Last seen in Ireland headlining the main stage at Electric Picnic, Florence Welch (minus her Machine) headlines a very different type of festival next month.
Welch will be in Borris, Co. Carlow for the 6th annual Festival of Writing & Ideas, a weekend of dialogue and discourse that attracts an eclectic array of international artists and thinkers to an intimate three-day event located in (and around) the atmospheric locale of 18th century ancestral home Borris House - the event runs from June 9-11.
NEW BOOK: 'Here I Am', by Jonathan Safran-Foer. Thanks so much to @nickcave for the recommendation!! (Pic: https://t.co/itab6lMvn7) pic.twitter.com/ob692QOis0
— The F+tM Book Club (@BetweenTwoBooks) April 9, 2017
She'll be discussing Between Two Books - the online book club for Florence And The Machine fans established by Irish student Leah Moloney with Welch's blessing and regular input - as well as participating in a poetry reading event. She isn't the first rock star to have made the journey to Borris - recent years have hosted the likes of Chrissie Hynde, PJ Harvey and Pink Floyd's Dave Gilmour.
Elsewhere, the formidable lineup for the Borris bash includes everybody from former Irish present Mary Robinson to David Simon, creator of seminal TV show The Wire, as well as the show's star Dominic West, along with an array of choice international authors, among them Maggie O’Farrell, Geoff Dyer, Roddy Doyle, Jeffrey Eugenides, Joanna Trollope, Eimear McBride, Colm Tóibín, Edmund White, Sebastian Barry, Lemn Sissay, Claire Keegan, Maajid Nawaz, Michael Harding and more.
Founded by Hugo Jellett and Vivienne Guinness (who still curate the event), and now in its sixth year, the Festival of Writing & Ideas bring together writers, historians, journalists, broadcasters, photographers, war correspondents and musicians to a series of intimate venues for a weekend of dialogues and discussions, all designed to inspire positive change.
Find out more about one of Ireland's most atmospheric festival events here.
