Coordinator Dr Sarah Cleary previews this year's Jonathan Swift Festival, celebrating the life and times of the legendary Anglo-Irish satirist, essayist, political pamphleteer poet and cleric, whose 1726 novel Gulliver's Travels has guaranteed him literary immortality.
Renowned as a site of saints, scholars and céad míle fáiltes, Ireland’s ostensibly pleasant demeanour has historically belied a darker past of hunger, suffering and poverty.
Faced with an inability to truly express such historical and generational grief and oppression, the Irish have surreptitiously harboured a darker impulse to articulate who we are as a people and the calamities that the most venerable of us has endured through the less than reverential medium of comedy and satire.
Lambasted by polite 18th Century society for his critique of the manner in which the poor and destitute were not only seen as commodities by the rich, but pawns in an increasingly duplicitous culture of sanctimony and moralizing, Jonathan Swift in the publication of his Juvenalian satirical essay A Modest Proposal (1729) pulled no punches. And now, over 350 years since his birth, the Irish have continued this tradition of using comedy and satire to both explore and often lacerate the society in which we live.
In the current climate of fake news, alternative facts and the destabilisation of political checks and balances, satire is often the only truth available. Iconoclastic, uncomfortable and confrontational Swift’s imprint upon social politics, as an advocate for mental health and homelessness and his enduring legacy as a champion of the arts as a transformative process resonates in 2018 more than ever. And it’s this legacy that we seek to both preserve and celebrate through The Jonathan Swift Festival.
Events at this year's festival which encapsulate such efforts include Writing of(f) Class - taking place in The National Gallery on Sunday 2nd of December, Frankie Gaffney, Stephen James Smith, Jessica Traynor and other notable Irish artists, writers and singers will discuss the transformative power of the arts as a tool for cultural visibility and as a means for articulating complex social issues faced by young people in Ireland today. As permanent fixture on the cultural landscape of Irish politics, the Swift Festival is very excited to co-host alongside EPIC: The Irish Emigration Museum an exhibition of work from satirical cartoonist Martyn Turner spanning over fifty years.
Throwing a spotlight on the power of Irish comedy, Roddy Doyle will be joined by Tommy Tiernan on stage on Thursday 29th of November in Saint Patrick’s Cathedral. Pushing the envelope further still, David McSavage will be joined by fellow comedians Kevin McGahern, Hannah Mamalis, Aine Gallagher and John Colleary in Smock Alley on Friday 30th of November.
Not neglecting our younger Swiftians, on Saturday 1st of December in Saint Patrick’s Cathedral, musical magician Jerry Fish and Young Adult author Dave Rudden gift us with a unique retelling of Swift’s most famous tale, entitled Lemuel Gulliver: Adventurer Extraordinaire, expertly navigating complex themes with live music, jokes and a lot of heart.
Incorporating the global themes of Swift’s novels, on the 2nd of December, St Patrick’s Park will be transformed into Gulliver’s Fair - a market with a difference. Featuring a diverse range of international foods and products, mixed alongside arts and crafts, children young and old will be treated to live musical performances and invited to participate in a range of activities and circus workshops provided by Fanzini and Clowns without Borders which will concentrate on mental health well-being and happiness.
With talks, tours, concerts, debates, markets and theatre, hosted by Saint Patrick’s Cathedral and taking place across the City Centre from the 29th of November – 2nd of December, The Jonathan Swift Festival is a bustling celebration of literature, the arts and Irish life.
For tickets, or to register for any of our free events please go to the festival website.
