Borris Festival of Writing and Ideas: Jeremy Irons and Laurie Anderson feature in an eclectic mix
West Cork residents Sinead Cusack and Jeremy Irons read from TS Eliot's The Wasteland at the Festival of Writing and Ideas in Borris. Picture: Frank Smith
Borris – a picturesque village in Co Carlow - is off the beaten track and nestled between the Blackstairs Mountains and Mount Leinster. At its heart is Borris House, the ancestral home of the MacMurrough Kavanaghs whose family heritage boasts former Irish kings.
It is to this regal demesne that culture vultures descended this weekend for a niche festival. The Festival of Writing and Ideas concentrates on words in various forms-storytelling, poetry, books with a sprinkling of musical events.
Sunday’s events kicked off with a thronged marquee for a miscellany of music and words with a Ukraine theme. Hot House Flower, Fiachna O Braonáin, played Sliabh na mBan on low whistle followed by readings. I enjoyed ‘One Armed Chef’, Giles Duley’s description of how to make borscht, the Ukrainian sour soup; Lindsey Hilsum of Channel 4 news told a political joke, and John Illsley of Dire Straits closed the proceedings with a rendition of Brothers in Arms.
Other musical interludes included restaurant critic Jay Rayner, seated at a white baby grand piano, delivering a mellow jazz set with his wife. He also included a good yarn about scattering his parents’ ashes.
While writers are at the heart of the events, the festival is less about publishers sending authors to do readings and book signings than the convivial chats and debates with a wide-range lens on the world between mingling contributors in a bucolic setting.
The scene is dominated by three vintage marquees, adorned with tassels that bestow a medieval feel to proceedings. Happily, activity is not confined to the grounds Some events took place in the picture-book chapel, granary and ballroom of the house and spilled over beyond the walls to the hotel across the road.
“We were all encouraged as kids to make stuff up with a certain amount of reality to make it move along- that is my heritage,” said Laurie Anderson who was a compelling storyteller in conversation with Alan Yentob.
My favourite raconteur of the day was filmmaker David Puttnam, who told stories that made his audience laugh and cry in equal measure.
Rounding the weekend events, husband and wife celebrity thespians Sinéad Cusack and Jeremy Irons, clad in an outfit that suggested he might whip out a spanner and fix the boiler, marked the centenary of TS Eliot’s epic poem, The Wasteland, to a packed ballroom. Overall, a stimulating weekend in a charming setting.
