Brigidsfest - Irish Female Creativity through the Art of the Word
The Embassy of Ireland holds the literature festival to celebrate Irish female innovation in literature and the arts
February 06th, 2025
In Ireland, the first of February symbolises the start of spring and is commemorated as the day of feasting of St. Brigid, the island's patroness saint. Since 2018, Irish embassies and consulates worldwide, as well as local communities, have honoured the day with a rich itinerary of events that celebrate the importance of pioneering women from the Irish Diaspora in Ireland and around the world.
For the 2025 edition of the Brigidsfest, the annual literary festival of female creativity through the art of the word, the Embassy of Ireland in Berlin planned several events on 31st January, 20th February and 21st February.
The first event, held on 31st January, featured writers Elaine Feeney, Sheila Armstrong and Mary Costello, and was moderated by Sinead Mac Aodha, Director of Literature Ireland. Elaine Feeney’s work explores how the lives of Irish women are shaped by history, national identity and state institutions. Feeney’s debut novel, As You Were, has been shortlisted for the 2021 Folio Prize and the Dalkey Literary Award 2021. Sheila Armstrong’s short stories have been shortlisted for the Society of Authors Awards and the Irish Book Awards and have appeared in The London Magazine and The Stinging Fly. Mary Costello, well-known for her novels and short story collections, made her debut with The China Factory (2012), which was nominated for the Guardian First Book Award and the Irish Book Awards. Her debut book, Academy Street (2014), received the Irish Book of the Year Award and was selected overall Irish Book of the Year, as well as being nominated for the International Dublin Literary Award, the Costa First Novel Prize, and the EU Prize for Literature. Her second book, The River Capture (2019), was nominated for the Irish Book Awards, the Kerry Group Novel of the Year, and the Dalkey Novel Award.
On 20th February, playwright and screenwriter Nancy Harris - winner of the Rooney Prize for Irish Literature in 2012 - will be the guest of honor. The following day, the festival will host playwright Deirdre Kinahan, member of Aosdána, Ireland’s elected organisation of outstanding artists.
Brigidsfest 2025’s events continue to celebrate the power of female innovation in literature and the arts, stimulating cultural interaction and exposing the voices of Irish women writers on a global scale.
References:
- - https://www.ireland.ie/en/st-brigids-day/
- - https://www.ireland.ie/en/germany/berlin/news-and-events/news-archive/brigidsfest-irish-female-creativity-through-the-art-of-the-word/
