Bestselling author Séamas O’Reilly is Donegal-bound this month for a special event for the Donegal Bay & Blue Stacks Festival.
O’Reilly, from Derry, will be the main guest of a reading and ‘in conversation’ event hosted by Donegal poet Denise Blake at the Abbey Arts Centre on Sunday 17th October at 3pm. (Booking essential: Click here to book on www.donegalbaybluestacks.com)
Did Ye Hear Mammy Died? is Séamas O’Reilly’s memoir, telling his story of growing up as one of eleven children in a family bonded by loss, love and mockery, set against the backdrop of Northern Ireland in the 1990s.
Talented local guests will include Emily Cooper from Ramelton and Jess McKinney from Buncrana.
Host Denise Blake said there will be something for everyone to enjoy during the afternoon:
“I am so looking forward to this Donegal Bay and Blue Stacks event. The Abbey Arts Centre is the perfect venue to welcome us back to a Live show,” Ms Blake said.
“There will be a sense of coming to a home place. I know the audience will enjoy hearing our artists; Emily Cooper, Jess McKinney and Séamas O’Reilly.
“Emily Cooper and Jess McKinney are poets with strong connections to Donegal. I am so pleased that they will be reading. Their poems are grounded but also ethereally beautiful. Their words will resonate with everyone who is listening to them.
“I’m also thrilled that Séamas O’Reilly is coming from London for this event. His memoir, ‘Did Ye Hear Mammy Died’ is very humorous but it is also very honest and personal. It is not surprising that the book is on the best sellers lists for several weeks. Séamas is a natural storyteller and I am looking forward to the conversation with him.
“I have no doubt that anyone attending the event on Oct. 17th will feel the better for having been there.
“Do book your seat in the Abbey Arts Centre. It is going to be a wonderful afternoon.”
About the guests:
Séamas O’Reilly
Derry-born, London based Séamas O’Reilly’s memoir, Did Ye Hear Mammy Died?, was published earlier this summer. It currently sits at the top of most best-selling Irish book lists. He writes a hugely popular column for the Guardian Weekend magazine, on the highs and the pitfalls of parenting his playschool going son. Séamas also writes about media and politics for the Irish Times, the Observer and the New Statesman.
Emily Cooper
Emily Cooper is a Ramelton-based writer and poet, whose work has been published in The Stinging Fly, Banshee and Poetry Ireland Review among others. She was a 2019 recipient of the Next Generation Award from the Arts Council of Ireland and has completed residencies for the Irish Writers Centre, Centre Culturel Irlandais Paris and the Regional Cultural Centre, Letterkenny. Her poetry debut, Glass, was published this summer by Makina Books.
Jess McKinney
Jess Mc Kinney is a poet from Inishowen, Donegal. She completed her MA in Poetry at Queen’s University Belfast, where she was awarded the Irish Chair of Poetry Student Award 2020. = Her poetry has appeared in The Moth, The Stinging Fly, Banshee, Channel Magazine and The Open Ear, with upcoming work in The Poetry Jukebox and the New Island anthology, The New Frontier: Writing from the Irish Border. Her debut pamphlet, Weeding, is forthcoming with Hazel Press, supported by an Artist Bursary from the Donegal County Council.
Donegal Bay and Blue Stacks Festival Readings & ‘In Conversation’ Séamas O’Reilly, Jess McKinney & Emily Cooper. Hosted by Denise Blake.
- Sunday Oct 17th, @ 3:00pm
- Abbey Arts Centre, Ballyshannon
- Admission €10
- Booking essential : 071 9851375.