Festival Guests

Aonghas MacNeacail, a native Gael from the Isle of Skye, now resident in the Scottish Borders, writes poetry in Gaelic and in English. Poetry accolades include Scots Writer of the Year, and his writing has taken him as far afield as the Arctic Circle, the Dead Sea, the Capitol in Rome, and the UN in New York among other venues. His many visits to Ireland over three and a half decades have always been a delight to him. A seasoned performer and songwriter, he enjoys engaging with audiences whenever he meets them.

 

Gerda Stevenson
Trained at RADA, where she won the Vanbrugh award, she is a writer of drama, a published poet, and has performed on stage, film, television and radio throughout Britain and internationally. Gerda has worked extensively in radio, and currently plays Steve Temple in the hugely popular Paul Temple Mysteries (BBC Radio 4). She was Sean McGinley’s screen wife in Braveheart (therefore Mel Gibson’s mother-in-law). Television credits include Heartbeat (ITV) and she holds a BAFTA Best Film Actress Award for Blue Black Permanent (VIZ Films). Her full bio is available on www.gerdasteveson.co.uk

 

Dr Brian Lacey studied Celtic Archaeology and Early Irish History at UCD (1971-74); in 1999 he was awarded a D.Phil from the University of Ulster for work on St Colum Cille. He lectured at Magee College, Derry (1974-86) and later headed Derry City Council’s Heritage and Museum Service. In the mid 1970’s he directed a series of salvage excavations at bomb-sites in Derry, and in 1980-83 directed the archaeological survey of County Donegal. Since May 1998 he has been CEO of The Discovery Programme - Ireland’s institute for advanced archaeological research. He has written eight books (including two on Colum Cille) as well as many academic and popular articles.

 

Seoirse Ó Dochartaigh
Donegal-based artist & musician Seoirse Ó Dochartaigh has exhibited throughout Ireland, Scotland, France, Germany, Holland, Austria, and the USA. His first major one-man show, called ‘Oíche go Maidín’, in 1993 in the Duke Gallery, Dublin was a revelation to many including Méabh Ní Chléirigh who also assessed the works of Louis le Brocquy. Music is also a persistent theme in Ó Dochartaigh’s work.

Other Guests Include

Joe Kelly			Deirdre Brennan