Le Fanu Festival 2024
The Women : the Le Fanu Women in Music, Arts & Politics
Date and time
Location
St John and St Ailbe's Church
Abington Murroe V94 N230 IrelandAgenda
10:30 AM - 3:30 PM
The Programme
About this event
- Event lasts 5 hours
Le Fanu Festival 2024
Date: Saturday 26th October
Venue: St John & St Ailbe’s Church, Abington, Murroe, V94N230
Join us for our third festival celebrating the Le Fanu family’s contribution to literature, history and culture of Murroe, Limerick and the world beyond. Our festival was born out of the Le Fanu family’s little-known connection to the village of Abington in Murroe, where they settled in the early 1800s.
Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu is the most well known of the Limerick Le Fanus, as the writer of novels and stories, written in the gothic genre, full of ghostly and mysterious happenings. He, his sister Catherine, brother William and their parents lived in Abington. The family led fascinating lives during the turbulent times while they lived in Abington and thereafter, that tell us so much about Irish history and culture, and still resonate to this day.
The theme for the 2024 festival is ‘The Le Fanu Women: Music, the Arts and Politics’
The day will be a mixture of talks and music.
Learn about the fascinating lives of the Le Fanu women, how women are portrayed in Sheridan Le Fanu’s novels. We will have a performance of an almost forgotten piece of music - one of Sheridan Le Fanu’s ballads set to music by Sir Charles Villiers Stanford. The day will include a narrated tour of the graves of the Le Fanus and of the tragic Winnie Barrington.
We are particularly pleased this year to welcome Professor Nicola Le Fanu, great grand daughter of William Le Fanu, the railway engineer.
Frequently asked questions
There is a public bus to nearby Murroe. It is a 20 minute walk on a country road to reach the church. We recommend wearing a high viz vest for your own safety and the safety of other road users
There is parking in the church grounds.
Yes.
It is possible to walk from the church to the graveyard. These are country roads so attendees might like to walk with the group.
Unfortunately not. As with many graveyards, the terrain is grassy and uneven.
Yes.
Yes. But we ask that attendees donate to the upkeep of the beautiful Saint John's & Saint Ailbhe's Church.