Organisers bag Alastair Campbell for this summer's Swift Festival

Alastair Campbell, once said to be the second most important man in Britain after Tony Blair, is to be a guest at this summer's Swift Festival in Trim. Campbell, who was director of communications and strategy for former Labour Prime Minister Blair between 1997 and 2003, has been asked to take part in a round table discussion chaired by Ireland's éminence grise, Vincent Browne. A lively session is expected, to say the least! The former British government spin doctor has been asked to present the Sature Comedy Awards at the festival. Campbell is a former media man himself, having edited a newspaper called Sunday Today at the age of 29. Later, he was political editor of the Daily Mirror and left them in 1994 to become spokesman for Tony Blair, then leader of the British opposition. When Labour won power in 1997, he became the prime minister's press spokesman. He has said that, in 10 years in the media and a further 10 in politics, his respect for the media has fallen and his respect for politics has risen. Two years ago, he published his first book on his time with Tony Blair, 'The Blair Years', and he has published a novel, 'All in the Mind', a frank examination of mental illness. His second novel, 'Maya', a gripping analysis of fame and the obsession it attracts, was published in February of this year. The Trim Swift Festival, which is staged to celebrate Trim's link with the writer Jonathan Swift, who was based in the parish of Laracor near Trim from 1700-1712, will open on Thursday 1st July with a champagne reception and a performance by a harp ensemble, and will close on 4th July. The festival programme will include comedy nights, a street market, an open air debate, a Swift walk, an academic conference and more. Festival organisers have invited a number of guests to take part, including RTE 2FM's 'Nob Nation' star Oliver Callan who went down a storm at last year's event, broadcaster George Hook, Risetard Cooper and Ross O'Carroll Kelly. Organisers are also hoping to include a rerun of the satirical radio show 'The Emergency' from the Newstalk radio station, also a big hit at last year's festival.