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IRON MOUNTAIN 2023

INTRODUCTION

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LITERARY LIFE BLOOMS IN LEITRIM

Novelist Claire Keegan, UK prize-winning journalist Gary Younge and Kurdish-Irish-sportsman and author of 'Life Begins in Leitrim', Zak Moradi, were among the guests taking part in this year’s Iron Mountain Literature Festival in Carrick-on-Shannon on the weekend of October 6th to 8th.

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A recording of a special Iron Mountain Sunday Miscellany at the Dock Arts Centre on the evening of Friday October 6th and The John McGahern Memorial Lecture was given by Síobhra Aiken, lecturer in Queens University Belfast and author of 'Spiritual Wounds: Trauma, Testimony and the Irish Civil War'. Alongside the festival programme, Claire Keegan gave a series of seminars over the three days of the festival on ‘How Literature Works’, focusing on the writing of John McGahern.

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Also taking part in the festival was Saud Aldarra, author of the best-selling memoir 'I Don't Want to Talk about Home: A migrant's search for belonging', which was shortlisted for the Irish national book awards biography of the year. Her memoir was described by Roddy Doyle as 'powerful, fascinating and deeply moving - the book pushes aside our lazy images of human migration and refugees.'

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Ken Boyle and Tim Desmond, authors of ‘The Murder of Dr Muldoon’ on the case of the infamous killing of the local doctor in Mohill in March 1923, were guests at the festival, as was Irish-French writer Mary Byrne.

There was a boat trip on the River Shannon from Carrick on Shannon to Cootehall to visit the John McGahern Barracks and a session of readings and music at Skerry Rynn’s bar and grocers in Ballinaglera to coincide with the Ballinaglera Traditional Music Festival.

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