Q&A with chairperson of Mullingar Literary Festival

Mullingar Literary Festival is more than a book festival: a weekend of storytelling, poetry, music, workshops, literary walks and live cultural events across Mullingar. Every event is free.

Interview with Laurence Meehan, chair of Mullingar Literary Festival

The 2026 Mullingar Literary Festival is on Friday Sunday, July 3-5, in venues throughout Mullingar. Now in its second year, the festival is growing as a celebration of writing, creativity, performance, and community.

Question: This is the second Mullingar Literary Festival, following the inaugural event in 2025. What motivates you to continue?

Laurence Meehan: : It’s really very simple – my motivation comes from a shared passion for celebrating, exploring, and inspiring local writing talent, both past and present. Mullingar has a rich literary and creative heritage, and we felt it was important to create a festival that properly reflects that. It also serves as a tourist attraction for the town, which is very important.

Question: The inaugural festival in 2025 was something of a voyage into the unknown. What is new for 2026?

Laurence: One of the key additions this year is our expanded focus on education. Our education team, Jeanette Everson and Chele Crawley, have developed a series of in-school and online competitions, which have already proven to be a massive success and have received hundreds of entries.

On Saturday, July 4, from 10am to 1pm in Mullingar Library, we will host children’s creativity workshops (now fully booked out) along with readings by local authors of both much-loved children’s stories and new work (free to attend). This will be an ongoing drop-in session, making it an ideal space for younger children while older siblings attend workshops, or for families who simply want to enjoy storytelling together.

The education team have done a wonderful job, and their work has added an important new dimension to the festival.

Question: How do you find the time to organise something of this scale?

Laurence: MLF is a passion project for me, but I am only one cog in a much larger wheel. The festival is driven by a committed committee, including our festival co-ordinator, Samantha Meehan, secretary Deirdre Bigley, treasurer Brian McLoughlin, and our aforementioned Education Team, Jeanette Everson and Chele Crawley.

We have also received substantial support from our fundraising team and talent co-ordinators, including Jacqui Wiley, Louise Ryan, Jimmy O’Connell, and the rest of our wonderful committee.

On a personal level, the festival brings together many of the things I love: writing, art, organisation, business, technology, and community. In short, it is a labour of love.

Question: The 2026 programme includes 28 acts, many involving multiple artists, some travelling from outside the county. How is the festival funded?

Laurence: Most of the funding for Mullingar Literary Festival comes from local businesses, and we are incredibly grateful for that support. Our main sponsor is Buckley’s SuperValu, Mullingar.

Other key sponsors include: Seamus Bracken Craft Butchers, A Gorman Flooring, Breedon Construction Materials Group, Inklings Creative Writing Group, Mullingar, Amber Court Restaurant, O’Brien Motor Group, Sleator Kia.

We also want to sincerely thank the many other businesses who have sponsored prizes for the festival raffle.

This support allows MLF to present a three-day festival featuring 34 performers and seven workshops, completely free to the public.

Question: What can audiences look forward to at the 2026 Mullingar Literary Festival?

Laurence: This year’s festival brings together acclaimed authors, emerging voices, musicians, spoken-word performers, creative workshops, children’s events, and community groups. We are building something genuinely special.

The 2026 line-up includes stunning live performances from Niall Breslin, Macahar, Olympio, Paulie Martin, and Annie Peter and band.

We will also host insightful in-conversation events with acclaimed artists and writers including Patricia Gibney, Suzanne O’Leary, Theresa Ryder, Caragh Maxwell, and Sheila Killian.

There will be powerful poetry and spoken-word performances from Poetry Kiln, In Her Words, The Verse, and The Bards, alongside exciting emerging voices such as recent Amazon number one bestseller Chele Crawley, the brilliant Jeanette Everson, the amazing Louise Ryan, and the celebrated Mullingar Toastmasters, who will bring a programme of wonderful speeches.

The penultimate act of the festival will be the inspirational Inklings Creative Writing Group Live.

There are no tickets and no barriers. It is a fun-packed weekend of writers, performers, workshops, children’s events, music, poetry, and ideas in the heart of Ireland, all completely free.

Question: How do you envision Mullingar Literary Festival developing in the future?

Laurence: In only its second year, in 2026 MLF aims to double attendance with visitors travelling from across Ireland and Europe to attend the event.

Beyond that, the ambition is to establish it as one of Europe’s most ambitious free arts festivals. We want it to be known not only for the quality of its programme, but also for its openness, accessibility, and strong community spirit.]

For information about Mullingar Literary Festival please visit the website: www.mullingarliteraryfestival.com.