History, music and a good read! It's Delvin Book Festival 2022
First held in 2010, the Delvin Book Festival was created to provide financial support for Delvin Sports and Leisure Centre. Since then it has gone from strength to strength, attracting thousands of book lovers to this small midlands village.
The festival was inspired by our connection with the author Brinsley McNamara and his controversial book ‘The Valley of the Squinting Windows’. A century later that is still a good read, and thanks to the festival, Delvin is now synonymous with thousands of good reads.
As part of a commitment to celebrate the rich cultural and historical heritage of Delvin, the theme of this year’s festival is ‘The South Hill Legacy 1914-2022’, and there is a focus on the links between the South Hill Estate and the Delvin community over the last 100 years.
The festival launches at St Patrick’s Hall, Delvin on Friday, April 29, at 8pm with historical talks and a photographic exhibition.
Dr David Murphy of Maynooth University will present ‘Sons of South Hill Chapmans/Lawrences and the Great War; and Brendan Broderick, former CEO of the Muiriosa Foundation, will give a talk titled ‘South Hill and the nuns from Flanders’.
This event is free, refreshments will be served, and all are welcome.
On Saturday, April 30, at 6pm in Gaffney’s Pub the festival stages a unique screening of David Lean’s 1962 masterpiece ‘Lawrence of Arabia’ the biopic of TE Lawrence, whose father, Thomas Chapman, fled South Hill with his mistress (Chapman family governess Sarah Junner). The couple raised TE and four other children under the assumed name of Lawrence.
Seating is limited and tickets at €10 can be booked at 087 2323488. Tickets will not be on sale at the venue. Screen time is more than three hours and will include an interval.
On Sunday, May 1, from noon to 6pm, is the book sale, the heart of the festival. People come to browse and buy but they also come back every year to talk to others who are as passionate about reading as they are.
All books are donated by people who want to see their cherished books passed on to other book lovers for a good cause. Fiction and non-fiction are categorised so people can browse their favourite genres or hunt down elusive novels or autobiographies.
There are so many books on offer, nearly all of them competitively priced (€1 is rather competitive!)
There is a wonderful selection of books for children, from board books to those by popular authors such as Julia Donaldson and David Walliams.
This year the organisers are moving from the traditional venue in Delvin cattle mart to the centre of the town.
A spokesperson said: “We loved the mart and are grateful to Thomas Potterton for his unfailing support since the inception of the festival. The hub for the sale will now be St Patrick’s Hall, but there will be pop-up locations showcasing the 20,000 books we have collected.
“A special thanks to local business people who have lent us their premises for the event.
“The community is looking forward to, once again, welcoming readers of all ages to the heart of the village.”
Doors open at noon and admission is free.
Music on Sunday is by local artist Ronan Leonard, singer/ songwriter, who will perform popular songs as well as his own.