Thomas MacDonagh Hedge School 18-22 September 2024
Following the success of the first Thomas McDonagh Hedge School last year, a second Hedge School event has been organised to take place in September. The 2024 event will run from the 18th to the 22nd of September. The event is organised by the Thomas McDonagh Museum which honours the life of the patriot and poet who was a native of Cloughjordan. The Museum collects, safeguards and exhibits material relating to the life of McDonagh, his family and his legacy.
As part of the Hedge School initiative, a series of events will be held beginning with a two-day Creative Writing Workshop led by prize winning poet, creative fiction writer and literary translator David McLoghlin. These workshops will take place in the Thomas McDonagh Museum on the 18th and 19th of September from 11am to 1pm. These are adult-only workshops and are free of charge. Workshops are limited to 12 participants and participants who attend the first workshop are also requested to attend the second. No previous writing experience is required.
On the 20th of September the Hedge School will host a Culture Night. An exhibition titled ‘The Irish Review – Creative Responses’ will be held on the night. The art exhibition will be curated by the North Tipperary Artists’ Collective. Both amateur and professional artists have been requested to draw inspiration from ‘The Irish Review’ journals to create a unique collaborative work. On Culture Night the participants from the Creative Writing Workshop will read works they have created also in response to the ‘Irish Review’.
On September 21st Fergal Keane, author and Special Correspondent for the BBC news will join Professor Sarah Moore Fitzgerald, novelist and Course Director of the MA in Creative Writing at the University of Limerick. Fergal Keane will discuss his views on literature, music and art and how the arts contribute to political discourse. This event will begin at 2pm.
At 4pm on the same day Dr Catherine Wilsdon, Communications and Public Engagement Manager at UCD Library will chair a panel discussion and will be joined by Dr. Róisín Kennedy and Dr. Billy Shorthall. They will discuss how arts have influenced their approach to their work and academic writing. They will also discuss how they feel how the arts contribute to political debate.
To close the 2024 Hedge School, Dr Róisín Kennedy will give a talk on the Harry Clarke Window in St Michael and John’s Cathedral in Cloughjordan. She will speak about the artist, his life, his work and his style, giving her insights into this significant cultural asset.
Una Johnston, a Director at the Thomas McDonagh Museum says the 2024 Hedge School will be of “great interest to anyone interested in both cultural history and contemporary arts. Our speakers and events will reflect on themes of politics and the arts from the troubled years of The Irish Review’s existence to the present day.”
Tickets to the event can be purchased – here
