Ireland’s Writers and Poets, A Literary Landscape

As a nation, we have produced four Nobel Laureates of literature and four winners of the Booker Prize. For a country of just under five million people, this is very impressive per capital. Here we have created a Storymap which illustrates some of our greatest literary giants and how our island’s beautiful landscape supported their creativity and inspired some of their wonderful writing. From historical, to more contemporary writers and poets, click through to learn more.

Visiting Ireland This Year? Upcoming Events in Killarney

The summer and autumn seasons in Killarney and the surrounding areas are the busiest times of the year for festivals and events. From horse racing, to major sporting events, musical performances and family friendly festivals, there is never not something to attend or participate in. If you are visiting Ireland this year and plan to take a trip to Killarney, home of the famous Lakes of Killarney and a focal point on the Ring of Kerry, consider attending one of these upcoming events.

 Killarney Racing Festival, August 19^th to 22^nd

The autumn meet for the ‘Killarney Racing Festival’ takes place between Wednesday, August 19^th and Saturday, August 22^nd. A premium horse racing event, it is one of the biggest social occasions of the summer in Killarney, following on from the first summer racing festival in July. Twenty-nine horse races take place across the four days of the very lively festival which takes place within the grounds of Killarney Racecourse on Ross Road. The total prize fund on offer is four hundred thousand euro and attracts high calibre racers from all over Ireland and the UK.

The highlight of the festival is Ladies Day which takes place on Saturday, August 22^nd and the hunt will once again begin for the ‘Best Dressed Lady’ who will be judged this year by stylist and Irish fashion icon Lisa Fitzpatrick. The winner will receive a diamond ring from Keanes Jewellers worth three thousand euro.

……………………………….

Hardman Long Distance Triathlon, August 22^nd

Not for the faint hearted, if you are visiting Killarney in late August and enjoy participating in triathlons, or extreme sports, then the ‘Hardman Long Distance Triathlon’ is for you. The event covers a four kilometre swim in the famous Lakes of Killarney, a one hundred and eighty kilometre cycle on the Ring of Kerry and finishes with a forty-two kilometre run in the Knockreer Demesne, located in Killarney National Park. It is the perfect way to see some of the most famous scenery in and around Killarney, while putting your physical endurance to the test.

………………………………

Killarney Cycling Festival, August 29^th

The Killarney Cycling Festival has a novel theme to its event based on the idea of cycling the Ring of Kerry ‘The Wrong Way Round’ or ‘The Hard Way Round’. The cycle takes place on Saturday, August 29^th and the idea is to cycle the Ring of Kerry in the opposite direction to the traditional anti-clockwise recommended route, which at one hundred and eighty-eight kilometres long, is a challenge at the best of times. The route will include food stops and refreshments and participants are encouraged to view the event as a leisure race, rather than a competition. A barbeque and live entertainment are also offered to participants that evening and there is a charity element to the event to raise funds for the Donal Walsh #LIVELIFE Foundation.

………………………………

Killarney Culture Night 2015, September 18^th

‘Killarney Culture Night 2015’ takes place on Friday, September 18^th and is part of the wider national ‘Culture Night’ event series that takes place annually nationwide. ‘Culture Night’ focuses on a series of public events that celebrate culture, creativity and the arts, with up to three hundred and fifty thousand people visiting cultural centres, galleries, museums, historic houses and attending artistic and musical performance across Ireland. In Killarney, a performance called ‘Salsa-Trad’ will take place in ‘The School House’ in Muckross. This performance will be created by ‘Baile an Salsa’, an international band of ten musicians. Their performance piece ‘Salsa-Trad’ will be a blended performance of the best in Latin American music and traditional Irish music. All material will be original and the lead vocalist is expected to perform in three different languages, Irish, English and Spanish. Like all ‘Culture Night’ public events, tickets are free but limited and pre-booking is essential for the event.

………………………………

Kerry Film Festival, October 21^st to 25^th

The Kerry Film Festival takes place between Wednesday, the 21^st of October and Sunday the 25^th of October. It is a short film festival which particularly focuses on the work of young and up-and-coming filmmakers. Screenings take place all over County Kerry, from Killarney, to Tralee and Waterville. The complete line up of events taking place in 2015 is to be announced in August but promises to be as enthralling as ever. The festival is in its sixteenth year and has gone from strength to strength and has long standing associations with film actors Jeremy Irons, Liam Neeson and Maureen O’Hara, who have graciously supported and worked with the festival over many years.