The menu: Litfest takes a break

Rory O’Connell, director of Litfest, confirmed it would be taking a break in 2018.

There has been more wailing than a colicky nursery and sufficient gnashing of teeth to keep every dentist in the land drilling ‘til next Christmas on foot of news that Ballymaloe Litfest will not return until 2019, with the format also up for grabs.

Festival director Rory O’Connell’s announcement —delivered at the closing ceremony of possibly the best iteration of the festival to date, with strands on food consciousness, activism, and advocacy very much to the fore — shocked many but it is worth remembering this festival was originally conceived of as a biennial event, the decision to opt instead for an annual outing taken hastily over the course of that successful inaugural festival weekend, back in 2013.