It is always one of the most notable events on the city’s cultural calendar. The 39th annual Cúirt International Festival of Literature is taking place in Galway from April 23rd to 28th, 2024, and we can barely contain our excitement!
There is always a great focus on public readings and performance, and those attending will have the opportunity to hear poetry, fiction, and to listen to many of Ireland’s established and up and coming writers discuss their work and their craft. This year promises to be one of the best that Cúirt has to offer for the discerning literature fan, six days of a brilliant, diverse roster of events. If you’re partial to poetry, fiction, nonfiction, or attending informative talks or workshops, there’s something for everyone.
Tickets are available at the Cúirt website.
Here is a list of some of the events taking place that caught our eye:
Poems for Patience Launch – Galway University Hospital Tue 23rd April, 1pm
There’ll be a great start to the festival with the exhibition launch of this year’s Poems for Patience. The event is in association with Saolta Arts. Everyone involved hopes that the poems on show will bring strength, hope and time to reflect to those who read them. It’s always a lovely event, so pop by if you have time. Admission is free.
New Writing Showcase – Mick Lally Theatre, Tues 23rd April 5.30pm
This is a great opportunity to hear the work of new and emerging writers, selected from the Over the Edge literary series and Skyliht 47 magazine’s Open Window project, as well as the winners of the annual Cuirt New Writing Prize. This is always a great showcase for new and emerging talent, so get on down to the Mick Lally Theatre, it’ll make for a good evening! Admission is free, but you’ll need to register online for a ticket.
Frames of Reference: Literary Journals – Wed 24th April 10.30am
Ireland has a thriving culture of literary journals, one that is diverse and presents a great range of innovative work, from new voices and our best established writers. Join Lisa McInerny from The Stinging Fly, and Emily Cooper and Dean Fee from The Pig’s Back for a discussion on the culture of literary journals, their development, and the challenges of publishing and editing fiction and non – fiction.
Poetry: Miriam Gamble, Nick Laird and Brenda Shaughnessy – Mick Lally Theatre, Wed 24th April, 5pm
Lovers of poetry are in for a treat on the 24th! The Mick Lally Theatre will host three vastly talented poets reading their work. Their work is daring and distinctive and they are fearless in exploring the inner landscapes of the heart and mind, and the changing swirl of the world around them.
Miriam Gamble’s most recent collection, What Planet, was published by Bloodaxe in May 2019 and received the 2020 Pigott Poetry Prize. It is a striking collection that flits from dreams to wakefulness, and examines themes of home, displacement and ecology.
Nick Laird’s most recent collection, Up Late, was published in 2023 and its brilliantly ambitious and questing title poem was the winner of the 2022 Forward Prize for Best Single Poem. As was evidenced in Listowel last year, he’s a superb reader.
Brenda Shaughnessy’s work is playful, gently poking and teasing out the truths of our world. Her most recent collection, Tanya, was published by Bloodaxe in 2023. Her 2012 collection, Our Andromeda, was named a Library Journal “Book of the Year,” and one of The New York Times’s “100 Best Books of 2013.”
So, it promises to be a superb, head swirling evening of poetry. We’ll see you there! Tickets are priced at 10 euro.
University of Galway: Masters in Creative Writing Showcase – MacNeill’s Pub, The Hardiman Hotel, Eyre Square, Thurs 25th April, 2pm
This will be another great opportunity to listen to the work of some exciting new literary talents from the University of Galway’s Creative Writing Program. Students will read from works in progress covering the range of fiction, non – fiction and poetry. The event will be introduced by Elaine Feeney, Lecturer in Creative Writing, University of Galway. Admission is free, but you’ll need to register online for a ticket.
Open Mic – MacNeill’s Pub, The Hardiman Hotel, Eyre Square, Thurs 25th April, 7pm
This is the perfect event for writers of all stripes, whether just beginning or anxious to test out some new work or read something that you’ve been keeping on ice for just such an occasion. Sign up at the door, places will be limited. Admission is free.
Elaine Feeney: All Good Things You Deserve Launch – Mick Lally Theatre, Thurs 25th April 6.30pm
One of Galway’s great poets will be launching her newest collection, All Good Things You Deserve, in conversation with fellow poet Susannah Dickey at Galway’s Mick Lally Theatre. Feeney has long been one of our most daring poets, challenging and gloriously flexible with poetic form. Her corpus of work is unflinchingly personal and honest. This is poetry about women’s lives, bodies, battles and triumphs. Tickets are priced at 16/20 Euro.
Poetry Reading: Leontia Flynn, Erika Meitner and Scott McKendry – Mick Lally Theatre, Fri 26th April 4.00pm
The feast of poetry continues further on the afternoon of Friday 26th, at the Mick Lally Theatre. Lucky attendees will get to hear the work of three brilliant poets, whose work is innovative, witty and fascinating.
Leontia Flynn’s fifth collection, Taking Liberties, has been described as a book that takes ‘swings at the idea of the poem itself. These poems are necessary, they are brave, bleak, funny and fiercely intelligent.’
Scott McKendry’s debut, Gub, has been described as ‘noisy, dark and witty’, poems that ‘examine generational trauma, social decay and the rituals of a place with a fraught history and an uncertain future.’
Erika Meitner’s sixth collection, Useful Junk, has been described as a collection that ‘affirms that we are made of every intimate moment that we have ever had, and that our desire is what keeps us alive.’
This promises to be another excellent occasion for hearing innovative, heartwarming, and darkly witty poems. See you there! Tickets are priced at 8/10Euro.
Ropes Launch – Oyster Bar, The Hardiman Hotel, Eyre Square, Fri 26th April, 6pm
The 32nd edition of Ropes Literary Journal will be launched at Cuirt, painstakingly put together by University of Galway’s Masters of Literature and Publishing class. The latest issue will feature well known names and new, emerging talents. All proceeds from the new edition go to the Galway Simon Community, and admission to the launch is free.
Lemn Sissay: Let the Light Pour In – Town Hall Theatre, Fri 26th April 8.30pm
Friday April 26th brings another notable evening, as BAFTA nominated writer and broadcaster Lemn Sissay reads from his latest collection, Let the Light Pour In. Composed of short poems, written at dawn over the last decade, it is a warm and life affirming collection, aware of darkness both inner and outer, and the necessity to celebrate each day and each life. It should be an evening that is joyous and uplifting. Tickets are priced at 16/20 Euro.
Young Writer Delegates Showcase – MacNeill’s Pub, The Hardiman Hotel, Eyre Square, Sat 27th April, 12.00 noon
This will be year seven of the Irish Writers Centre Young Writer Delegates Programme partnering with the Cúirt Festival. Delegates will share their creative work at this showcase, so those attending will have another opportunity to hear the work of new, up and coming talent. Admission is free.
Paul lynch: Prophet Song – Town Hall Theatre, Sat 27th April 5.30pm
This should draw quite a crowd. Paul Lynch is the sixth Irish writer to win the Booker Prize, in 2023 for his latest novel, Prophet Song. Set in an Ireland collapsing into a fascist autocracy, the book is a brilliantly written study of a country, and a democracy, in peril. It is an unflinching and pertinent work that addresses the tense and potentially dangerous times that we live in. Mr. Lynch will be in conversation with Paula Shields from RTE’s Arena program. Tickets are priced at 16/20 Euro.
Poetry Reading: Susannah Dickey, Elaine Feeney, Rita Ann Higgins and Jackie Kay – Town Hall Theatre, Sun 28th April 7.30pm
This will be a wonderful conclusion for Cúirt. Four outstanding poets will share the stage to read their work. There will be poetry that explores the self, the emotional landscapes of the poet; there will be poems of humour and of grief, poems to thrill the listener and show the world around them in clear sight.
Rita Ann Higgins and Elaine Feeney are two of Galway’s most celebrated and respected poets. Their work is both a celebration and witness to life in the West of Ireland, as well as deeply personal explorations of the personal, inner life.
Susannah Dickey’s debut collection, ISDAL, is a shortlisted entry for the Forward prize for First Collection; it marks the arrival of a vital and protean new talent.
May Day is the newest collection from Scottish poet Jackie Kay, a work that explores grief and life’s wrought changes, as well as love and celebration.
This will be a great evening of poetry, and a lovely way for you to sign off your adventures at Cúirt. Tickets are priced at 16/20 Euro.
Full details and all events may be found at http://www.cuirt.ie
Galway Literary Events 
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