Achill Island Arts Weekend Heinrich Böll Memorial

Heinrich Böll Memorial Arts Festival

The 2026 Heinrich Böll Memorial Weekend takes place from Friday 1st to Sunday 3rd May. Scroll down for details or click here for tickets.

Friday 1st May

St. Thomas’ Hall, Dugort (F28 H230)

Registration open from 7pm.

7.30pm: Chairperson’s Opening Address
Dr. Kathleen Smyth

Opening remarks: Mr David Gill
David Gill (born 1966) is a German civil servant and politician, serving as the German Ambassador to Ireland since August 2024. He previously served as German Consul General in New York and he had been Secretary of State and head of the Bundespräsidialamt, the administration of the President of Germany. He was appointed on March 19th, 2012, by President Joachim Gauck and stayed in office until February 2017. He is a member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany.

Student Essay Awards Presentation by David Gill

Keynote Talk – Heinrich Boll’s Search for “a Liveable Language in a Liveabe Country” by Maria Birger

Maria Birger is a historian and literary scholar with the Heinrich Böll Foundation in Berlin, specialising in the life, work, and cultural legacy of Heinrich Böll.

This talk explores how Heinrich Böll, writing in the aftermath of war, developed his idea of a “liveable language” as part of a broader vision for rebuilding a humane and democratic society. It will also examine how this concept shaped his international outlook, particularly his travels and support for dissidents in places such as Soviet Russia.

Hugo Hamilton – Conversations with the Sea
Award-winning author Hugo Hamilton talks about his novel Conversation with The Sea

Followed by reception in The Strand (F28 NY97).

Saturday 2nd May

10am Guided Nature Walk at Keel Beach with Micheál Ó Briain
Meet at Keel Beach (parking opposite community football pitch / playground)

Lunch in The Beehive, Keel (F28 TN27)

14:00 – 17:00 Heinrich Böll Cottage open to public (F28 CC96)

14.00 Anne Shannon Memorial Writers Seminar
Venue: An Clochan, Keel (F28 XA33)
with Rita Ann Higgins

Galway-based poet and author Rita Ann Higgins is an Ireland Reads Ambassador, a member of Aosdána, a regular contributor to RTÉ Radio One’s Brendan O’Connor show, and has held prison writing workshops in Ireland and the UK.

14.00 Presentation of Joseph Beuys
Venue: St. Thomas’s Hall, Dugort (F28 H320)

By Timothy Emlyn Jones and Nigel Rolf

In his talk, artist and friend of Joseph Beuys Timothy Emlyn Jones will read three Beuys-related extracts from his work-in-progress memoir, ‘A Portrait of The Artist Drawn from Memory’, outlining the connections that join Beuys and Boll.

Performance artist Nigel Rolfe will revist his 1999 talk on Joseph Beuys, tracing his journey into the sublime.

Followed by Panel Discussion with Sean Lynch

17:00 Launch: From the Earth
Paintings and new book from Achill-based artist Margo McNulty.

18.00 Performance: Paula Fitzsimons and Nigel Rolfe
Venue: Car park at St. Thomas’s Hall, Dugort (F28 H320)

20.00 Readings & Music
Venue: St. Thomas’ Church, Dugort (F28 WC92)

Iggy McGovern – Reads from “Hammer & Spark”

Rita Ann Higgins – reads from “Jiving with Wasps: New & Selected Poems”

John F. Deane – reads from “Jonah and Me”

Music with Diarmuid Gielty and John Butler

Sunday 3rd May

10.00 Guided Walk: Uplands and Intertidal Zone Archaeology
Meet at Ted’s Pub, Cashel (F28 AX57) for bus transfer
With Eoin Halpin, Michael Gibbons and Mary Joe O’Keefe

Lunch – Venue Ted’s Bar & Restaurant, Cashel (F28 AX57)

14.00 Readings from the Achill Writers Group
Ted’s Bar & Restaurant, Cashel (F28 AX57)
Followed by readings with Michelle Walshe, Timothy Emlyn Jones and the Achill Writers Group. Followed by music with Diarmuid Gielty and John Butler.

20.00 David O’Doherty: Highway to the David Zone
Venue: Ted’s Bar & Restaurant, Cashel (F28 AX57)

A new opus from comedian, podcaster, and some-time Achill resident David O’Doherty.

Book online at heinrichboellcottage.com

Email: hbollachill@anu.ie