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comedy · Monday 20 July 2026 · See website for times 
Literary Voices Discussion Panel
At Boyle Arts Festival · Boyle, Co. Roscommon
At Boyle Arts Festival · Boyle, Co. Roscommon
Three of Ireland’s most talked-about debut authors come together at Boyle Arts Festival for a panel discussion chaired by Dr. Una Mannion, herself a novelist and Assistant Professor at Trinity’s Oscar Wilde Centre. If you follow contemporary Irish fiction - or you’re curious about what the next wave of Irish writing actually looks like - this is the kind of afternoon that stays with you. It’s intimate, unscripted, and the questions tend to go places a radio interview never would.
The panel brings together Seán Farrell, whose debut novel Frogs for Watchdogs (New Island, 2025) drew praise for its sharp portrait of 1980s rural Ireland; Maggie Armstrong, whose Old Romantics (Tramp Press, 2024) was shortlisted for the Irish Book Awards Newcomer of the Year and the Kate O’Brien Award; and Shane Tivenan, a County Roscommon writer whose debut story collection To Avenge a Dead Glacier (Lilliput Press, 2024) won the Francis MacManus Prize and the John McGahern Award before it was even published.
Dr. Mannion draws out discussion around the writing process, the road to publication, and the themes running through each book. Readings are included. The event has previously been held at Frybrook House, a Georgian manor house just outside Boyle - a setting that suits the occasion rather well. Check the festival website to confirm the venue for the 2026 date.
Boyle Arts Festival runs 16 to 25 July 2026 and packs more than 60 events into ten days - music, visual art, drama, comedy, film, and spoken word. The literary panel sits comfortably within that wider programme, so it’s worth planning the whole day around the festival rather than the single event.
Boyle is on the N4 between Carrick-on-Shannon and Longford, roughly 160km from Dublin and an easy drive from Sligo (30 minutes) or Roscommon town (45 minutes). There are regular Bus Éireann services from Dublin Busáras to Boyle on the Sligo route. The town itself is compact and walkable once you arrive - parking is available on the main streets and in the car park off The Crescent.
Boyle is also home to Boyle Abbey, a remarkably well-preserved 12th-century Cistercian ruin, and King House, a restored 18th-century mansion that serves as one of the main festival venues. Both are worth a look before or after the panel. There is more to see in Boyle and across Co. Roscommon.
Heading to Boyle Arts Festival in Boyle? Roscommon has plenty more to see. Read the Boyle area guide, find what else is on, and explore the towns and villages nearby.