Saturday, March 15, 2014

SiarScéal Festival Roscommon 2014


SiarScéal Festival 2014 will take place on Saturday, 25 October in Roscommon Town. The festival, which celebrates the culture and heritage of the county of Roscommon, is now in its eight year.

The full programme of events, which have just been announced, includes morning and evening activities appealing to all ages and a wide range of interests, literary and cultural tastes. The main venue for the festival will be Roscommon County Library, Abbey Street, Roscommon Town.

Proceedings will commence with an official opening, presided over by County Librarian and festival patron, Richie Farrell, with the Mayor of Roscommon as invited guest.

This will be followed by the launch of the book, The Battle for Coman's Wood by Mario Corrigan, a work of historical fiction inspired by the students from Castleplunkett National School and Abbey National School, Roscommon.

The afternoon will see announcement of the winners of the Hanna Greally Literary Awards for 2014, entries for which are now being accepted. The closing date is Friday, 10 October. Entries may consist of poetry, prose, short stories (maximum 60 lines or 300 words) on any subject or theme.

 I was lucky enough to win this competition last year; picture of presentation by judge, Eleanor McGrath, above.

The annual Ger Hanily Memorial Cup, which forms part of the awards ceremony, will be awarded to the best entry on the theme of Coman's Wood.

The incentives for entrants to this years Hanna Greally Literary Awards, includes cash prizes, trophies and certificates. The overall winner will come away with a €1,000 publishing services package from The Manuscript Publisher, the Irish-based publishing solutions provider. The prize is designed for self-publishing authors and independent publishers. It will result in the winning entrant having his or her book published, in print and e-book format, with full editorial, design, ISBN registration, sales and marketing support.

In the afternoon, a writers workshop with Mario Corrigan will be hosted, on the subject of Writing for Children: Historical and Mythological Adventures.

The festival will conclude with an evening classical concert with recitals, to take place in St. Coman's Church of Ireland, Roscommon Town.

More information about SiarScéal Festival 2014, including the full Programme of Events and competition entry details for the Hanna Greally Literary Awards, are available from the festival website.

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