It’s an annual pilgrimage in the first week of June, when hordes of book lovers and foreign affairs podcast listeners descend on a village in south Co Carlow for the annual Borris Festival of Writing and Ideas.
It is far from the typical festival experience and this year was no different. Portaloos were signposted as “lavatories”, and rather unusually, remained practically spotless and stocked with toilet roll throughout the weekend. By far the most popular food truck at the festival was “Julia’s Lobster Truck” which sold out of its €22 Lobster Bisque on multiple days.
Attending Borris for the first time felt like being a ‘plus one’ at a school reunion, as every 30 seconds you could hear some variation of “Oh, I didn’t know you were going to be here!”. A barista working in one of the coffee trucks told me “No one’s card has been declined. I’ve seen people swipe credit cards that I have never seen before.”
The festival takes place in the lawns of the imposing Borris House; a building that dates back to 1731. With a weekend ticket costing €265, attendees could access 70 talks across six venues. The weather was abysmal, a sharp cold wind made being outside for any length of time challenging. Instead, people found respite and comfort – both physically and mentally – at the events, which were held in rooms within the house, or in charmingly decorated canvas tents.
This year’s line-up delivered three days of stimulating and provocative conversation, with notable guests including Mary Robinson, Pretenders frontwoman Chrissie Hynde and authors Patrick Radden Keefe and Anne Enright. Alongside lively literary discussions, panellists tackled some of the more existential topics of our time, including analysis of geopolitical conflicts and the occupation of Palestine. Donald Trump and the global rise of authoritarianism were ever-present and alluded to in nearly every talk.
In Colm Tóibín’s interview with Elizabeth Strout, the subject of being friends with a Trump supporter came up, and Strout admitted to having such friendships. “Life is complicated,” she said.
Tóibín replied, “Don’t worry Ireland has that problem too” adding that sometimes you could not believe who supported Fianna Fáil – the crowd erupted with laughter.
[ Colm Tóibín: ‘I am much less sociable now, as I don’t drink any more’Opens in new window ]
Ten minutes later, a member of the audience asked about one of Strout’s characters who had described almost understanding the rage that the humiliation of poverty caused that might have led people to storm the US Capitol on January 6th, 2021.
“The Left have been condescending without even knowing it,” Strout said.
While multiple events were devoted to debating the perils and opportunities of AI, perhaps the most insightful analysis on the topic came from the Mancunian poet Lemn Sissay. In the question-and-answer session after his poetry reading, he called AI a “gift to poets”, which challenges them to re-evaluate their art. He noted AI poems lack authenticity, calling poetry “a witness statement”.
Between talks a man at a picnic bench told me Borris felt like the type of place where ideas would be shared that would make the world a better place. Next year he wanted to get tickets for his grandchildren.
In and amongst these heady topics, the likes of Miriam Margolyes offered some comedic relief. I even had my own comedic experience with Miriam Margolyes when going about my business in the “lavatory” next to hers. On entering the portaloo she cried out “I don’t know how this works” while her companion standing guard outside encouraged her to “look for a foot pedal!”.
A major selling point of the festival is the accessibility of those featured for those attending. With a well-timed comment, you could have as easily struck up a conversation with Colm Tóibín or Fiona Shaw outside one of the bar carts as end up sitting next to comedians Dylan Moran or David O’Doherty.
It was also very accessible for four-legged friends, and it wasn’t unusual to hear a random bark or look down to find a fluff ball, off the lead, weaving its way through seating.
A packed schedule meant there were also theatre performances and music gigs to entertain everyone from 10.30am right through until 11pm. Those attending Borris were truly spoiled for choice.
[ 10 things we learned at Borris Festival of Writing and IdeasOpens in new window ]
