Our 2025 Programme

Check out the innovative programme for the West Cork Literary Festival 2025!
Download our 2025 brochure

11 – 18 July 2025

Our friendly and inclusive literary festival, thriving for over 25 years, features renowned & emerging Irish and international writers, imaginative workshops, and free events for all ages in amazing West Cork spaces.

Listen to readings on the loggia at Bantry House, improve your travel writing on a West Cork Island, or immerse yourself in the festival swim as part of a uniquely Irish literary festival that charms writers and readers alike!

Did you know, you can become a festival friend to get the benefit of priority booking, as well as many other benefits?

Come Sit Awhile: Dementia-friendly Stories and Memories

11 July 20251:00 pm
Bantry Library
Free
Find out more

Doire Press: Claire Hennessy & Jennifer Horgan

11 July 20253:00 pm
The Maritime Hotel
€12
Buy ticketsFind out more

Spot the Translation with Katy Derbyshire

11 July 20253:00 pm
The Maritime Hotel
€12
Buy ticketsFind out more

Letter Café

11 July 2025
Forest & Flock
Free. Every day except Tuesday
Find out more

Seeds of Change: A Glucksman Art Library project for WCLF

11 July 2025
Free. All week
Find out more

Opening Reception: West Cork Literary Festival

11 July 20255:00 pm
Bantry Library
Free. All Welcome
Find out more

Salena Godden: With Love, Grief and Fury

11 July 20256:30 pm
Marino Church, Bantry
€16
Buy ticketsFind out more

Alan Hollinghurst: Our Evenings

11 July 20258:30 pm
The Maritime Hotel
€20
Buy ticketsFind out more

Pop Up Gaeltacht

11 July 20259:00 pm
Ma Murphy’s
Free – Saor in aisce – All welcome
Find out more

Dani Robertson: All Through the Night

12 July 202510:00 am
Marino Church, Bantry
€15
Buy ticketsFind out more

Cauvery Madhavan: The Inheritance

12 July 202511:30 am
Bantry Bookshop
Free
Find out more

Paul Delaney: Jenny Peckles Lays Eggs With Speckles

12 July 202512:00 pm
St. Brendan’s Hall
Free but ticketed: Age 4+
SOLD OUTFind out more

Heather Clark: The Scrapbook

12 July 20251:00 pm
Bantry Library
Free
Find out more

Wake of the Whale: Alice Kinsella, Daniel Wade & Patrick Dexter

12 July 20252:15 pm
Whiddy Island
€25 including return ferry
SOLD OUTFind out more

Bantry Historical Walking Tour

12 July 20252:30 pm
This WCLF tour is fully booked but Bantry Tourist Office hosts free tours every Tues & Thurs 11am during the summer
SOLD OUTFind out more

Zainab Boladale: Braids Take A Day

12 July 20253:00 pm
St. Brendan’s Hall
Free but ticketed. Age 13+
Buy ticketsFind out more

Society of Young Publishers Ireland Information Session

12 July 20254:30 pm
Ma Murphy’s
Free. All welcome
Find out more

Stories from Sweden: Lina Scheynius and Saskia Vogel

12 July 20255:00 pm
Bantry Library
Free
Find out more

Ferdia Lennon & Colin Walsh

12 July 20256:30 pm
Marino Church, Bantry
€16
Buy ticketsFind out more

Richard E. Grant: A Pocketful of Happiness

12 July 20258:30 pm
The Maritime Hotel
€35
SOLD OUTFind out more

Open Mic: Saturday

12 July 202510:00 pm
The Maritime Hotel
Free
Find out more

Yoga on the Lawn

13 July 20259:00 am
Bantry House
€15 – pay the teacher on the day (cash only)
Find out more

Maria Barnas & Keith Payne

13 July 202510:00 am
Bantry House – Loggia
€12
Buy ticketsFind out more

Irish Writers Centre: An Island of Many Nations

13 July 202512:00 pm
The Maritime Hotel
Free but ticketed
Buy ticketsFind out more

Leona Forde: The Wonderful World of Milly McCarthy

13 July 202512:00 pm
St. Brendan’s Hall
Free but ticketed. Ages 7+
Buy ticketsFind out more

John Creedon: This Boy’s Heart

13 July 20251:30 pm
The Maritime Hotel
€18
Buy ticketsFind out more

W/w: A Performance by Sarah Long

13 July 20251:30 pm
The Maritime Hotel
€10
Buy ticketsFind out more

Children’s Books Ireland: The Craft of Writing for Children and Teenagers

13 July 20253:00 pm
Work Shop Bantry
€20 (read more for info on financial support)
SOLD OUTFind out more

Somerville and Ross: Claire Connolly

13 July 20253:00 pm
Marino Church, Bantry
€18
Buy ticketsFind out more

Gallery Goes to WCLF: Tom French, Vona Groarke & Aifric Mac Aodha

13 July 20255:00 pm
Marino Church, Bantry
€16
Buy ticketsFind out more

Children’s Authors and Illustrators Meet-Up hosted by Sarah Webb

13 July 20255:30 pm
Ma Murphy’s
Free. All Welcome
Find out more

Mona Arshi & Oluwaseun Olayiwola

13 July 20256:30 pm
Marino Church, Bantry
€16
Buy ticketsFind out more

Caoilinn Hughes & Claire Kilroy

13 July 20258:30 pm
The Maritime Hotel
€20
Buy ticketsFind out more

Open Mic: Sunday

13 July 202510:00 pm
The Maritime Hotel
Free
Find out more

CANCELLED – Katie Goh: Foreign Fruit, A Personal History of the Orange

14 July 202510:00 am
Bantry House – Loggia
€12
Find out more

Kel Menton: A Fix of Light

14 July 202511:30 am
Bantry Bookshop
Free. YA (and also loved by adults)
Find out more

Workshop: Nature Writing For Times Like These with Polly Atkin

14 July 202511:30 am
The Maritime Hotel
€230
Buy ticketsFind out more

Patricia Forde: Letters to a Monster

14 July 202512:00 pm
St. Brendan’s Hall
Free but ticketed. Ages 5-8
Buy ticketsFind out more

Irish Writers Centre: Zine Workshop with Annie Mar

14 July 20251:00 pm
Work Shop Bantry
€5 (Ages 18+)
Buy ticketsFind out more

Writer in Residence: Library Writing Groups 

14 July 20251:00 pm
Bantry Library
Free
Find out more

Lore Zine workshop with Rainbow Library

14 July 20252:00 pm
St. Brendan’s Hall
Free but ticketed. Ages: 12-17
Buy ticketsFind out more

Stories from Sweden: Balsam Karam & Saskia Vogel: The Singularity

14 July 20252:30 pm
Marino Church, Bantry
€18
Buy ticketsFind out more

Performance Is A Verb: Performance Techniques for Writers and Beyond with Alice Barry

14 July 20253:00 pm
The Maritime Hotel
€15
SOLD OUTFind out more

Rainbow Library: ‘Lore’ anthology launch

14 July 20253:30 pm
St. Brendan’s Hall
Free. YA
Find out more

Seán Farrell & Quynh Tran

14 July 20255:00 pm
Marino Church, Bantry
€16
Buy ticketsFind out more

grapevvine

14 July 20256:30 pm
Marino Church, Bantry
€15
Buy ticketsFind out more

Neil Jordan: Amnesiac

14 July 20258:30 pm
The Maritime Hotel
€25
Buy ticketsFind out more

Open Mic: Monday

14 July 202510:00 pm
The Maritime Hotel
Free
Find out more
Weekend Marking: XX Vickie Maye: 13/02/25  Acclaimed comic book artist and Marvel animator Will Sliney pictured holding a figurine based on his new short as the orchestra at the Cork school of music records the live soundtrack for the animation in the background. picture Chani Anderson

Will Sliney

15 July 202510:00 am
Bantry House – Loggia
€12
Buy ticketsFind out more

Anna Fitzgerald: Girl in the Making

15 July 202511:30 am
Bantry Bookshop
Free
Find out more

The Doomsday Club: Kevin Moran

15 July 202512:00 pm
St. Brendan’s Hall
Free but ticketed. Ages 9-12+
Buy ticketsFind out more

New Dutch Writing: Valentijn Hoogenkamp & Michele Hutchison

15 July 20251:00 pm
Bantry Library
Free
Find out more

The Lived Experience of Ireland’s Coast: Perspectives From The Coastal Atlas of Ireland – CUP at 100

15 July 20252:30 pm
Marino Church, Bantry
€18
Buy ticketsFind out more

Irish Writers Centre: Creative Writing Seminar with Sarah Moore Fitzgerald 

15 July 20253:00 pm
The Maritime Hotel
€7
Buy ticketsFind out more

Irish Writers Centre: The Word on the Street

15 July 20255:00 pm
Bantry Library
Free
Find out more

Open Mic Matinee

15 July 20256:00 pm
The Maritime Hotel
Free. All welcome
Find out more

Sarah Maria Griffin & Rose Keating

15 July 20256:30 pm
Marino Church, Bantry
€16
Buy ticketsFind out more

Carol Drinkwater: One Summer in Provence

15 July 20258:30 pm
The Maritime Hotel
€20
Buy ticketsFind out more

Open Mic: Tuesday

15 July 202510:00 pm
Ma Murphy’s
Free
Find out more

Workshop: Novel Writing with Paul McVeigh

16 July 20259:30 am
St Finbarr’s Boys National School
€230
Buy ticketsFind out more

Workshop: Poetry with Ruth Padel

16 July 20259:30 am
St Finbarr’s Boys National School
€230
SOLD OUTFind out more

Workshop: The Short Story with Ross Raisin

16 July 20259:30 am
St Finbarr’s Boys National School
€230
SOLD OUTFind out more

Workshop: Travel Writing: The Sea with Helen Scales

16 July 20259:30 am
Whiddy Island
€245
Buy ticketsFind out more

Workshop: Writing Places with Sarah Moss

16 July 20259:30 am
St Finbarr’s Boys National School
€230
Buy ticketsFind out more

Katherine May: Enchantment

16 July 202510:00 am
Bantry House – Loggia
€12
SOLD OUTFind out more

Chloe Michelle Howarth: Sunburn

16 July 202511:30 am
Bantry Bookshop
Free
Find out more

Story Detectives with E.R. Murray

16 July 202512:00 pm
St. Brendan’s Hall
Free but ticketed. Ages 8-12
SOLD OUTFind out more

Small Country, Big Continent: Translating Gaël Faye’s Burundi and Rwanda​

16 July 20251:00 pm
Bantry Library
Free
Find out more

Maurice J Casey & Michel Krielaars: Moscow in the Time of Stalin

16 July 20252:30 pm
Bantry House
€18
Buy ticketsFind out more

Irish Writers Centre: Out on the Page

16 July 20253:00 pm
The Maritime Hotel
Free but ticketed
Buy ticketsFind out more

Helen Scales: What The Wild Sea Can Be

16 July 20255:00 pm
Bantry Library
Free
Find out more

Launch of the 2025 Fish Anthology

16 July 20256:30 pm
Marino Church, Bantry
Free
Find out more
Portrait of author Eimear McBride for Faber & Faber. By Kat Green. 2024.

Eimear McBride: The City Changes Its Face

16 July 20258:30 pm
The Maritime Hotel
€20
Buy ticketsFind out more

Open Mic: Wednesday

16 July 202510:00 pm
Ma Murphy’s
Free
Find out more

Festival Swim

17 July 20259:00 am
The Abbey Strand
Free. All welcome
Find out more

Polly Atkin: The Company of Owls

17 July 202510:00 am
Bantry House – Loggia
€12
Buy ticketsFind out more

Annette Skade: Holdfast

17 July 202511:30 am
Bantry Bookshop
Free
Find out more

Tiffany Murray: My Family and Other Rock Stars

17 July 202511:30 am
Future Forests
€18
Buy ticketsFind out more

The World Between the Rain with Susan Cahill 

17 July 202512:00 pm
St. Brendan’s Hall
Free but ticketed. Ages 9+
Buy ticketsFind out more

Flip Through Flanders: Angelo Tijssens: The Edges

17 July 20251:00 pm
Bantry Library
Free
Find out more

Seán Ronayne: Nature Boy

17 July 20252:30 pm
National Learning Network (NLN)
€20
SOLD OUTFind out more

Arts For Health: West Cork with E.R. Murray

17 July 2025
Private Event
Find out more

Paul McVeigh & Ross Raisin

17 July 20255:00 pm
Bantry Library
Free
Find out more

Picador Presents: Louise Hegarty, Sarah Moss & Gráinne O’Hare

17 July 20256:30 pm
Marino Church, Bantry
€16
Buy ticketsFind out more

Nothing Compares to You: What Sinead O’Connor Means to Us

17 July 20258:30 pm
Marino Church, Bantry
€20
Buy ticketsFind out more

Open Mic: Thursday

17 July 202510:00 pm
Ma Murphy’s
Free
Find out more

Barbara Leahy: Rembrandt’s Promise

18 July 202510:00 am
Bantry House – Loggia
€12
SOLD OUTFind out more

Patrick Holloway: The Language of Remembering

18 July 202511:30 am
Bantry Bookshop
Free
Find out more

The President Book Series: Peter Donnelly

18 July 202512:00 pm
St. Brendan’s Hall
Free but ticketed. Ages 4-7
SOLD OUTFind out more

James Harpur: The Gospel of Gargoyle

18 July 20251:00 pm
Bantry Library
Free
Find out more

Wendy Erskine & Lisa Harding

18 July 20252:30 pm
Marino Church, Bantry
€18
Buy ticketsFind out more

The Engine of Story: Readings from UCC’s MA in Creative Writing

18 July 20253:00 pm
The Maritime Hotel
Free
Find out more

From the Well

18 July 20255:00 pm
Bantry Library
Free
Find out more

Thomas McCarthy & Ruth Padel

18 July 20256:30 pm
Marino Church, Bantry
€16
Buy ticketsFind out more

Graham Norton

18 July 20258:30 pm
The Maritime Hotel
€35
SOLD OUTFind out more

Programme

Arts Council - funding literature
Fáilte Ireland
Wild Atlantic Way
CCC Library & Arts Service
Cork County Council
Pure Cork
Creative Places West Cork Islands
Irish Examiner
Maritime Hotel