Embracing nature: Tipperary literary festival to focus in on film and the natural world

Film and nature will be the focus on Sunday, October 8, at the Dromineer Nenagh Literary festival. The first event will be a screening of Do Chuala Ceol.

This creative collaboration between singer and composer Fiona Kelleher, musician Caoimhín Vallely and award winning filmmaker Dónal Ó Céilleachair brings to life an Irish Suantraí (Magical/Lullaby) Song Cycle based on the poetry of Seamus Ó Céilleachair and Seán Ó Riordán (An Creagar).

The 45-minute film with music, poetry and visuals all coming from Múscraí in west Cork follows the course of the River Sullane, marrying the scenery with the poems and music, while adding elements of animation. As these are lullabies the film is made like a dream.

A young girl falls asleep and dreams the landscape. She finds a magic stone and it’s about hanging onto something that comes out of the landscape. The stone is her point of entrance into the other world, the dream world.

This is a totally captivating work and a wonderful accompaniment for Anja Murray’s talk which follows immediately after the screening.

In her book, Wild Embrace, ecologist, broadcaster and nature enthusiast Anja Murray offers a gentle and effective antidote to eco-anxiety, as she awakens us to the unseen wonders of Ireland’s natural world.

Whether in urban or rural settings, Anja shows how to nurture a joyful relationship with the nature on our doorstep and become empowered to make change for the better, from a place of deeper connection and knowledge.

This year’s river talk on board the Ku-Ee-Tu will be a conversation with author Claire Walsh and journalist Lia Hynes.

Claire’s book Under Water is a candid and captivating story of how holding her breath taught her to live.

Claire spent her twenties living the life she thought she was supposed to live, all the while playing hide and seek with depression.

As a result, the road to recovery was the only travelling she did.

Aged 32, single and living with her parents, she decided it was time to chart her own path. Booking a flight to South America, she let go of “at home Claire” and opened herself up to a new world of possibilities.

It was here she discovered freediving, one of the most dangerous sports in the world, but at 60 metres below the surface, Claire discovered a fresh perspective that transformed her life and helped her find freedom.

She has written Underwater You Don’t Hear Anything.

"Putting my face in the water is like a sigh of relief for my mind. Internal chatter, judgements and criticism fade to a white noise and the rhythmic anchor of my breathing through the snorkel lulls me into the welcomed quietness."

Full information and booking on www.dnlf.ie