dorrian's Imperial Hotel. €20, 10 places available.
Visit the Abbey Centre any time on Saturday and Sunday to view the fantastic Stephens family archive, consisting of an exhibition of old photographs of Ballyshannon and surroundings, and a collection of newspapers including the Ballyshannon Herald, Donegal Democrat and others. 'A Novel Idea' bookshop will also hold a bookfair in the foyer of the Abbey Centre, with special offers running all weekend. A large selection of works by Allingham Festival artists will also be on sale.
Craftsman extraordinaire, P. J. Wymbs will delight you with this short workshop using willow rods to create a beautiful decorative baby’s rattle. Strong(ish) hands needed so not suitable for the very young!! More spaces available during the day if needed. €10, 5 places.
Joan Carey will provide a Wet Felting workshop demonstrating the basic principles of working with natural fibres. You will learn a new skill and create your own beret hat… your very own piece of wearable art. Bring own towel and an empty spray bottle if you have one. Materials provided. €20, 8 places available.
In this workshop Brendan Mc Gloin, a fine stone sculptor will help you carve some celtic knotwork or to carve some lettering in sandstone. Stone, tools and benches provided. Wrap up warm though and we’ll have some tea and coffee to keep you going. Outside Local Hands. €25 per person, 8 places available.
This will be great fun for the “Wee folk”. With the help of the Master Fairy Bulider, Jim Mc Intyre you will create your very own Fairy house. All these natural materials will be provided… by the fairies themselves!!! €10, 8 places available.
Try your hand at some wood turning with Francey Cassidy. This craft workshop involves demonstration, observation and a half an hour of one-to-one tuition at the lathe. Materials and tools provided. Time slots for the “one-to-one” will apply so you’ll have time to browse the local hands arts and crafts or grab a coffee and some lunch nearby. Wrap up warm too! First session: 11am – 1.30pm; Second session: 2pm - 4.30pm
Award-winning poet Afric Mc Glinchey will host a poetry workshop on Saturday morning, Nov. 5th, for new and established writers in Dorrian's, as the beginning of a day of literary events.
Bring the kids along to a creative writing workshop on Saturday morning with renowned local writer Olive Travers, and we might discover the next William Allingham!
Join Ken Fox in the Abbey Centre on Saturday morning for a screening of the 1966 Disney film 'The Fighting Prince of Donegal'. Ken was a young movie buff when this film first came to Ballyshannon, and he was struck by the movie version of the Donegal landscape. FREE EVENT
Would you like to develop your short story idea? Or would you like to learn how to go about getting started? Would you like to enter your stories into competitions, or maybe just improve your grade in English? Come along and join the Young Writers' Workshop hosted by accomplished writer Mary Turley-Mc Grath.
A session of 100% original music from a gathering of the finest local songwriters: Enda Mc Gloin, Henry Pierce, Rory Corbett, Conor Corbett, Kit Good and Tadhg Murphy.
This year's Sunday afternoon family movie is the supercalifragilisticexpialidocious 'Mary Poppins'! Now is your chance to see this magical, hilarious and heart-warming film on the big screen...and don't forget to take the kids!
“Sunday Morning in the Thatch” is an informal, relaxed session of music, recitations, and poetry. Everyone is invited to come along and join in with recitations. The PJ Drummond Cup – in memory of a man who was a great aficionado of William Allingham’s poetry – is presented by his family for the best recitation of the morning. presented by his family for the best recitation of the morning.
Visit the Abbey Centre any time on Saturday and Sunday to view the fantastic Stephens family archive, consisting of an exhibition of old photographs of Ballyshannon and surroundings, and a collection of newspapers including the Ballyshannon Herald, Donegal Democrat and others. 'A Novel Idea' bookshop will also hold a bookfair in the foyer of the Abbey Centre, with special offers running all weekend. A large selection of works by Allingham Festival artists will also be on sale.
Join our MC for the night Tony Liston and musician Mark Langan in Mc Intyre's Saloon for our first Festival Club, an informal and often irreverent gathering of revellers, writers, poets and singers. You'd better have your party piece ready!