Kildare celebrates Hopkins Festival

The 36th Annual Gerard Manley Hopkins International Festival began on Friday, 19 July in The Dominican College Newbridge, and ran for seven days, closing on Thursday, 25 July.

This is the second year in a row the festival has been held in Newbridge after starting out in Monasterevin.

The festival was opened by Christian Resch, Chargé ď Affaires Embassy of Germany, and also attended by Cllr Peggy O'Dwyer, Mayor of Newbridge and Kildare, and Cllr Rob Power.

Senan and Cillian Moran provided two wonderful Irish music interludes.

The Hopkins Festival celebrates the short life of a Catholic convert poet whose dedication to Jesuit humility meant he wasn’t published until 30 years after his death in 1889, and featured an impressive 34 poets and academics from around the world.

Hopkins spent his last five years in Dublin battling what we would now know as depression, and the only joy he seemed to have in this period was his visits to the Cassidy family in Monasterevin House.

“This is a unique literary festival that’s a university experience compressed into one week with generous amounts of intellectual stimulation, all the fun and no exams!” said festival PRO Morgan McCabe.

“The festival provides a unique opportunity to appreciate the works and legacy of Gerard Manley Hopkins, a renowned poet and Jesuit priest who was only 44 when he died,” said Mr McCabe.

Dr Adrian McGoldrick launched the Desmond Morris Surrealist art exhibition, which the artist himself attended, which added to the atmosphere and his artworks received great reviews from all who attended.

The Hopkins festivals continue to thrive under the guidance of artistic director and poet Desmond Egan and his wonderful committee.

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