Inaugural Banagher Brontë Festival coming soon

The Banagher Brontë Group’s inaugural Banagher Brontë Festival will be held over the weekend of Friday to Sunday, April 19-21. The group was formed in December 2023. Since then membership has been consolidated, the group has won the best new entry in the Banagher Patrick’s Day parade and has had a wonderfully successful trip to the Brontë Parsonage and environs in Haworth in Yorkshire. A well attired cast of twenty-two participated in the parade and 26 members travelled to Yorkshire.

The weekend will open on Friday, April 19, at 7pm with a premiére of An Evening with Charlotte Brontë devised specifically for the Banagher Brontë Group by Michael and Christine O’Dowd. The venue for this event is the Back Lounge of Corrigan’s Corner Pub. Seating is limited so come early to secure comfort. This presentation uses colourful slides to look at the works of Charlotte’s favourite writers, particularly Tom Moore and Robbie Burns. Scripts and lyrics will recall the songs and poems of her great favourites, many of which are familiar and still resonate in our ears today. As this is something of a gala occasion those choosing to come in their vintage finery are encouraged to do so. Registration is from 6.30pm, costs €10 and covers admission to all events over the weekend.

All events on Saturday will be held in Crank House starting at 11am with Joanne Wilcock’s talk called Falling in Love with Arthur. Joanne will explore the different opinions and feelings people had and still have about Charlotte Brontë’s husband, Arthur Bell Nicholls. She recalls how those who initially had negative views had been won over by his more positive aspects. So how will you be at the end of this presentation, on Team Arthur or elsewhere?

At midday Pauline Clooney will present Currer Bell's Silent Years 1852-1855, an examination of Charlotte Brontë's paths to publication and her attitude to a writing life, and how, consequently, this attitude illuminates her creative silence from 1852 until her death in 1855.

After lunch, at 2.30 p.m Maebh O’Regan will present The Art of Branwell Brontë. From their earliest years the Brontës were passionate about art and were particularly inspired by the wood engravings of Thomas Bewick. Branwell showed great promise as a portrait artist but he felt his true vocation was in literary composition and often his artistic skills were used for humorous sketches in letters to friends.

This will be followed by The Early Days of the B.B.G. short film by created by Maebh and Seanie O’Regan capturing some historic (and otherwise) moments of the early days of the Banagher Brontë Group. The day’s events will conclude with a short amble from Crank House up the Main Street to view the various works of art and displays in local shop windows which have been created by local artists and Brontë enthusiasts finishing with a close look at Sheila Hough’s portraits in Johnny Hough’s musical pub.

Proceedings will resume on Sunday morning at 11am. with a short walk from Saint Paul’s Church on the Hill to Cuba to look at the remains of the Royal School of Banagher. Matters will draw to a close with coffees and teas in Nicola Daly’s guest house, Charlotte’s Way, at 12.30pm. Here James Scully will give a brief reappraisal of the group’s progress so far, underlining the need for firmer structures and tighter organisation for the rest of the year.

Further enquiries to James Scully 085 710 7569, Nicola Daly 087 689 2462, or Seán Corrigan 087 221 0067.