South Dublin County Council’s eighth annual Red Line Book Festival is “a celebration of all things literary, be it spoken, written, sung, played, illustrated or even just thought”. The festival, set to return from October 12th to 16th, is held primarily in South Dublin libraries and is comprised of competitions, readings, workshops and discussions. However, events will also be taking place in Tallaght’s Civic Theatre, RUA RED, St Enda’s Museum, Rathfarnham Castle, Timbertrove Cafe and the Chocolate Warehouse in Walkinstown, amongst other unique and intimate locations.
The appeal of the festival is diverse. In an interview with The University Times, the festival director, Domitilla Fagan, shared her anticipation that the events will provide an opportunity for “people of all ages to meet with first-class writers and poets”. A haiku poetry workshop is being held in Tallaght’s library and will be hosted by poet Diarmuid Fitzgerald, and “The Great Lucan Bake Off” will be taking place in Lucan’s library. Aside from the events designed to get everyone involved, the target audience of others are clear and cover a broad range.
Highlights of the festival include “An Evening with Ireland’s Finest Crime Writers” in the Civic Theatre and “Rebellion & Revolution in Dublin – Book Launch and History Panel” in Pearse Museum. Opportunities are also provided for young people’s abilities to be developed through the guidance of Ferdia MacAnna at Ballyroan library’s “Beginner’s Screenwriting” workshop and Vanessa Fox O’Loughlin’s class on getting published. RTÉ One’s “The Art of Storytelling on the Radio” class promises to be another highlight of the festival, and any college student with aspirations of a career in radio are encouraged to attend.
One of the biggest successes from the festival in previous years has been TEDxTallaght. This concept is based on the TED Talks series, a global set of conferences run by the private non-profit organisation, Sapling Foundation. Fans of the series flock in their masses to attend Tallaght’s own version each year. Fagan informed me that the upcoming event sold out in less than 24 hours and guarantees that it will be “a mind blowing evening with 12 speakers from many disciplines who each want to achieve a deeper understanding of the world”. This October, speakers will include Trinity graduates Kate Kotova and Denise Anderson Fitzsimons. Both women were supported by the Trinity Access Programme (TAP), which inspired their interest in social justice and motivated them to succeed in their future careers. The link between these talks and Trinity will ensure the interest of students and promises to convince the listeners of the importance of equal access for all in education and the business world.
The vast amount of free or very reasonably priced events is certainly commendable, along with how the County Council has made the most of available locations at its disposal. The festival is sure to be a success and will certainly manage to get people of all ages and backgrounds interested and involved in the literary world.
