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Two of Ireland's best known political journalists will discuss their new book on a united Ireland at the ninth annual Rostrevor Literary Festival on 8 November, with the event receiving special recognition from outgoing Irish President Michael D Higgins.
Fintan O'Toole and Sam McBride will talk about their book 'For and Against a United Ireland' at the festival, joined in discussion by Rostrevor Festival founder William Graham, former Political Correspondent with the Irish News and Belfast Telegraph. O'Toole is a columnist with The Irish Times and advising editor of the New York Review of Books, whose many books include 'We Don't Know Ourselves: A Personal History of Modern Ireland'. McBride is Northern Ireland Editor of the Belfast Telegraph and Sunday Independent newspapers and also writes for The Economist. His first book 'Burned: The inside story of the cash for ash scandal and Northern Ireland's Secretive New Elite' became a Sunday Times bestseller.
'For and Against a United Ireland' was published in October by the Royal Irish Academy. In this compelling new book, O'Toole and McBride take on one of the island's most pressing questions with forensic precision and intellectual flair.
President Higgins has sent a special message to the Festival offering good wishes to all those participating in the Rostrevor event. He writes: "Rostrevor has long embodied the values of connection and dialogue, values that transcend borders and foster north-south collaboration in the arts, in literature, and in poetry. In this beautiful landscape of story and song, imagination has always found a welcome home."
The Festival line-up also includes Professor Glenn Patterson, director of the Seamus Heaney centre at Queen's University Belfast, whose latest book is titled 'The Northern Bank Job'. The varied Festival programme covers politics, fiction, poetry, nature and the environment.
Other writers appearing include Eilean Ni Chuilleanain, the Rev Harold Good, Martin O'Brien, Sean Ronayne, James Conor Patterson, Csilla Toldy and Florence Heyhoe. Acclaimed poet and academic Eilean Ni Chuilleanain will be in dialogue with Rostrevor-based Hungarian poet and author Csilla Toldy. The Rev Harold Good will discuss his compelling new memoir 'In Good Time' with its co-author Martin O'Brien, a book that details his remarkable life and sheds light on his efforts as a back-channel facilitator for peace talks.
Sean Ronayne is a Cork-born ornithologist, wildlife sound recordist, author and environmental activist whose book 'Nature Boy' won Irish Biography of the Year in 2024. James Conor Patterson is a poet and writer from Newry whose debut collection was entitled 'Bandit Country' and who also edited the anthology 'The New Frontier: Reflections from the Irish Border'. Csilla Toldy is launching her latest collection 'Firebird' at this festival, whilst Florence Heyhoe, who has been writing short form poetry for a number of years, particularly haibun, a Japanese form, will feature her first collection 'Famished for the Light' published earlier this year.
In his message to the Rostrevor Festival, President Higgins said: "Writing is one of the most profound expressions, one of the most valuable tools for the expression of our shared humanity, allowing us to explore the depths of human experience, to illuminate the complexities of our world to give voice to the silenced."
He added: "I am greatly encouraged by how gatherings of Ireland's writing community, such as the Rostrevor Literary Festival, remind us of the sense of care and sharing that exists amongst Ireland's writers, of the support that is always forthcoming, the wisdom that is there to be passed from one generation of writers to the next."
The Irish President's full message will be read on 8 November by Festival organiser Jane Kelly. The Festival will be held at An Cuan, 44 Shore Road, Rostrevor. Tickets costing £20 are available online from Ticket Tailor or from Good Craic gifts and souvenirs shop Rostrevor. The Festival starts at 10am and runs to 5pm.
A separate free event on 9 November at Crawford's Bar, Rostrevor will feature author Seana Tinley and comedy writer Val Troy as part of an open mic performance from 2pm to 5pm.
Lead organiser William Graham said: "This is the ninth year of our popular annual festival on the shores of Carlingford lough and the Mourne mountains where the words roll down to the sea. A day of talks, presentations and discussion bringing together a diverse range of writers and poets from north and south. Books and great literature still have a weight, a soul… even in a period where society seems to be leaning towards a post-literary world of advanced multimedia technology."
Mr Graham added that he would like to pay tribute to the Festival committee, Jane Kelly, Carrie Alexander, Csilla Toldy and Fionnbharr Rodgers for all their hard work in putting together the programme for what should turn out to be very special events on 8 and 9 November.
Check Rostrevor-Literary-Festival for more information
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