Main Programme

Introductions | Céadlinte is a showcase of  14 of the most exciting new poets writing in English and Irish on the island of Ireland today. Stepping to the stage with work that is fresh, accomplished, and fully formed, these poets represent the electrifying future of Irish poetry. This year’s Introductions poets were selected by Tara Bergin and […]

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What story would you tell people if asked to deliver your best? What yarn or anecdote from your own life are you certain would captivate an audience? A sad one, a sentimental one, hilarious, profound, mysterious, bizarre? We are excited to invite you to our DBF After Dark Festival Club, where Holy Show’s Peter McNamara […]

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Through a series of guided restorative yoga poses you will be led into a deep state meditative reflection.  During these moments of silent thought writer and poet, Dani Gill, will read passages from her new volume of writings, Lessons in Kindness (Salmon Poetry). These seeds of thought will allow you to reflect on the people […]

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Join us for a lively and engaging morning of book chat with some of Ireland’s most exciting contemporary authors. Breda Brown will be in conversation with Anne Griffin about her latest novel The Island of Longing (Hachette), a haunting story about love, grief and hope that endures. Eoin will also be joined by Una Mannion in […]

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In Wild Ireland (The O’Brien Press) author and photographer Carsten Krieger takes us on a journey across Ireland to explore the nature we pass by every day, and that which is buried deep in the bog, high in the mountains and under crashing waves. Discover alpine flowers blooming in the Burren, meet ferocious anemones on […]

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Leading Irish photographer Barry McCall was commissioned to capture a series of portraits of some of our DBF23 authors, poets and illustrators, for a feature which has just been published in the Sunday Independent’s Life Magazine. Visit our Festival Hub at The Printworks, Dublin Castle, across the weekend of Saturday 11th and Sunday 12th November […]

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In this reflective and enriching memoir First Quarter (The Lilliput Press), John Tuomey navigates the places and memories of his life over the scope of twenty-five years. First recognised for the urban regeneration of Dublin’s Temple Bar, which included the construction of the Irish Film Institute, the National Photographic Archive and Gallery of Photography, his […]

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Join us for a tour of Ireland’s first public library. Founded in 1707, Marsh’s Library has welcomed readers such as James Joyce, Bram Stoker and Jonathan Swift. Still an operating library today, you can see the original 18th Century interior, our bullet books from the 1916 Easter Rising and the cages where readers were locked […]

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Starting off in the historic surrounds of Dublin Castle, join Pat Liddy or one of his expert guides on a tour of the city to learn about some of the most famous writers associated with Dublin, from the 18th century to today. You will receive a map of Dublin which is illustrated by Pat Liddy […]

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Join us for a morning of poetry as writer Dani Gill discusses their debut collections with poets Majella Kelly and Mark Ward. The Speculations of Country People (Penguin) by Majella Kelly reckons with the legacy of Ireland’s mother and baby homes, tracing the journeys of women in our own day, from controlling relationships to sexual […]

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Mount Pleasant Square is the most charming and sleepy of Dublin’s Georgian squares. Completed in the 1830s, this elegant refuge is within walking distance of Grafton Street. Author of A Little History of Dublin (Merrion Press) and museum founder Trevor White leads an exclusive walking tour for the festival. Discover the secrets of a great […]

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Join a unique walking tour of the historic neighbourhood of Dublin 8 led by Irish poet Julie Morrissy, which follows her work as the first Poet-in-Residence at the National Library of Ireland. Beginning at St James’s Church where Áine and Eamonn Ceannt were married in 1905, the tour will visit the historic neighbourhood of Ceannt […]

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