Irish Cultural Centre launches free literary interview series

The Irish Cultural Centre in London is launching a series of literary interviews, Northern Irish Voices, this weekend which will form part of its spring 2021 cultural programme.

The series will focus on leading voices and writers from Northern Ireland including the ex-President of Ireland Mary McAleese, poets Michael Longley and Frank Ormsby, along with award-winning authors Glenn Patterson, Jan Carson and Lucy Caldwell. The series will begin on Sunday (11th April) and will run for six weeks.

The six participants will discuss their recent publications in conversation with the following interviewers: journalist Anne Flaherty, television executive Anne Morrison, writer and broadcaster Dr Carlo Gébler, and academic Dr Keith Hopper. The series from the Irish Cultural Centre (ICC) will be streamed as six individual author events.

All broadcasts will be available to the public free of charge, but donations will be invited to help support the ICC’s ongoing cultural programme and educational activities. The ICC will partner with No Alibis Bookstore in Belfast to offer viewers 10% off all books features in the Northern Irish Voices series.

Dr Anne Goudsmit, a member of the ICC Board, said: “We are delighted to welcome this diverse line-up of leading voices from Northern Ireland and their interviewers, who have provided us with six exceptionally thought-provoking and wide-ranging discussions. The series consists of Dr Mary McAleese discussing her memoir, Michael Longley and Frank Ormsby deliberating on their extraordinary poetic careers, while Glenn Patterson, Lucy Caldwell and Jan Carson discuss their recent novels and short story collections. These interviews provide a fascinating insight into Northern Irish life, culture and literature during the past six decades, while also drawing attention to literary responses to current tensions in Northern Ireland.”

The ICC is based in Hammersmith, London. It became a registered charity in 2013, and in 2017 it opened a new state-of-the-art building. The Centre, which contains its own performance auditorium, delivers cultural events and performances across art forms including music, film, literature and visual arts.

Northern Irish Voices will be available to view online here.