IRELAND could soon get its first “book town” thanks to inspiration from Wigtown Book Festival.
Granard in County Longford aims to raise £20,000 for its inaugural literary festival.
Wigtown has been hailed as the “perfect model for arts-based economic regeneration”.
The Galloway community became “Scotland’s National Book Town” in 1998.
Its ten-day Wigtown Book Festival begins on Friday and runs until 2 October.
Writer and producer John Connell and Ronan O’Toole, who runs the “Still Voices” international short film festival at Ballymahon in County Longford, are behind Granard’s bid.
Connell said: “I was in Wigtown in 2018 and I was just blown away by the whole book town model and how it had helped rejuvenate the town – attracting bookshops and book-related businesses, and creating a festival that has an international reputation, in a small rural town.
“It has turned Wigtown into a centre of the arts with people coming from all over to attend the festival.
“We don’t have a book town in Ireland and Granard would be ideal. It’s a beautiful place with lots of history and character, it’s in easy reach of places like Dublin – and it would really benefit
from economic regeneration.
“I kept in touch with Wigtown Book Festival director Adrian Turpin and he gave us lots of advice and insights – so Wigtown became a Bible for us as we figured out the way ahead.”
Turpin, who is the artistic director at The Wigtown Festival Company, added: “As Wigtown’s experience shows, book towns have the potential to transform the economic and cultural outlooks for small rural communities.
“I suspect that Granard will have huge success with this project, which can do so much both for the town and the whole of Ireland – a country with a phenomenal literary tradition.”
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