BBF Songwriting Workshop
Lisselton School, Saturday 29 th March, 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Fiachra McKeever is a musician, multi-instrumentalist and
singer/songwriter from Listowel. He has been performing live in the
Listowel area and abroad for 20 years and has been writing songs since
childhood. He is a former student of BIMM in Dublin, where he studied
commercial songwriting. He was the host of a songwriting workshop in
Listowel at Listowel Writers Week in 2023 and has been facilitating the
development of live music performance in Listowel with open
microphone nights since the reopening after lockdown.
In this workshop, we will discuss the different parts that make up a song,
discuss the common components and forms of songwriting, including
chord sequences, melody and lyrics; as well as discussing some
conventions in the composition of traditional Irish bardic verse. At the
end, putting all that together, we shall write a song.
This is primarily a workshop for beginners; however, all are welcome.
Short Story Workshop
BBF Short Story Workshop, Saturday March 29 th , 2 p.m. to 4.30 p.m.
Emer Fallon – Kerry Writer-in-residence
Short Story Workshop – During the workshop we will examine and discuss some
examples of short fiction, use prompts to explore beginnings and endings, and
delve into what makes a successful short story.
Emer Fallon is a poet and fiction writer who lives in West Kerry. Her poems have
been appeared in many publications including Banshee journal, The Stinging Fly,
Poetry Ireland Review, and The Irish Times and her fiction has been published in
anthologies and shortlisted or commended in Fish Short Story competition, Kerry Literary Award, and Hennessy New Irish Writing.
Poetry Workshop
Lisselton School
BBF Poetry Workshop, Saturday March 29 th , 10 a.m. to 12.30
Faye Boland – The Poet’s Lens
Like any good photographer the poet may decide to adjust their lens. The
photographer can use filters to distort or enhance a person or object; they can zoom in and out. They can also use time-lapse or show movement in slow-motion. These devices can also be applied to writing poetry and we will examine some poems where they have been applied. We will also do a few writing exercises based on the poems we have studied. This workshop would suit writers who have some prior experience of writing poetry.
Faye Boland won the Robert Leslie Boland Prize 2018 and the Hanna
Greally International Literary Award 2017. She placed third in the Bere
Island Poetry Competition 2024. Her Chapbook Fishing For Tea was highly
commended in the Fool for Poetry Chapbook Competition 2024 and she
was highly commended in the Desmond O’ Grady Competition 2019. Her
first poetry collection Peripheral was published in September 2018 by The
Manuscript Publisher.
BBF Traditional Dance workshops
Kianan Doherty –Saturday, March 29 th. Venue: Coolard GAA Clubroom
Sean nós 9.30 – 10.30 (All ages and abilities)
Set Dancing 10.30 – 12.30. (Teenagers and adults with some experience)
Contact Noelle – 086 – 8451263
Ballydonoghue Bardic Festival 