Swift Satire Festival, Trim

OK it's about to start - the Swift Satire Festival (the new official name) is being launched this evening at Trim Castle Hotel at 7.30. And then until Sunday evening a feast of events to suit everybody's taste.

One of the strengths (though it might actually be a weakness) of the festival is the wide range of different events. You need to check the website to see the full list.

This year a new feature is the Cinemobile, the mobile cinema, which will show the 1939 feature length cartoon version of Gulliver's Travels but also present day films like Snow White and the Huntsman. A nice juxtaposition is the successive showing of  The Dictator (Sasha Baron Cohen) and The Great Dictator (Charlie Chaplain).

There's a satire day all day Saturday in the comedy tent with many of Ireland's top comics performing and the usual Swift Round Table dinner and discussion on the Friday evening featuring many of those well-known commentators who pretend to know something about everything (a common Irish failing).

There's also a public day-long reading of Swift's Tale of a Tub and poetry reading in the streets of Trim. Just come along and join in.

I'm giving a public talk on Gulliver as a comic book hero in St Patrick's Cathedral, Loman St. at 5pm on Saturday. The cathedral is also hosting an exhibition of items associated with Jonathan Swift curated by William Dalton, a native of Trim who is now living in Dublin. It includes the altar silver Swift used at Laracor, Trim’s 18th century maces, historic editions of Gulliver’s Travels and much more. Opening hours 3-6pm on Friday and Saturday, 6th and 7th July, and at the end of the Guided Walk (11am start of walk) on Sunday, 8th July.

And then on Sunday the Bite of Satire - Sunday Lunch with the Battle of the Books and the final of the 5-minute drama competition. I'll be involved in both of those.

Phew!!