_A Gaelic version of Frank McCourt’s, Angela’s Ashes,
is to be launched in New York.

The Irish language publication of the Pulitzer Prize winning memoir will be launched at the Irish Consulate, at 5:30-7:30p.m., on 15th November, as part of Imagine Ireland, Culture Ireland’s year of Irish arts in America.
A Gaelic version of Frank McCourt’s, Angela’s Ashes, is to be launched in New York.

Angela’s Ashes has sold millions of copies and been translated into over 25 languages. However, until now, the Irish language, Gaelic, was not one of them.

Luaithreach Angela is a limited edition, Irish translation of the author’s Pulitzer Prize winning book. This new publication was undertaken by The Limerick Writers’ Centre, a non-profit organisation established to nurture and support writers. They commissioned writer and translator Padraic Breathnach to translate the famous book into the Irish ‘native tongue’.

Speaking about Luaithreach Angela, Dominic Taylor, the project editor for the book, explained the reason behind publishing this new version; “The publication in the Irish language is a tribute to Frank Mc Court’s Irish roots. On the occasion of Frank’s untimely passing in 2009, the Limerick Writers’ Centre made a decision to honour our famous author in a significant way and after much deliberation, we decided that it would be appropriate for us to publish an Irish edition of Angela’s Ashes, the book that put Limerick on the literary map.”




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_Sheila Crowned New ‘Limerick’ Champion!

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Sheila Fitzpatrick O’Donnell, from Shanagolden, Co. Limerick, was crowned the new All Ireland ‘Limerick’ Champion Tuesday night at the Limerick Writers’ Centre sponsored event in Foley’s Bar, Sarsfield Street, Limerick.

Sheila, originally from Limerick City, secured the crown after a two round contest in which she overcame stiff opposition from runners up Tom McCarthy and Joe Healy.  She was presented with a plaque to celebrate the occasion by Cllr. Tom Shortt of Limerick City Council.  This was the secong year that The Limerick Writers’ Centre ran the event and it is hoped to make it an even bigger occasion next year with an international line up of contestants.



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Entries are now being accepted for the 2nd 'LWC Flash Fiction Slam'. This is the second year that The Limerick Writers' Centre has run this international competition with last year's winner being South African born Barry Finegan.

For those new to this type of writing 'Flash' is a writing concept where authors are forced to write to a sometimes punishing word-count. This year writers are asked to submit pieces of up to 500 words (not including title), with the prompt being '2011'. The stories could be about anything. 2011 could be number or a year. The pieces must be stories with a beginning, a middle and an end - not poetry or vignettes.
The entries should be emailed to limerickwriterscentre@gmail.com with the word 'Flash Fiction' in the subject line. The email should feature your name, address, contact number and email. Sorry, no hard copy entries will be considered.

RULES
- The attached entries should be in rich-text    
   or Word format.(doc not docx)
- Your name should not appear anywhere on the doc.
- The opening date for entries is 1st October 2011.
- The closing date for entries is the 30th of October       2011.
- One entry per writer
- The competition is free to enter
- A short-list of 10 entries will be announced on or       around the 15th of November.
- Each shortlisted entrant will have the opportunity to   read their piece (or have it read by an actor) at the   
  2nd Annual LWC Flash Fiction Slam in December   2011. On the night, there will be a small prize   selected by the judges and a small prize voted on by   the audience.
- The Judges decision is final.
- No correspondence will be entered into.
- By entering this competition you are giving the   organisers, The Limerick Writers' Centre, the right to    publish your entry, in print and electronically, for two    years from 1st December 2011.The Limerick Writers'    Centre will claim no other rights to your work.
For further information contact limerickwriterscentre@gmail.com

The Limerick Writers’ Centre also expressed the hope that an Irish edition of such a famous book may encourage more people to read books in Irish.

The publication and launch of the book takes place in association with The Frank McCourt Museum. This museum, in Limerick, Ireland, which is dedicated to Frank’s memory, is located in Leamy’s School, where Frank received his early education, as featured in his memoir. The launch takes place fifteen years after the publication of the original book in New York, in 1996.

In addition to the launch at the Irish Consulate on 15th, a public reading in both Irish and English from Luaithreach Angela / Angela's Ashes, will take place at the New York Irish Centre, in Queens NY, the following evening, at 7 p.m. and all are welcome.

For their generous financial assistance with our project, we wish to gratefully acknowledge the support of the following, Culture Ireland, Shannon Development and Limerick City Council.

The events are part of Imagine Ireland, Culture Ireland’s year of Irish arts in America

For further information, contact:
Pat Carroll (Touch Communications)            
e: pat@touchcommunications.ie
t:+353 86 784 4005




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Launch of From The Rib a collection of sonnets and villanelles by Fiona Clarke Echlin.

Sat 26th Nov Upstairs@Foley's Bar, Sarsfield St., Limerick at 5.00pm.

The collection will be launched by Dr  John McDonagh of Mary Immaculate College.

Available from Revival Press/Limerick Writers' Centre
ISBN 978-0-9569092-1-3
Price €12.00 or online at www.limerickwriterscentre.com

Born in London, Fiona Clark Echlin has lived and worked in London, New York, Istanbul and finally Limerick. As well as being a poet, Fiona Clark Echlin is an award-winning playwright and story teller. Her poems, plays and stories are all coloured by her background, which has strong roots in the theatre. Best known as a Performance Poet, she has read and performed her work at a wide variety of venues, occasions and festivals in both Ireland and the UK. Her distinctive delivery will be familiar to many and her voice has also been heard on radio, reading, performing and discussing her poetry and radio drama. Her one-act play, Builders was recently staged at The Source theatre in Thurles as part of The Inkubator project with Asylum Productions (Cork). She is currently writing a novel.

Fiona Clark Echlin marries a deep understanding of the human condition to the skill and precision of the true poet.
DAVID RICE

Further information contact:  Dominic Taylor at limerickwriterscentre@gmail.com  Tel 087 2996409



_Andy's 'Dead Dog Bounce' achieves success.
By Rachael Finucane

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Andy O’Gorman, who took part in a Limerick Writers’ Centre scriptwriting course in 2010, recently complimented LWC for encouraging him to pursue his dream. Andy’s first script, Dead Dog Bounce, was among 40 long-listed from hundreds of entries for the RTÉ Filmbase Short Script Awards.

Originally from Patrickswell, he did the LWC scriptwriting course with tutor, Eleanor McSherry, in late 2010. “The six week course was geared towards having a script ready for submission to award programmes by the end, which we achieved. It was a very interesting course and really helped us to hone our skills and learn the technical details of writing a script. It was great to have the feedback of the other members of the group as well; they push you on and you have deadlines to get it handed in on time,” Andy said. “I’ve always been a big movie fan and liked reading and writing so scriptwriting was something that combined all of those interests. Once I started it, it really seemed like something I could get enthusiastic about. I enjoyed doing it very much.”

The script for Dead Dog Bounce was around 12 minutes long. “It was the story of a man going to pick his two kids up from school. It was set around 2008 when the IMF and the troika were beginning to make their appearances in Ireland. There is a certain scene towards the end of the movie, which is a bit shocking, and it was basically a visual allegory for the thing that had just suddenly appeared in Irish life. People found that drastic and shocking too. The ending was quite open really. I wasn’t trying to write anything too deep or introspective. It was just a snapshot of what Irish life was like possibly at that time.”

Since completing the course and entering the initial competition, Andy hasn’t looked back. “I’m always on the lookout for more competitions to submit to. The group is still in touch with each other and we still meet every few months. We still spark off each other, get ideas and motivation. I’m actually co-writing a script at the moment with Maeve McGrath who also did the scriptwriting course. She asked me if I’d be interested in co-writing this feature length sci-fi film based on an idea that she had. We’ve made a start. I’ve written the first part and handed it over to Maeve. Writing with someone is a really interesting venture too.” He admitted that his ultimate ambition is to get a film produced and see it on screen—whether little or big.  “That would be the ideal outcome for me and to make a living from screenwriting or any kind of writing really. Yeah, that’s what I would sell my soul for,” he joked.
Limerick Writers’ Centre is currently running another scriptwriting course.

Angela’s Ashes becomes Luaithreach Angela
with Irish translation launch
By Rachael Finucane

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It has been translated into 25 languages but not the national language of its author. But an Irish translation of Frank McCourt’s novel, Angela’s Ashes, was finally unveiled yesterday (October 10) in his childhood classroom, immortalised in the book.
 
Luaithreach Angela, translated ‘as Gaeilge’ by author Padraic Breathnach, was officially launched by Jimmy Deenihan, Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, in Leamy’s School in Limerick—now housing the Frank McCourt Museum.    
 
The book will also be given a launch sponsored by Culture Ireland in New York shortly.

Dominic Taylor of Limerick Writers’ Centre—which conceived the project—thanked Limerick City and County arts officers, Shannon Development, O’Mahony’s Bookshop and Foras Na Gaeilge for their support.

“We wanted to honour one of Limerick’s greatest writers in some significant way. Angela’s Ashes has been translated into 25 languages but not Irish, until now. This launch is also on the 15th anniversary of the publication of the original novel in New York. We hope this translation will be an inspiring and uplifting read.”
 
Breathnach—a well known Irish language author—completed the translation in around nine months. He said that the book is a childhood memoir so he was anxious to get across the “youthfulness” inherent in it.

“The book is very playful. Every page is dramatic and lively. It is a literal translation, not a literary or a creative translation. It’s in the Irish idiom but I didn’t change the sentence structure or length. I left the punctuation the same, even if I thought it was wrong. I left all technicalities as they were! I didn’t embroider or embellish anything. I wanted to get the rhythm, tone and the spirit of it right. I strove to achieve that and I think I did,” he said.
 
“I’m a Galway man and the author is a Limerick man so there would difficulty there to a degree. I used standard Irish but was advised to use my own dialect in the dialogue. So there are a mix of dialects—Western, Munster and some Ulster, because Frank’s father came from Antrim. Anybody who has the book in English, this is like a glossary in Irish. They’ll have no trouble understanding it.”
 
He added that while the book is a classic “misery memoir”, it also has hope.

“Frank McCourt, while he was very poor, he was happy and so were his brothers. His mother was a formidable lady in that she was able to get over so much adversity. The weakest character by far is the father, Malachy. He was a drunkard and hopeless for the family but he did love them all. He wasn’t violent but he was a very sad man”
 
Minister Deenihan said that Frank and the McCourt family had made a tremendous contribution to the rich literary life of Limerick. He also commended the museum for “preserving the school for the future”.
 
“It’s only fitting that the book should be in our native tongue as well and I hope it will encourage more people to read it and to study Irish for that very reason. I think Luaithreach Angela is going to be very popular in schools and colleges. This book makes a major contribution to the revival of the language.”  
 
Una Heaton, director of the Frank McCourt Museum and the artist of the book’s cover, added that she hoped the book would “keep Frank’s memory alive. Is féidir linn!”
 
Deputy City Mayor, Michael Hourigan and County Leas Cathaoirleach, Rose Brennan also spoke. Padraic Breathnach and pupils from Gaelcholáiste Luimní read extracts from the book.
 
Limerick Writers’ Centre received funding for the book from Limerick City Council, Limerick County Council and Shannon Development.
 
The limited edition Luaithreach Angela
is available in local bookshops
and online at www.limerickwriterscentre.com.
 
For further information,
contact Dominic Taylor on 087-2996409.