Programme

Book Tickets Here

Join author Sheila Armstrong, whose writing includes the acclaimed short story collection How to Gut a Fish, as she discusses the short stories in the anthology and delves into the tradition of short story writing in Ireland.

Sheila Armstrong is a writer from the north-west of Ireland. She is the author of How To Gut A Fish, a collection of short stories, and Falling Animals, a novel. She has been nominated for the Irish Book Awards, the Society of Authors Awards, the Kate O’Brien Award, the Edge Hill Prize, and the RSL Ondaatje Prize. She is currently working on her second novel.

Book Tickets Here

Take a seat, surrounded by Ireland’s foremost public collection of contemporary and modern art, for a lecture on the art of Dublin. This illustrated talk will explore the wide range of artists in the Hugh Lane Gallery’s collection who were inspired by life, topography, landscape, buildings and people of Dublin. From Walter Osborme’s evocative paintings of the area around St Patrick’s cathedral to Christo’s proposed wrapped walkways project for St Stephen’s Green and more recently Mairead O’hEocha’s painting Antelope, Natural History Museum, Dublin be inspired by the city of Dublin in this illustrated talk led by Dr Anne Cormican.

Book Tickets Here

The event will now take place in the Civic Theatre.

Join us in Tallaght Library for ‘Dublin You Are’, a unique cultural event to celebrate the spoken word voices of Tallaght and the One Dublin One Book anthology, Dublin, written in our hearts. Featuring some of the best poets and theatre makers with a connection to, and love of, Tallaght, including Emmet Kirwan, Jan Brierton, Colm Keegan, Stephen James Smith and Sheila Ryder. Presented by David Hynes of Rising Tide, with music from Sandii Jane.

(more…)

Book Tickets Here

Told through three different voices and centered around a high-end restaurant chef who faces accusations of sexual assault, Service by Sarah Gilmartin is an acutely observed look at power and complicity, the lies we tell and the courage it takes to face the truth. Join the author in conversation with Ellen Howley from DCU’s School of English, along with the book clubs from Raheny Library.

Book Tickets Here

How do you begin the process of selecting pieces for an anthology? What motivates editors to pick and choose from an embarrassment of contemporary writing styles each as good as the next? Join us as founding editor of The Stinging Fly, Declan Meade, gives us a deeper insight into the anthology, discussing the pieces in it with literary editor Madeleine Keane.

Declan Meade is founding editor and publisher of The Stinging Fly literary magazine, which he established in Dublin in 1997. 

Madeleine Keane is the Literary Editor of the Sunday Independent. She lectures on writing at UCD and the Irish Writers’ Centre. She is the Chair of Children’s Books Ireland.

Book Tickets Here

Eggshells, the prize-winning debut novel by Caitriona Lally, is the story of a lonely misfit who finds solace in navigating life through stories. Taking us on a journey through the streets of Dublin, this is a poignant, delightful and ultimately hopeful story of loneliness and the search for belonging, acceptance and friendship. Join the author in conversation with arts journalist Sophie Grenham.

This event is now fully booked!
Similar event in Pearse Street library on Saturday 26th April.

Join author Seán O’Reilly, whose works include novella Watermark and the short story collections Curfew and Levitation for a masterclass exploring the art of short story writing.

Saturday 12th April, 10.00 am – 12pm and 1pm – 3pm

Seán O’Reilly. Born in Derry, Northern Ireland, Sean O’ Reilly is the author of the novels, Love and Sleep and The Swing of Things, a novella Watermark, and the short story collections, Curfew and Levitation. He works also as a teacher, primarily on the Stinging Fly Writing Workshop. He is a member of Aosdana.

Book Tickets Here

Karl Whitney in conversation with Gavin Corbett

In Hidden City, Karl Whitney brings us on a captivating and eye-opening tour of Dublin, illuminating the many fascinating hidden places and untold stories of this deeply mythologised city, including the hidden rivers of Dublin’s Liberties. Join the author in conversation with writer Gavin Corbett.

Karl Whitney is the author of Hidden City: Adventures and Explorations in Dublin and Hit Factories: A Journey Through the Industrial Cities of British Pop – both Guardian books of the week. His column about writing is published regularly in the Irish Examiner.

This event is now booked out. Waiting list available. 

Walking tour with Karl Whitney

Meeting point: Dublin Liberties Distillery

In ‘The Hidden Rivers of the Liberties’ from Hidden City, Karl Whitney brings us on a captivating tour of one of Dublin City’s oldest and most historic neighbourhoods, illuminating hidden places and untold stories. Join the author on a walk of the Liberties, learning about its underground rivers, history, city planning, and the sometimes invisible boundary lines that exist there.

Karl Whitney is the author of Hidden City: Adventures and Explorations in Dublin and Hit Factories: A Journey Through the Industrial Cities of British Pop – both Guardian books of the week. He has worked as an editor at Penguin Classics and as a Royal Literary Fund Writing Fellow at universities in the UK. His journalism has appeared in the Irish Times, the Guardian, the Times Literary Supplement and the London Review of Books, and his essays have been published in the White Review, the Dublin Review and Gorse. His column about writing is published regularly in the Irish Examiner.

IRISH FILM INSTITUTE PRESENT – About Adam

Book Tickets Here

About Adam
Directed and written by Gerry Stembridge

Refreshingly playful about sexual shenanigans, whatever the permutations, About Adam is a romantic-comedy which wholly captures the free-spirited nature of Ireland’s Celtic Tiger boom. The film hinges on the enigmatic Adam (Stuart Townsend), a dynamic and unpredictable lothario who woos waitress Lucy Owens (Kate Hudson), followed by her two sisters and then her brother. Despite the infidelity and betrayals, the family remain enamoured of this handsome rogue; sisters Laura (Frances O’Connor) and Alice (Charlotte Bradley) brother David (Alan Maher) and their irrepressible mother (Rosaleen Linehan) find their lives invigorated by spending time with Adam. The story rolls out against a vibrant, cosmopolitan Dublin filled with wine-bars, galleries and Winding Stairs, populated by comfortable middle class types who, until then, had rarely been seen on film. The whole is infused with writer/director Gerry Stembridge’s wry humour and astute social observation.

93 minutes, Ireland/UK/USA, 2000
The film will be introduced by director, screenwriter, novelist Gerry Stembridge

Book Tickets Here

Estelle Birdy’s striking debut novel, Ravelling, set in Dublin’s Liberties, captures modern Dublin as never before portrayed. Vibrantly exploring themes of youth, masculinity, prejudice, multicultural communities, class and more, this book channels the energies and agonies of the city’s young men, balancing their hopes with the harsh realities of their present. Join the author in conversation with author, playwright and creative writing lecturer, Declan Hughes.

Ravelling, set chiefly in and around The Liberties, focuses on five teenagers in their Leaving Cert year, their families, community and their city – Dublin. 

Declan Hughes is co-founded of Dublin’s Rough Magic Theatre Company. As well as writing many plays he teaches at the Mary Lavin Centre for Creative Writing, UCD, and is Literature Adviser to the Irish Arts Council.

Join us as two of the anthology’s contributors, both from North County Dublin, discuss the influences of suburban living on their writing. Kevin Curran and Niamh Campbell will discuss with Katy Conneely, presenter of Dublin City FM’s All about Books how growing up outside the city has reshaped their writing. 

Kevin Curran’s third novel, Youth, was published to critical acclaim by The Lilliput Press in 2023. It was an Irish Times, Sunday Independent & RTE Culture Best Book of 2023. It was also a Colm Toibin’s Laureate for Fiction’s Book Club choice for 2024. For over fifteen years he has been teaching in his hometown in Balbriggan, Co Dublin.

Niamh Campbell is the author of This Happy (2020) and We Were Young (2022). She has won the Sunday Times Audible Short Story Award and the Rooney Prize for Irish Literature, and been nominated for the An Post Irish Book Awards and the John McGahern Book Prize. 

Based in Dublin, Katy is the presenter and producer of All About Books on Dublin City FM. She has presented the show since March 2021 and is a passionate and knowledgeable interviewer.  Katy has also collaborated with UNESCO Dublin City of Literature on All About Books: On the Road live events.

To book please email balbrigganlibrary@fingal.ie 

Book Tickets Here

Join historian in residence Elizabeth Kehoe as she reveals the history behind the statues in O’Connell Street, which feature in Nuala O’Connor’s ‘Jesus of Dublin’ and Peter Sirr’s Intimate City. Nuala O’Connor will read her flash-fiction piece from the anthology and discuss how O’Connell Street inspired her.

Nuala O’Connor lives in Co. Galway; her sixth novel Seaborne, about Irish-born pirate Anne Bonny, is nominated for the Dublin Literary Award and was shortlisted for Eason Novel of the Year at the 2024 An Post Irish Book Awards. 

Elizabeth Kehoe is Historian in Residence for the Dublin Central area. She holds a degree in history at Trinity College Dublin followed by an M. Phil. in Modern Irish History. She shares her love for history with established local communities, new Irish communities, and visitors to this island.

Book Tickets Here

Join us in Pearse Street library for ‘Dublin You Are’, an event as part of One Dublin One Book to celebrate Dublin in all its cultural glory. It will be an enthralling experience featuring the best poets from the spoken word scene in Dublin, including John Cummins, AnnaD, Cormac Mac Gearailt, Lizzy Byrne & Dave Hynes. Presented by Leon Dunne from Rising Tide with music from $ONA BLU€.

John Cummins Poetician, one of Ireland’s most unique voices, has brought his spoken word poetry to every corner of our isle. 

Anna D is a poet and former All-Ireland Poetry Slam champion from Dublin. 

Cormac Mac Gearailt is a multi-award-winning bilingual spoken word poet based in Dublin, Ireland. He is the current All-Ireland Poetry Slam Champion, and the UNESCO Cities of Literature Slamovision Champion.

$ONA BLU€ is poised to leave an indelible mark on the Dublin music scene. Her voice, a melodic blend of strength and vulnerability carries the weight of her lyrics with a grace that can only be described as captivating.

Lizzy Byrne’s pieces embody life and all of its tribulations. She captures what it is to be human and although her writings can at times take a tone of darkness it is always the light that steals the focus.

David Hynes is a poet and organizer and is the curator and host of Spoken Word at The Word tent in Mindfield. 

A Rising Tide Co-founder, Leon Dunne has competed both nationally (2022 All-Ireland Winner) and internationally (2023 UNESCO’s Slamovision, 2024 European Poetry Slam).

Book Tickets Here

Short fiction has long captivated writers and readers alike. Seán O’Reilly’s Levitation takes us through the streets and haunts of Dublin with great wit and dark humour, while Nuala O’Connor’s Jesus of Dublin shows us O’Connell Street and its characters through the eyes of one who sees it all. Join the authors in conversation with presenter and book critic Breda Brown, as they explore the power of short fiction.

Nuala O’Connor’s her sixth novel Seaborne, about Irish-born pirate Anne Bonny, is nominated for the Dublin Literary Award and was shortlisted for Eason Novel of the Year at the 2024 An Post Irish Book Awards. Her fifth poetry collection, Menagerie, is published by Arlen House, spring 2025.

Sean O’ Reilly is the author of the novels, Love and Sleep and The Swing of Things, a novella Watermark, and the short story collections, Curfew and Levitation.  He is a member of Aosdana.

Breda Brown is the presenter of the Inside Books podcast and Chair of the Board of Directors of the Irish Writers Centre.