Claremorris novelist to feature at Headford community arts festival

A Mayo woman will feature at Headford’s ‘Something In The Water’ community arts festival next week. Elizabeth Reapy from Claremorris, who won the 2017 Rooney Prize for Irish Literature for her debut novel Red Dirt, and published her second novel, Skin, in 2019, will be in focus on Thursday, October 1. She will join fellow novelists Patrick Doherty and Alan McMonagle for an evening of conversation at The Angler’s Rest Hotel.

The festival is returning to the north Galway town for its fourth consecutive year, running from Wednesday, September 30, to Sunday, October 4. The five-day programme will bring music, theatre, literature, film, dance and visual art to venues across Headford. The festival programme is available here.

Hundreds of artists and entertainers will perform and engage across the festival, with thousands expected to turn out to participate in and experience the workshops, shows, exhibitions and demonstrations. Among the hands-on creative events are an ‘Everybody Has A Story’ workshop with storyteller and comedian Amy Walsh; a ‘Message In A Bottle’ children’s craft workshop; and a songwriting workshop with accomplished folk singer and musician Dave Clancy, from Corofin.

This year's programme includes a Beethoven bicentenary concert from the newly formed Kantos Quartet, and the first-ever live performance of composer Jamie Toomey's work with ConTempo Quartet.

There will also be a screening of short films from IFTA winner Eamon Little, and a visual arts programme curated entirely around the work of five female artists. Catering to all age groups and interests, there’s a full weekend of Irish-language events being run by Gaeilgeoirí Áth Cinn, as well as some gorgeous workshops for children and families, and so much more.

Local artist Kate Kelly will also undertake a fascinating audio-visual project in association with the festival. Her aim is to capture the mood of contemporary female voices in Ireland, allowing female participants to co-create an important socially engaged new work. Across four days of the festival, she will invite women of all ages to explore and record responses to the question: ‘Are female voices heard, and are female voices valued, in contemporary Irish society?’

The inaugural Something In The Water in 2023 was born out of Reimagine Headford, a 2021-2022 community project, exploring creative solutions to the demise of small towns, building disuse and dereliction. Local research found residents saw the arts as central to the town’s sense of place, and Something In The Water has spent four years successfully responding.

The festival is organised entirely by a volunteer committee of fewer than 10 people and is funded by the Arts Council and Galway County Council. It also distributes €4,000 in artist bursaries each year. Full programme details and bookings are available here.