Derry festival celebrates a shared love of words

More than 160 people enjoyed Culmore Literary Festival held during Good Relations Week, supported by Apex Housing Association.

Crowds descended on Culmore in Derry last week for the area’s annual Literary Festival, organised by Culmore Community Partnership and supported by Apex Housing Association (Apex) through the ‘Housing for All’ Shared Housing Programme.

The festival, which took place during Good Relations Week, saw an array of writers and poets from Derry read and talk about their works, including Jane Buckley, Sue Divin, Mícheál McCann and Feargal Friel. Celebrating the city’s rich literary tradition, the festival was enjoyed by more than 160 people and ended with a vibrant celebration event on Sunday 24 September featuring Irish and Ulster Scots music and dance.

Sean Carlin, Apex’s Good Relations Officer, said: “It was our pleasure to be involved in showcasing and celebrating local literary talent, whilst bringing people together from Culmore and beyond to share in an ongoing love of words. Our new shared housing development, Woodlands Avenue, is nearing completion in Culmore and we look forward to continuing our support for community initiatives like these, as part of our good relations plan for the local area.”

Una Cooper, Manager of Culmore Community Partnership, commented: “Our annual Literary Festival has become a highlight in our events calendar at Culmore Community Hub. We stayed local this year with a great line-up of very talented authors and poets who were born or have chosen Derry as their home. A big thank you to Apex for their funding support for the Literary Festival.”

Pictured at Culmore Literary Festival's closing event are Sir James Kee OBE and Georgina Kee and dancers from Sollus Highland Dancers; Una Cooper, Manager of Culmore Community Partnership; and Sean Carlin, Apex Good Relations Officer.

Culmore Literary Festival was supported by the Department for Communities and the Northern Ireland Housing Executive’s ‘Housing for All’ Shared Housing Programme. The Programme has its origins in the NI Executive Together: Building a United Community Strategy which reflects the Executive’s commitment to improving community relations and continuing the journey towards a more united and shared society.

Apex continues to work in partnership with local Advisory Group stakeholders, and with residents to develop its good relations plan for the Culmore area. £8m has been invested in the Woodlands Avenue shared housing development and associated five-year good relations plan.

The Woodlands Avenue good relations plan includes ‘bridging’ events which are delivered to the wider community to encourage a range of good relations outcomes which include arts and culture, health and wellbeing, education and training.

Culmore Literary Festival took place between Wednesday 20 September and Sunday 24 September, with all events held at Culmore Community Hub. The festival was also supported by Derry City & Strabane District Council and The National Lottery Community Fund.