Leitrim County Council and National University of Ireland, Galway have announced final arrangements for the forthcoming John McGahern International Seminar which takes place in Co. Leitrim on July 26, 27 and 28, 2007

The opening address, John McGahern: The Novel and the Story, will be given by Professor Declan Kiberd, University College Dublin at the Bush Hotel, Carrick-on-Shannon, on 26 July. Other speakers will include Prof. Sylvie Mikowski, University of Reims, France; Dr. James Whyte, NUI Galway; Dr. Eamon Maher, I.T. Tallaght; and Fr. Liam Kelly, Cavan. There will also be a panel discussion including journalists Susan McKay and Belinda McKeon.

Seminar sessions will be held in Carrick-on-Shannon, Aughawillan, Ballinamore and Mohill. The Seminar will also include a boat trip on the Shannon and Boyle rivers and a bus tour of the Aughawillan/Ballinamore area.

Speaking at the announcement, seminar coordinator, Dr. John Kenny, Department of English, NUI Galway, said "John McGahern was an extraordinary writer in that he was widely admired by other novelists and short story writers across the world for his sheer patient dedication to the craft of fiction, but was also held in great affection by the Irish readers whose country and localities he so keenly examined in his work. He was one of the major Irish artists of the word alongside Joyce and Beckett, and the seminar will be a fitting testament to his legacy".

Further lecture topics at the Seminar include: Amongst McGahern's Women; John McGahern: The Local and the Ordinary and John McGahern and Religion. A series of excerpt readings by actress Ms Marie Mullen will also feature throughout the seminar as well as a viewing of the documentary film John McGahern: A Private World.

A detailed schedule for the Seminar can be downloaded from www.nuigalway.ie/iss/John_McGahern.html

ENDS