Festival - 2008
"Are the media above the law?"
More info on the 2008 festival
Post Event Report 2008
24 June 2008.
Opening night Friday May 30th at Rustic Inn Abbeyshrule was a full house and a great success. A total of €800.00 was taken on the door and with non paying invitees and committee members the total in attendance was in excess of 100 people. Paul Reynolds RTE crime correspondent officially opened the festival and in his address spoke of the constraints applied to public service broadcasters, and contrasted those constraints with the latitude and license indulged in and exploited by less scrupulous members of the print media some of whom he described as scurrilous and indeed were published not only in the tabloid press but also in the longer established broadsheets.
Kevin Myers gave the keynote address broadly on the festivals theme "Are the media above the law ? " He referred to his controversial article on mothers of bastards --his words - written I believe somewhat tongue in cheek. He asserted that he had not previously spoken publicly on the matter and became quite emotional when he spoke of his trial by media and the vitriol and obloquy to which not only himself but also members of his extended family were subjected. He also queried the hysteria which surrounded the original article apparently being completely unaware of the extreme sensitivity of the B word believing as indeed I do that, that sensitivity if not, should be a relic of a bygone era. Subsequent to Kevin Myers talk meaningful and thought provoking contributions were made by the audience. The rest of the evening passed in quite conversation about the talks with enjoyable traditional music played in the background.
Saturday mornings debate revisited some of the issues raised on Friday night. Mary O'Rourke implied that a media hostile to a candidate locally or even a political party nationally can by disgracefully ignoring obligations of journalists to be impartial and objective, effectively interfere with the democratic process. I agree. There should be no place for ageism in politics.
Michael Commane columnist with Irish Times spoke of his travails as subeditor of The Kerryman. He referred humorously to monumental embarrassments experienced due to newspaper misprints causing invasion of privacy and subsequent litigation and retribution.
James Bannon T.D. at short notice substituted for the unavailable Denis Naughten and delivered a well researched paper on privacy and the law. Ciaren Mullooley concurred with much of what Paul Reynolds had said the previous night and stressed the public sector journalists obligation to be fair and impartial in each and every report and comment.
Saturday afternoon’s bus tour of Goldsmith Country with comment by historian Cecil English and poetry recitations by committee members was thoroughly enjoyable and elicited very favourable comment.
Late Saturday afternoons session on comic Irish writing was enlighting and entertaining with the three contributors extolling the wit and humour of Irish writers from Goldsmith (talk by Declan McCormack ) to Flann o Brien to Hugh Leonard and indeed many others too numerous to recall ( contributions by Cormac McConnell and Frank McNally). Saturday concluded with a nights great craic and mighty ceol.
The Poetry competition for 2008 attracted in excessof 700 entries and had a prize fund of over €1300. Prizes were presented during an afternoon of poetry readings music, wine and cheese, on Sunday in Pallas birthplace of Oliver Goldsmith in 1728. This was thoroughly enjoyable and worthwhile. The festival closed with a late evening of music and song in the Rustic Inn Abbeyshrule. That great songwriter, talented musician Tom Moore present to be presented with a poetry prize joined in the singsong with gusto and on parting the company to return to Dublin stated that he intended returning in 2009 and might even write a new song for the occasion.