Word power to rule in Laois at Abbeyleix festival

The  Power of Words Festival  is getting set for another wonderful weekend celebrating  words - written, spoken, acted and sung - in Abbeyleix on the weekend of the 19th to the 21st August.

Now in its fourth year, the festival is set to be as beautiful, relaxed and accessible  as ever.

A full programme will be released shortly, filled with writing workshops, author interviews, readings, book launches, poetry, music, theatre, a creative embodiment workshop, children and teenage events, heritage walks and talks, video presentations and plenty of Open Mic opportunities for people wishing to come along and share their words.

The Bookmark in Portlaoise will also run a  ‘pop-up’  bookstore over the weekend which will stock the books of all of the writers on the 2022 programme.

Visiting writers this year include Danielle McLaughlin, Dave Lordan, Andrea Carter, John MacKenna, Martina Murphy, Arthur Broomfield, Angela Keogh, Johnny Renko, Frances Harney, and many more.

The Living Poets' Society  is another unique feature of the festival. A chosen  Living Poet  will have their work honoured and celebrated throughout the weekend, and receive  The Living Poets' Society Award. The chosen poet for the inaugural year was Pat Ingoldsby, and Rita AnnHiggins received the 2021 Award. The  Living Poet  for this year’s festival will be unveiled shortly.
Nobody loves stories more than children and they will once again feature strongly in the 2022 festival. The festival will also include readings by, and to, children from the town’s newest communities.

The weather has always been kind to the festival and the team is hoping to be as lucky again this year, given that the festival will continue to use outdoor as well as indoor venues for events.

At the helm are: Amanda Kelly, Noelle O’Connell, Evelyn Quinlan, Mairead Connell, Tara Doyle, Ruth Miller and David Delaney who are a group of locally based, talented, artistic individuals, with a wide range of experience and expertise in producing and delivering creative and community events. They are writers, readers, theatre makers, actors, musicians, educators and community facilitators, who all share a spirit of inclusion and belonging.

''We look forward to welcoming everyone once again to Abbeyleix on the weekend of August 19th – 21st, where a guaranteed warm welcome will be offered. There’s something for everyone here and the promise of a truly enjoyable and engaging weekend awaits, with lots of chats and laughter along the way. What more could you want?''  says festival founder, Amanda Kelly.

For information, please visit  www.powerofwords.ie  or Facebook  & Instagram.