Guests
John Boyne
John Boyne was born in Dublin and studied English Literature at Trinity College Dublin, and Creative Writing at the University of East Anglia, Norwich.
He has published 14 novels for adults, 6 novels for younger readers, and a short story collection. The Boy in The Striped Pyjamas was a New York Times no.1 Bestseller and adapted for a feature film, a play, a ballet and an opera, selling more than 11 million copies worldwide.
Published in 58 languages, among John Boyne’s many international bestsellers are The Heart’s Invisible Furies, A Ladder to the Sky and My Brother’s Name is Jessica. His 14th adult novel, All the Broken Places, a sequel to The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, was published in 2022 in the UK. The translations followed in 2023.
Anne Griffin
Anne Griffin is the author of the bestselling novels Listening Still and When All Is Said. The author’s third novel The Island of Longing was published to critical acclaim in April 2023.
Winner of the Irish Book Awards Newcomer of the Year 2019, Anne Griffin’s work has been longlisted for the Dublin Literary Award and shortlisted for the John McGahern Annual Book and RSL Christopher Bland prizes.
The author’s books are published in twenty-five territories, including Germany and France. Anne Griffin's short works have been published in, amongst others, The Observer, The Irish Times and The Stinging Fly, and read on BBC Radio 4. Born in Dublin, Anne now lives in Westmeath, Ireland.
Photo credit: Adam Lowry
Padraig Rooney
Padraig Rooney’s The Gilded Chalet: Off-piste in Literary Switzerland was described in the TLS as “Brilliant. Thoroughly absorbing.” Winner of the Patrick Kavanagh award, the Strokestown poetry prize and two Irish Arts Council bursaries, he has published three books of poetry. A bilingual selection appeared from Wolfbach (Zurich) titled Angelandet / Landing Craft in 2017.
A long-time resident of Basel, now living in France, Padraig Rooney has translated the American journalism of the Swiss writer Annemarie Schwarzenbach and is writing her biography.
Nuala O’Connor
Nuala O’Connor is an Irish writer. Her fifth novel Nora (New Island), about Nora Barnacle and James Joyce, was a Top 10 historical novel in the New York Times and the One Dublin One Book for 2022. Nora was published to critical acclaim in the USA, Ireland, the UK, Germany, Croatia, Estonia, and the Netherlands, and is forthcoming in other languages.
Nuala curated the Ulysses 100 exhibition at MoLI, – Love, Says Bloom. She won Irish Short Story of the Year at the 2022 Irish Book Awards and is editor-in-chief at flash e-journal Splonk. Her novel, Blue Rush, about eighteenth century Irish pirate Anne Bonny, will be published in 2024.
Sarah Moore Fitzgerald
Sarah Moore Fitzgerald is a novelist, professor of pedagogy and an award-winning teacher at the University of Limerick (UL) with a particular interest in creativity. She has researched extensively on the writing process across a range of contexts, and uses her training in psychology and pedagogy to shed light on how writers can nourish and develop their creative practice.
Her first novel, Back to Blackbrick, was published in 2013 and adapted for the stage at the Edinburgh Festival and in London’s West End. Author of seven novels in total, her fiction has been translated into over eighteen languages, including French and German.
Sarah Moore Fitzgerald has won Ireland's Jack Harte Award and has been shortlisted for many other literary prizes including the Waterstones Prize, The Irish Book Awards and the CBI children's book of the year.
CREATIVE WRITING WORKSHOP
Craft, creativity and commitment: key principles in creative writingThis workshop will take participants through a range of important techniques and processes that will support and inform their creative writing. We'll explore how writers get started, how they defy and respect their inner editors (in equal measure) and how they gain momentum in their writing projects. Sarah will also outline some of the key principles of storytelling, and she'll share ideas about how creative writers can move from the blank page to a polished, final piece. The workshop will include some evidence-based approaches to developing an effective approach to creative writing, prompts and exercises that participants will complete in real time, and a series of takeaways that will support participants in finding ways to write creatively with more pleasure and more success.
Tickets on sale August 22. Space is limited.
www.sarahMooreFitzgerald
Anne-Claire Michoux
PUBLIC LECTURE: Novel Forms: Irish Women's Fiction Today
Irish women writers are, and have been for a long time, driving forces of the publishing industry. Why is their work so appealing to the public? In what ways are they changing the literary scene? From established novelists such as Nuala O'Connor and Anne Enright to the more recent work of Anne Griffin and Louise Kennedy, Anne-Claire Michoux’s presentation will discuss how contemporary Irish women writers are experimenting with and pushing the boundaries of the novel. The talk will also address the benefits and pitfalls of the category "women's writing".
Anne-Claire Michoux is a postdoctoral researcher at the English Department of the University of Zurich. She trained at the universities of Oxford and York before moving to Switzerland. She specialises in eighteenth- and nineteenth-century women's writing. She has a keen interest in Irish women's fiction, from Edna O'Brien and Eimear McBride to Marian Keyes and the Aisling series.
Lecture in English, Free entry. University of Fribourg, Avenue de l’Europe.
Shane Walshe
PUBLIC LECTURE: Hibernia and Helvetia on the global stage
At first glance, Switzerland and Ireland have little in common. One is a landlocked country in the heart of Europe, the other is “an island behind an island” on the edge of the continent – a nation which has famously been described as “closer to Boston than Berlin”. However, as two neutral, multilingual countries with open economies, these small nations are similar in many ways, frequently punching above their weight in international rankings and stepping out of the shadow of their larger neighbours. This talk will explore how these two countries successfully position themselves in the global arena, in terms of their cultural, political and economic identities.
Dr. Shane Walshe is a lecturer at the English Department of the University of Zurich and a board member of the Swiss Centre of Irish Studies at the James Joyce Foundation Zurich.
He studied English and German at the National University of Ireland, Galway and received his PhD in English Linguistics from the University of Bamberg, Germany. He has taught at the universities of Bamberg, Bern and Zurich.
Lecture in English, Free entry. University of Fribourg, Avenue de l’Europe.
Music & Dance
The Dixie Micks
The ultimate party band with a repertoire consisting of furious traditional dance tunes, favourite Irish songs and a dash of contemporary material, the Dixie Micks have been entertaining audiences at home and abroad for over fourteen years. Fronted by singer/guitarist Mick McNamara, the quartet is completed by Garry O’Meara on banjo, Paul Kelly on the fiddle and Alan Doherty on flute and whistles. The Dixie Micks are well known on the Irish festival circuit, having played at many locations in the United States, in England, Scotland, Denmark, Spain and elsewhere.
The Dixie Micks "Short Dutch Tour" - YouTube
The Dixie Micks- Arrol Suite, Guinness Storehouse on Vimeo
The Dixie Micks will be playing at La Spirale on Saturday evening . Pre-purchase of tickets is required through La Spirale. Tickets are on sale now.
The Celtic Cello
Trained as a classical musician, Clíodhna Ní Aodáin has hit the high notes in the classical world. She is a solo performer, a passionate and compassionate teacher, a composer and a conductor of two orchestras in Bern, where she has lived for many years.
The Celtic Cello is the creation of Clíodhna Ní Aodáin. Her one woman show has the feel of both a grand theatrical performance and a visit with a cherished friend. Drawing her audience in with the low hum and cadence of a drone, she layers tone upon tone, from slow and sombre to joyous jigs.
Combining the traditional melodies of Ireland and Scotland with harmonies that speak of a more classical heritage, Clíodhna brings together tunes that all have stories to tell — stories of love, separation, nature and the cycle of life. https://www.thecelticcello.com/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yAV_Hqm6R-w
The Celtic Cello will be playing on Sunday, 8 October. Pre-purchase of tickets is required. Tickets go on sale through Fribourg Tourisme on August 22. This event is expected to sell out, book early.
O'Kelly Irish Dance Academy CANCELLED
With a unique blend of uncompromising power and grace, the O'Kelly Irish Dance Academy sends a consistent message of female empowerment with a repertory that has elevated the art form of traditional Irish dancing over 10 years in Mainland Europe. Watch this authentic, heartwarming and uplifting dive into the O'Kelly Academy's mission, their latest vision "Fire ON Fire", to carve new traditions for an ancient and beloved art form.
https://www.okelly-academy.at/
CANCELLED DUE TO COVID
The Second Last Leprechaun
Born under a banshee’s spell years ago on a foggy March evening in a medieval alley of Fribourg, this group has Irish blood in their veins and a great deal of passion for the
music of the Emerald Isle in their hearts.
The Second Last Leprechaun will be playing Friday, October 7, 21:30 at Banshees’ Lodge
Free entry, pass-the-hat collect
Trad Session at Banshees' Lodge
In Ireland, the pubs are known for their legendary traditional music sessions, whose popularity has endured for generations. These relaxed, open-invitation concerts create a lively and friendly atmosphere. The Banshees' Lodge regularly hosts locally-based Swiss and Irish musicians for sessions. The pub located in the historic Old Town of Fribourg will host a special session for the festival. Join us for the final celebratory event of the Irish Festival Fribourg/Freiburg!
The Irish Trad Sessions will be playing at Banshees' Lodge on Sunday! Free entry, but as is tradition, there will be a hat passed for support of the musicians.