Family affair for Margaret's 85th

It was all about family coming together to help Margaret Brosnan, Coolagown, Listowel, to celebrate her 85th birthday with family on Sunday afternoon.

Margaret was joined in Behan’s Horseshoe Bar, Listowel at 1pm by ten of her eleven children for dinner including daughter Marian, who travelled from Rockchapel, son DJ from Listowel who was joined by his wife Noreen and their son David, daughter Peggy, son Michael both also living in Listowel, daughter Anne and her husband Sean from Co. Clare, son Patrick who travelled from Co. Meath, daughter Helen and her husband Farnan who travelled from Co. Mayo, son Tom and his partner Mags who came from as far as London, daughter Betty and her husband Patrick from Co. Clare and their three children Eoghan, Gavin and Zara, as well as daughter Verona and her husband Con from Listowel with their sons Neilus, Darragh and Kieran. Unfortunately Margaret’s daughter Noreen wasn’t able to join them on the day as she’s living in Melbourne but hopes to celebrate with her mom when she arrives for a visit next month.

Writers get the right advice

Listowel Writers’ Week in association with Kerry County Council and The Irish Writers’ Centre held a very innovative workshop on Saturday, to help writers connect better with their audience.

Entitled ‘Mindshift: The Connected Writer’, it was held in the Seanchaí Listowel, for emerging and established writers from 11am to 4pm.

The event featured Máire Logue from LWW in conversation with Dani Gill former director of Cúirt International Festival of Literature and advisor of Galway Capital of Culture 2020, and Patrick Cotter of the Munster Literature Centre, who spoke about what it takes to organise a festival and how best writers should approach festivals should they wish to do a reading or give a lecture or indeed a creative writing workshop.