A Cháirde,

As we celebrate the 20th year of the festival from 5th to 8th October 2023, we invite you to join us in the beautiful historic town of Nenagh and the environs of Lough Derg to indulge your interest in the world of books and literature.

We have planned a fascinating series of events and bookings are now open.

I want to thank my very dedicated committee and volunteers for the huge effort they put in to make the festival happen. Special thanks to our principal funders/partners The Arts Council, Tipperary Co. Council, Creative Ireland, Nenagh Arts Centre, Nenagh Library, OPW and all our local sponsors and businesses, who make this a special weekend in our community. Thank you, whether you are a newcomer or a regular attendee, I hope you will have a weekend to remember full of inspiration, ideas and fun!

A léitheoirí is a scríbhneoirí, tá súil again go mbainfidh sibh sult as gach uile nóiméad den fhéile seo agus go mbeidh cuimhní áille agaibh agus sibh ár bhfágáil arís.

Geraldine McNulty

Chairperson and Festival Programmer

Festival Team

Geraldine McNulty, Chairperson / Programming

Catherine Lahiff, Secretary

Geraldine Cronin, Treasurer

Kate McGrath, Assistant treasurer

Committee members

Virginia O’Dowd, Margaret Folan, Ellen Whelan.

Cormac Kinsella, PR and Social Media

Odhran Ducie, Festival Photographer

A Message from Our Patron, Author Donal Ryan

I’m deeply honoured to have been asked to serve as patron to the Dromineer Nenagh Literary Festival. This part of the world is steeped in all forms of narrative art, and this annual celebration of storytelling and literature lifts our beautiful town, its verdant hinterlands, and the voices of its people onto a national and global stage.

This year, as every year, writers and artists from all over the world, from debutantes to household names, join local chroniclers and custodians of our rich histories and our endless vaults of stories in a celebration of the unifying power of creativity, the infinite potential of the arts to recognise, confront and offer solutions to the problems of this fracturing world, to generate empathy, and to create and sustain friendships and peace.

The massive waves of energy and passion required to bring about this convergence of light and beauty on our beloved home are generated by a small committee of incredibly dedicated and talented people. We all owe a debt of gratitude to the volunteers who, year after year, give so much of themselves to ensure that North Tipperary takes its place proudly among the festival destinations of the world. Thank you for your generosity, your tireless spirit, and for your wonderful work.

Festival Exhibition – River Traces

Throughout October 2023 at Nenagh Arts Centre DNLF commissioned artist, Bridget Flannery, to create our festival exhibition, inspired by words from Donal Ryan’s ‘The Queen of Dirt Island’. 

‘He couldn’t find a word that would explain their walks through the callaghs, following a path by the shallow stream that led from the village to the shore of the lake, and stopping there on a tiny half moon of shingle beach …’