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Upcoming Events | SiarScéal Festival and Hanna Greally Literary Awards

Logo of SiarScéal, annual arts and literary festival

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Details of SiarScéal 2023 Announced

– Entries Now Being Accepted for Hanna Greally Literary Awards –

Logo of SiarScéal, arts and literary festival

SiarScéal, organisers of the annual festival that takes place in Roscommon, has announced its programme of events for 2023. The festival will take place at Roscommon County Library, Abbey Street, Roscommon Town on Saturday, 21 October.

The Hanna Greally Literary Awards, which takes place annually as part of the festival, is offering cash prize fund totalling €400, with overall winners in the Poetry and Prose/Short Stories categories each receiving €200. Entries are now being accepted but the closing date is Friday, 22 September and must be received on or before 5pm (Irish time).

Entry is free but limited to one per participant. Entries may be on any subject or theme but should be presented in the style of poetry (maximum of 100 lines) or prose/short story (maximum of 2000 words). Details of how to enter are available from the SiarScéal website. Winners will be announced and prizes presented at SiarScéal Festival 2023 that is taking place in October.

Also featuring as part of the festival’s programme of events is a symposium of young writers from Roscommon, Sligo and Leitrim, who will read from work contained in their own handmade book, produced with the help of artist, Vanya Ward. The occasion will also be broadcast on The Arts Programme with Ursula Ledwith on Ros FM.

SiarScéal is an annual arts and literary festival that has run every year since 2007 and takes place in Roscommon, drawing inspiration from unique culture and heritage of the Roscommon environs, together with the regional counties of Leitrim and Sligo.

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Upcoming Events | SiarScéal Festival 2022

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SiarScéal Festival 2022

– including the Hanna Greally Literary Awards –

Saturday, 12 November is the date that has been announced for SiarScéal Festival 2022, which takes place at Roscommon County Library HQ, starting 10am. Details of the festival, including the full programme of events, have been posted to the festival website.

The Hanna Greally Literary Awards will be announced on the day, with a prize fund totalling €600 to be given out in cash prizes. Entries are still being accepted and the closing date is Friday, 14 October.

Entry is free but limited to one per person and may consist of poetry or prose but, should be on the theme of the competition, which is Sunlit Mornings, Ebbing Tides.

Full details, including terms and conditions and how to enter can be found on the SiarScéal website. Winners will be announced and, prizes presented at the festival in November.

SiarScéal Festival (with the associated Hanna Greally Literary Awards) has been taking place annually, in Roscommon, since 2007. The festival draws its inspiration from unique culture and heritage of the Roscommon environs, together with the regional counties of Leitrim and Sligo. Further information about SiarScéal, including how you can get involved and support their work, is available from their website.

Publications sponsored by SiarScéal, reflecting the array of talent that the festival has attracted over the years, are on sale and available to buy online from this website.

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Book Launch: The Joys of a Second Rattle at Life by William Tiernan

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The Joys of a Second Rattle at Life by William Tiernan

– the author’s third collection of poetry to be launched on Saturday, 8 October

The Father Flanagan Community Centre in Ballymoe, Co. Galway is the venue for the launch, this Saturday, of local author, William Tiernan’s third collection of poetry, The Joys of a Second Rattle at Life, arguably his most ambitious to date.

Whether addressing himself to issues such as pandemics or the war in Ukraine, to more universal themes of redemption and rebirth, battles of the body and the bullying of the mind, Tiernan’s observations go straight to the human heart, breaking down the distance between what is right from what is wrong, conveying it all in his unique and inimitable lyrical style.

William Tiernan is a poet and author who resides in rural Galway, close to the Roscommon border. His writings reflect his personal experiences and convictions as well as strong ties to the community in which he lives, his identification with the place where he grew up. These impressions are particularly reflected in his first two volumes of his poetry: Greetings from Guilka, Ballymoe (2016) and Bluesy Ballymoe (2018). In 2014, he was National Winner in the poetry category at the Hanna Greally International Literary Awards, organised as part of the annual SiarScéal Festival in Co. Roscommon.

The Joys of a Second Rattle at Life by William Tiernan is published under the imprint of The Manuscript Publisher and available to buy online, along with other books by the author. Signed copies will also be on sale at the book’s launch, to take place on Saturday, 8 October at the Father Flanagan Community Centre, Ballymoe, Co. Galway starting 8pm.

Important Announcement

The launch, due to take place today (Saturday, 8 October) of William Tiernan’s book, The Joys of a Second Rattle at Life, has had to be postponed due to a bereavement. A new date, not too far into the future, will be set however, with details posted here as soon as we have them to hand.