Two days of Swift celebrations in Trim
by Ronan Smyth
The 2014 Swift Satire Festival kicks off this weekend in Trim. Named after the famed author and satirist Jonathan Swift who lived for a period in Trim, the festival encorporates poetry, guided tours and writing competitions.
The festival starts on Saturday morning with poetry in motion, where people take turns to stand on a large box and read poetry for everyone on the street to hear.
The festival will run across the weekend culminating in the final event, the Annual Swift Lecture held in the Trim Castle Hotel. John Lonergan, a former prison governer, will deliver a lecture entitled 'Would Jonathan Swift be proud of Modern Ireland?’
Mr Lonergan has said about his lecture “I will try to capture the reality of the Ireland that Jonathan Swift lived in and the Ireland of 2014, 269 years on from his death”.
Just some of the events going on during the festival.
On Saturday
Poetry in Motion
10:30am on various streets around Trim.
The Feat of Clay
Swift’s 125 page book 'A Tale of a Tub’ will be read out by 125 people all at the same time.
11:30am on the grounds of Trim Castle.
Poetry in the Parlour - open mic
Two and a half hours of open mic poetry with featured poet Kevin Higgins from Galway.
4pm in The Old Rectory on Loman Street.
On Sunday
A Bite of Satire
A two course lunch and a one-man show on the life of Flann O’Brien written and performed by Val O’Donnell.
12.30pm in the Trim Castle Hotel.
Tickets cost €25.
The Annual Swift Lecture
John Lonergan’s feature lecture around the question 'Would Jonathan Swift be proud of Modern Ireland?’
3pm in the Trim Castle Hotel.