Mayo's Wild Atlantic Words Literary Festival is up and running
The tenth Wild Atlantic Words Literary Festival has been launched in Castlebar to a capacity audience.
The opening session was presented by Sean Lysaght, poet and prose writer, and Lisa Clancy, insect photographer.
They both presented extracts from their books 'Unveiling the Sun' and 'Insect Portraits', respectively, followed by audience questions and discussion.
For over 20 years, Seán Lysaght has kept a journal recording wildlife, weather, landscape and the outdoor life in his adopted county.
Unveiling the Sun: A Mayo Journal is a
compilation of these entries into a single calendar year, from the precious crucible of January’s winter light, through the idyll of midsummer, to the keen focus of shortening autumn days.
As in his earlier books, Eagle Country and Wild Nephin, Seán celebrates the seashores, bogs and forests of north-west Mayo as well as the living world in his own locality near Westport.
The whole builds up to what Robert Macfarlane has called a ‘topography of self’, where, as Seán puts it, ‘A cherished landscape becomes a realm of potential not only for what it adds to general knowledge, but for what it reveals in ourselves.’
Seán is a poet and prose writer who has been living near Westport for over 30 years. Originally from Limerick, he taught for many years at the Castlebar campus of GMIT (now ATU).
Gallery Press has published seven collections of his poems and translations, including The Mouth of a River (2007), Carnival Masks (2014), New Leaf (2022) and Selected Poems (2010).
He has been hailed by Thomas McCarthy, in Dublin Review of Books, as ‘one of the most accomplished and established voices of his poetic generation.’
His biography of the naturalist Robert Lloyd Praeger was published by Four Courts Press in 1998.
Lisa Clancy is an insect photographer and nature enthusiast based in Galway City.
Her passion for the natural world began early and guided her academic journey, starting with a BSc in Zoology from the University of Galway, followed by an MSc in Biological Photography and Imaging from Nottingham University, and culminating in a PhD in Insect Behaviour from Aberystwyth University in Wales in 2015.
Lisa currently works as a research integrity manager at Compuscript in Shannon.
Insect Portraits is a captivating collection of portrait-style photographs that reveals the remarkable ‘personalities’ of (mostly) Irish insects and offers a glimpse into the fascinating world of scientific research using these extraordinary creatures.
From bomb-sniffing moths to bacteria threatening to feminise entire insect populations, and flies that have lost their ability to hunt yet still need to present a dead insect as a nuptial gift – along with the ingenious, almost comical strategies they’ve developed to overcome this evolutionary misstep – this collection promises to transform how you see insects, if you’re not already a fan.
Shot in the stunning Burren region of County Clare and surrounding counties, this book celebrates the natural world while unveiling the rich, often surprising, and entertaining lives of insects – creatures so easily overlooked.
At a time of devastating biodiversity collapse, it serves as a powerful reminder of the value of these misunderstood beings, nuisance as they can sometimes be, by showcasing their charm and unexpected lighter side.
The second session was hosted by Professor Brian Dornan, who presented an illustrated lecture based on his acclaimed new book, "Mayo's Wild Atlantic Islands - The Inishkeas".
The Inishkea Islands, North and South, are two low-lying islands off the Mullet Peninsula in Mayo.
Archaeological research and extensive field walking has revealed a prehistoric landscape, little known, that reaches back at least 4,000 years into the Bronze Age and perhaps even earlier.
The field work by Professor Dornan has shown Bronze Age burial sites, such as possible wedge tombs and single burials, house sites, field systems and a large amount of pottery.
There is also an extensive early medieval landscape dating probably from the seventh/eighth century to the twelfth century.
This includes an early medieval monastic settlement with some exquisite cross slabs.
There is also considerable evidence for Viking period activity on the islands, perhaps resulting in the eventual abandonment by the religious community.
There is also evidence for a possible eleventh-century church and community.
It is also of interest how the community of the last two hundred years incorporated folklore regarding these sites and recognised and respected this pre-existing prehistoric and historic landscapes.
Excavations that took place on the North Island in the 1930/’40s, soon after the islands were abandoned, also reveal a fascinating insight into archaeological thinking at the time and uniquely included members of the former islanders in the excavation team.
These were the only excavations that were undertaken on the islands and no comprehensive field survey has been done before.
The festival continues this evening at 6 p.m. when the Linenhall World Book Club remembers Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o, a giant of Africian literature.
The session will be hosted by Michael Minassie.
It will be followed, at 7 p.m. by a storytelling session by members of the Linenhall Storytelling Circle, the event being hosted by Carolyn Claire Mitchell.
The highlight of today's festival is Ballina undertaker and author David McGowan in conversation with broadcaster Aidan Crowley at 8 p.m.