Delvin (Garradrimna) Book Fair

murph200 · 26-03-2010 10:05pm #1

The Book Fair with a Difference

We are planning to hold a book fair in
Delvin (Garradrimna), Co. Westmeath on Sunday May 2nd between 12 noon
and 6 pm. I would like Just to fill you in on the background. In 1918 Brinsley
MacNamara's (John Weldon,s) had his novel, 'The Valley of the Squinting
Windows.' published. Brinsley, who, came from Delvin used the novel to tell a story of a rural village in Catholic Ireland at the begining of the 20th century. The last time the novel was publicly read was in 1918 on the steps of Clonyn castle and indeed the folks from Delvin were excited that one of their own had written a book. However it was during this reading that it was discovered that the fictional characters within the novel were representative of the people in and around Delvin. Admiration soon turned to hostility and what followed was anational scandal. Firstly the book was burned publicly in the centre of the village of Delvin, then Brinsley was brought to court and judement was passed in favour of the villagers to which Brinsley had to pay compensation. This however was not enough and anger soon turned towards brinsley's father, Master Weldon, who was principal of the national school at Balinvalley. Parents took their children from the school and Master Weldon faced boycotting and threats akin with what took place durin the great Land War. Ninety-two years have since elapsed and we in Delvin feel it is time to move on and so we are holding a book fair in Delvin, Co. Westmeath, on the 2nd of May between 12 and 6 pm. As part of the fair celebrities will publicly read extracts from the novel. Everyone is welcome and it should prove to be a day of enlightenment. For more information you can e-mail us at dslcltd@gmail.com