Colm Tóibín quits as Listowel Writers' Week president as row escalates

Novelist stepped down from Kerry festival after its local voluntary committee was disbanded to be replaced by a curator

Celebrated novelist Colm Tóibín said having a local voluntary committee behind festivals such as Listowel Writers' Week was 'best practice'.  File picture: RTÉ

Efforts are underway to resolve an escalating row threatening Listowel Writers' Week after the festival's president, novelist Colm Tóibín, quit because the voluntary committee behind the literary festival was disbanded.

The committee, which has planned the festival's literary input over five decades, was told in September that, following a consultant’s report, they are to be replaced by a professional curator.