Allingham Lecture 2025

We are beyond delighted to confirm that this year’s Allingham Lecture will be delivered by Nelofer Pazira-Fisk. This lady requires no introduction to those who were lucky enough to attend the Fifth Court podcast recording at last year’s festival. For those less fortunate, well...

Nelofer is an award-winning Afghan-Canadian author, journalist and filmmaker. She was based in Beirut, for fifteen years working alongside her late husband Robert Fisk. Nelofer reported for Canadian television and radio as well as UK and Canadian newspapers from Iraq, Afghanistan, Turkey, Egypt and Syria.

In 2001, she starred in the film Kandahar, based on her real-life story, which premiered at Cannes Film Festival. She has directed and produced several films including Return to Kandahar (2003), Act of Dishonour (2010), and This is Not a Movie which premiered at Toronto Film Festival (2019).

Nelofer’s 2006 book, A Bed of Red Flowers: In Search of My Afghanistan, won the Drainie-Taylor Biography Prize. She is a recipient of Gemini Award, New York’s Media Award, Gabriel Award and A.D. Dunton Award of Distinction. She has a degree in journalism and English literature (Carleton University), an MA in Anthropology, Sociology and Religion (Concordia University), and two honorary doctorates from Carleton and Thomson River universities in Canada.

Recently, she saw the completion and publication of Robert Fisk’s last book – Night of Power: The Betrayal of the Middle East.

We cannot wait for Nelofer to share her profound knowledge of the history and peoples of the Middle East. While we may all hope that November will see some relief from the tragedy of that region, there is no doubt that there will still be a need to hear truth spoken with passionate eloquence.

Admission is free and all welcome at 8.15 pm, Wednesday, November 5th, in the Abbey Arts Centre, Ballyshannon.

Kate Newmann to judge Poetry

Entries to this year’s Allingham Poetry Competition will be judged by poet and publisher, Kate Newmann.

Kate has published five collections of poetry with a sixth, titled ‘Cockett’, to be published in 2025. Her most recent collection, Ask Me Next Saturday, was featured by the Irish Independent, and she is a current recipient of the Katherine and Patrick Kavanagh Trust Fellowship. In May 2025 she read at the Strokestown International Poetry Festival. She has been Poet Laureate for Ballycastle, County Antrim and is Co-Director of Summer Palace Press.

The winner of the competition will receive a €300 prize and will also be declared winner of the annual Francis Harvey Award. This Award was created in memory of Francis Harvey, the Donegal banker-poet whose writings have been compared to those of Norman MacCaig, RS Thomas, and the Japanese haiku master Bashō. His poem “Heron” was a prizewinner in the World Wildlife Fund Poetry Competition.

The Poetry Competition is currently open for entries, with a deadline of 28 September. First-, Second- and Third-Place winners will read their work at the Awards Ceremony on Saturday, 8 November, along with the winners of the Flash Fiction Competition. Full details and entry forms for both competitions are posted at https://www.allinghamfestival.com/fiction-poetry-competitions.

NUALA O’CONNOR TO JUDGE FLASH FICTION

We are delighted to report that this year’s Flash Fiction Competition will be judged by novelist and short story writer Nuala O’Connor. Nuala’s sixth novel Seaborne about Irish-born pirate Anne Bonny was shortlisted for Novel of the Year at the 2024 An Post Irish Book Awards, and nominated for the 2025 Dublin Literary Award.

She won Irish Short Story of the Year at the 2022 Irish Book Awards, and her novel Nora was selected as the One Dublin One Book choice for the same year. Menagerie, her fifth poetry collection, has been published by Arlen House.

Poetry and Flash Fiction Competitions both remain open for entries through 28 September. Winning entries will be announced and read at the Literary Lunch on Saturday 8 Nov. Entry forms and competition rules are available at www.allinghamfestival.com.

We’re keeping Nuala busy on November 8th. Later in the afternoon, following the literary lunch, she will interview Donal Ryan, winner of the 2025 Orwell Prize for his novel Heart, Be at Peace, in the Abbey Arts Centre.

We are in the process of putting final touches to this year’s programme. Watch out for much more news in the coming weeks, here and on our Facebook feed.

Sean Rocks R.I.P.

Like most people involved in the arts in Ireland, we were shocked this morning to learn of the sudden and untimely death of Seán Rocks.

Best known as the presenter of Arena on RTE Radio 1, he is also warmly remembered as an actor, a teacher and presenter on Lyric FM. We in Allingham always knew Seán as a staunch and insightful supporter of what we were trying to do.

In 2019 we paid tribute to the playwright, Frank McGuinness with a revival of his play, The Breadman. Seán conducted the keynote interview with the great man showing his familiar depth of knowledge and ease of manner.

Two years later, he brought those same skills to an interview with Stephen Rea. The chat ranged from the global stories of big movies to shared anecdotes of their experiences as actors with Field Day Theatre Company.

Seán's deep knowledge expressed in such friendly tones will be missed by all involved in the arts in Ireland and further afield. Our deepest condolences to his colleagues, friends and, most especially, his family.

Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam dílis.

Ann Drummond, R.I.P.

Last week we in the Allingham Committee received news we had all expected yet dreaded for some time. Here, Carl Duggan remembers our dear friend, Ann Drummond.

It was totally appropriate that both the Donegal and Galway flags flew proudly outside the home of Ann and Sean Drummond on the day of Ann’s wake. For though Ann was of Galway she had for the past 46 years been equally at home in Donegal and was proud to call Ballyshannon her home. Ann arrived here in 1979 after qualifying as a Home Economics teacher in St. Angela’s College in Sligo and started her career in the Sacred Heart School.

As well as being a wonderful teacher Ann was a mentor and role model for generations of students who were lucky enough to come under her influence. She gave them a great work ethic and organisational skills which would stand to them for life.

All this was done in her usual kindly manner which affirmed each person’s abilities. The many comments from former students in the online condolence pages bear this out very well. When Colaiste Cholmcille opened in 2001 Ann transferred her talents seamlessly across College Street to the new campus.

As well as playing a full part in all aspects of school life Ann. was also very involved in the social and cultural life of Ballyshannon and in the past number of years we on the Allingham Festival Committee have benefitted greatly from Ann joining us. A tireless worker. If Ann Drummond had a job to do you could be certain that it would be done and done without the slightest bit of fuss. She was a great asset to our organisation and we will miss her greatly from that point of view.

But we will mostly miss Ann Drummond the person. It is hard to imagine that we will never again see her arrive into a room with her ready smile and cheery greeting. We will miss all her ‘’little, nameless, acts of kindness’’ which were so much part of who she was. That is how we will recall Ann in the years to come.

Codladh sámh a chara uasal

We on the Allingham Festival Committee send our deepest condolences to Seán, Shane (Rachael), Niamh (Mikey), Ruairí (Kellyann), Donncha, Níadh and the extended Drummond and McDonagh families.

<Picture data-preserve-html-node="true" by Brian O’Droma of Ann seated in Allingham Arts Centre between Sean McGinley and Sally Stephens, surrounded by other members of the Allingham Committee>