Enduring Fictions: Celebrating ‘The Long Gaze Back’

Posted on: 29 March 2018

The tradition of women’s writing in Ireland was explored at a free literary and musical evening in Trinity College Dublin featuring readings from the anthology The Long Gaze Back and music from the Mornington Singers on Thursday, April 5th, 2018.

Edited by Sinéad Gleeson, The Long Gaze Back: An Anthology of Irish Women Writers (New Island, 2015) gathers short stories by 30 Irish women writers, from Maria Edgeworth to E. M. Reapy. It is the ‘Dublin: One City One Book’ choice for 2018. Inspired by the anthology, the event, Enduring Fictions: Celebrating The Long Gaze Back, explored the many timely questions the anthology raises about literature and representation in Ireland, and celebrated the achievement of four of the writers whose stories are collected in the book.

At the event, organised by the School of English, novelist and short story writer Éilís Ní Dhuibhne joined Professor Aileen Douglas, Head of the School of English, for a conversation about the tradition of women’s writing in Ireland. This was followed by Dr Amy Prendergast, Dr Paul Delaney, and Professor Eve Patten all from Trinity’s school of English who examined stories by Maria Edgeworth, Mary Lavin, and Elizabeth Bowen, bringing their work, and their legacies, to life.

Trinity actors read from the stories, and the acclaimed Dublin mixed-voice chamber choir ‘The Mornington Singers’, conducted by Dr Orla Flanagan, Assistant Professor in Music, Trinity provided music throughout the evening. Some new works by women composers was included in the programme.

Professor Douglas commented: “Women’s writing and publishing in Ireland goes back for centuries. Our ‘Enduring Fictions’ event will celebrate some of the most distinctive contributions to the tradition of women’s writing.  It also allows us to consider what that tradition means to women writing and publishing today.”

This event was organised as part of the ‘Dublin: One City One Book’ programme for 2018. For more details, and to view the full programme of events in April 2018, visit http://www.dublinonecityonebook.ie/

Media Contact:

Fiona Tyrrell, Media Relations Officer | tyrrellf@tcd.ie | +353 1 896 3551