Time to book that weekend in Kells - Hinterland Festival is back!

Kells will be the literary and cultural hub of Ireland this weekend (9th-12th September), as the Hinterland Literary Festival makes a welcome return.

The heritage town will be spilling over with guests, old favourites and welcome newbies, and the only downside is that because of Covid restrictions, tickets are limited.

So there’s no time to dither if you want tickets. Highlights this year include the return of Marian Keyes, Ross O’Carroll-Kelly (aka Paul Howard), Tom Dunne, Liz Nugent, Diarmuid Ferriter and Catriona Crowe.

Newbies to the festival include Media Megastar Biochemist Luke O’Neill, Louise Nealon, Patrick Freyne, Melatu Okerie, Róisin Ingle with her mother Anne, Manchán Magan, Cauvery Madhavan, Robyn Swann and much-loved broadcaster and biologist Éanna ní Lamhna.

Playwright Deirdre Kinahan’s ‘Embargo’, set in the War of Independence, is on stage and Pulitzer Prize finalist Robynn Swann will be discussing the 20th anniversary of 9/11. And there’s much more besides.

On Thursday there’s How Many Cows did it Take to Make the Book of Kells? Hard to resist a talk with a title like that.

This year marks the 1500th anniversary of St Colmcille (Columba), and the town that gave the world-famous Book of Kells its name is collaborating with Columba 1500 for this event, featuring Dr Denis Casey of Maynooth.

Also on Thursday is Angela Keogh, author of ‘The Winter Dress’, talking about the plague (the other one) and its effects on Ireland in 1348.

Myles Dungan will be giving an account of a family – his own – entwined in the War of Independence, as depicted in his superb ‘Four Killings: Land Hunger, Murder and Family in the Irish Revolution’, and Liam McNiffe will be exploring the history of Travellers in Ireland since the famine in ‘Irish Travellers: Parallel History’.

On Friday, Sheila Killian, author of ‘Fighting the Klan’, will be talking about ancestors of hers who clashed with the Klu Kux Klan in Alabama, while Cecilia Hartsell charts the road to Black Lives Matter in a history of systemic racism in America.

Catriona Crowe discusses the many flaws in this year’s controversial Irish Mother and Baby Homes report, while Diarmuid Ferriter will be reporting on how our bitter Civil War has influenced present-day Ireland.

Cauvery Madhavan, author of the brilliant ‘The Tainted’, explores how her novel could be dramatized with Hinterland old favourite, playwright Matthew Spangler.

On Saturday, Meath County Library’s Writer in Residence Fiona Sherlock will be giving instructions on how to write a whodunnit, Roisin Ingle will be accompanying her mother Anne to talk about Anne’s new memoir, ‘Openhearted’, Louise Nealon will be talking about her outstanding debut novel Snowflake, Liz Nugent will be discussing her dark domestic noir novels with Deirdre Hurley, and Tom Dunne will be talking about Bowie.

Patrick Freyne will be reading from his wonderful ‘OK, Let’s Do Your Stupid Idea’ and Cauvery Madhavan will be reading from her award-winning novel ‘The Tainted’, set against the Connaught Rangers’ mutiny in India.

Still on Saturday, Marian Keyes will be there and so will Manchán Magan, talking about his hugely successful ‘Thirty-Two Words for Field’. There’s a treasure hunt for the kids, too.

On Sunday there’s Melatu Okorie, author of This Hostel Life, Paul Howard will be introducing his new book for children, and local children’s authors Oisín McGann and Gerry Daly will also be hosting events for the kids. Sunday also sees two of our best-known scientists from the telly, Éanna ni Lamhna and Professor Luke O’Neill, waxing lyrical about their respective areas of expertise, and Deirdre Kinahan’s Embargo will be staged in the late afternoon.

Please check the website for the full programme.

At the time of going to press, some events are already booked out, so to avoid disappointment you need to book your tickets as soon as possible on hinterland.ie