With just over three months to go to the Allingham Festival 2019, it’s about time we revealed a little of what the Allingham Fairies have been up to in preparation for our annual arts extravaganza!
Buncrana writer Frank Mc Guinness
This year we pay tribute to the work of Donegal writer Frank Mc Guinness (‘The Factory Girls’, ‘Someone To Watch Over Me’) with a very special event. We’re teaming up once again with the award-winning Ballyshannon Drama Society to produce Mc Guinness’s play ‘Breadman’. Set in a North East Donegal town in 1970, the play follows the antics of a breadman as his behaviour becomes more and more unusual, and the impact his behaviour has on his family.
Annemarie Ní Churreáin will host the Wild Atlantic Writers session this year, featuring local and national writers and poets for a informal and entertaining reading. Annemarie is a poet from North West Donegal. Her poems have been published in Ireland and abroad. Some of the major publications to feature her work include Poetry Ireland Review, The Stinging Fly, The Shop and The London Magazine.
Kevin Mc Aleer, Ireland’s leading Mindfulness comedian guru!
Ireland’s leading lama, Kevin Mc Aleer, will bring his latest show ‘Spud!’ to Ballyshannon, a hilarious meditation on Mindfulness and the importance of living in the moment. Honest! Mc Aleer, most recently spotted playing the role of ultra-boring Uncle Colm in Channel 4’s ‘Derry Girls’, has been sharing his deadpan brand of comedy with the world since the ‘80s, and we’ll be delighted to welcome him to Ballyshannon in November.
Donegal-based film-maker Garry Keane returns to the Allingham Festival to present his award-winning documentary, ‘Gaza’, fresh from winning the Dublin Film Festival and participating in the Sundance Film Festival. Along with co-director and cinematographer Andrew Mc Connell, Keane spent over five years producing this heartfelt and beautifully shot film which focuses on the day to day lives of ordinary people living in the Gaza Strip. ‘Gaza’ will introduce the audience to the surprising and the unexpected, the unfamiliar stories that portray its true face.
Eamonn Mc Cann will deliver this year’s Allingham Lecture.
Eamonn Mc Cann, well-known Derry politician, writer, broadcaster, human-rights and environmental activist, will deliver this year’s Allingham Lecture. Always informed, insightful and often controversial, Mc Cann’s talk promises to spark a lively and fresh discussion on various aspects of life in modern Ireland.
A perennial favourite, Tommy Graham’s History Ireland Hedge School will explore another fascinating area of local history, wth local experts contributing.
If that weren't enough, we will have the usual spectacular mix of music, kid’s workshops, arts and crafts workshops, competitions, writing workshops and much more! Stay tuned to allinghamfestival.com and our Facebook page for updates.