Beckett centenary launched in Dublin

CENTENARY celebrations to mark the birth of Irish writer Samuel Beckett were launched yesterday by Arts Minister John O’Donoghue in Dublin Castle - kicking off a month long series of events commemorating the writer’s life and work.

The Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism is funding the celebration to the tune of almost e800,000.

Beckett, born in Foxrock, Dublin on April 13, 1906, won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1969 and is best known for his play Waiting for Godot.

As a writer in English, and later in French, he is regarded as one of the most important artists of the 20th century. He died in Paris in December 1989.

Beckett will be the subject of celebrations from Tokyo to New York, Paris to London throughout this, his centenary year.

In Ireland, the focus will be in Dublin throughout April, where a Beckett festival has been designed, along the lines of the festivities in 2004 to mark the centenary of Bloomsday - the day on which writer James Joyce set his masterpiece Ulysses.

The Beckett Centenary highlights include exhibitions, several Beckett plays, a celebration on film and radio, the minting of a gold and silver commemorative euro coin and a special symposium at Trinity College, Dublin, where Beckett studied and later taught.

From today, US artist Jenny Holzer will be projecting selections from Beckett’s works around Dublin city centre after sunset.

Updated details of the Beckett centenary celebrations can be found on the official website: www.beckettcentenaryfestival.ie.

There will also be a guide to the celebrations on the Irish Examiner’s arts page throughout April.