17th October 2000

Email this Page |

The University of Ulster Magee College, the Waterside Development Trust and the Verbal Arts Centre have teamed up to launch an exciting new literary festival for north-west audiences this autumn.

The festival, called ‘The Gathering’, swings into action on Monday, 6 November 2000 for one week and features readings, book launches, book-making workshops, concerts and exhibitions, plus some of the finest artistic talent ever seen in the city.

The eclectic programme truly offers something for everyone: you can join the Bunch of Chancers for readings that are dastardly, delicious and daring; laugh at John Hegley, one of our most exciting comic poets fresh from his sell-out run at the Edinburgh Festival; tap your toes to some of Irish traditional music’s finest talents, Cahal Hayden and Martin O’Connor; hear the hilarious and best-selling author Pete McCarthy tell the tale of his personal odyssey finding all the pubs and bars called ‘McCarthy’s’ in Ireland; and for all scarlet dressers, there’s a chance to hear the renowned lecturer Owen Dudley Edwards offer his highly entertaining views on Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes - not for the faint-hearted!

The programme for ‘The Gathering’ draws on the varied expertise that exists within each of the partner organisations and provides a range of opportunities for adults and children to spectate and participate in events with artists who are the forefront of their various fields.

The events take place from Monday 6 – Saturday 11 November 2000 in venues throughout Londonderry including the Workhouse Museum and St Columb’s Park House in the Waterside area as well as Magee College and the Verbal Arts Centre.

Kate Bond, Arts Development Officer with the University of Ulster said, “This area has long been associated with a strong literary tradition and I am delighted that Magee College can play a part in bringing a new literary festival to local audiences.”

Jaci Wilde of the Waterside Development Trust added: “The Gathering is truly an event for all the communities in the North-West, it aims to celebrate the rich creative activities that underpin so much of the local life here.”

For further information, please contact:

Press Office Department of Communication and Development
Telephone: 028 9036 6178
Email: pressoffice@ulster.ac.uk