Our festival is inspired by the life and work of Frances Browne, the Blind Poetess of Ulster (1816-1879) who was born in Stranorlar. Our aim is to promote a revival of interest in Frances in her native area and beyond. By reviving the literary legacy of Frances Browne we celebrate theunique linguistic and cultural diversity of this part of Donegal, the only place in Ireland where Irish, English and Ulster-Scots language is spoken on a daily basis.

 

Frances Browne's most famous poem, "Songs of our land," is a reflection on language, and how the soul of a nation is encapsulated in its literary outputs. She wrote prolifically in all formats. She was as much at home with an essay, an article, or a novel as she was with her great fortes, poetry and childrens' writing. Her masterpiece, the children’s storybook "Granny's Wonderful Chair" was a bestseller all over the world, but she also deserves to be remembered for her unswerving opposition to slavery and all sorts of injustice.

 

History of the Festival by Celine McGlynn, Chairperson, Frances Browne Literary Festival Committee

 

The first Frances Browne Literary Festival was held in 2021. But it didn’t come out of nowhere... Frances Browne was born in the town of Stranorlar in Co. Donegal. Despite the fact that she had international success in her lifetime, by the middle of the 20th century she had been largely forgotten not just by the world, but even in her hometown. A small band of people were determined that she wouldn’t be completely forgotten however, and worked hard to rediscover her works, the story of her life, and to save the legacy for future generations.

 

Paddy Bonar, recipient of the first Frances Browne Award, was the most prominent of these at the beginning. His interest in local history inspired his research and in 2007 he published “The Life and Works of Frances Browne.” The Finn Valley Voice newspaper, based in Ballybofey regularly featured Frances Browne in its history section. In 2008 editor Celine McGlynn, science and history editor Pat Holland, with judges Máire Ní Giolla Bhríde and Dr Pauline Holland decided to host a poetry competition with a difference - The Frances Browne Multilingual Poetry Competition, with a callout to poets in the three languages of Irish, Ulster Scots and English, that are all spoken in the area, the only part of Ireland with the same mix of languages as exists in Northern Ireland. The competition has been a regular feature of the Donegal literary calendar ever since.

 

“Treasure Each Voice - 400 years of Anglo-Irish, Irish and Ulster Scots Literature from Stranorlar,” edited by Dr Pauline Holland in 2010, begins and ends with Frances Browne. The title is taken from her anthemic “Songs of Our Land.” It provided the first intellectual examination of Browne’s life and work. Also in 2010, Stranorlar Town Action group erected a statue of Frances Browne at The Pound, Stranorlar.

 

2012 saw the launch of “The Best of Frances Browne: Poems, Stories and Essays by the Blind Genius of Stranorlar” by Raymond Blair who with Paddy Bonar has worked tirelessly researching the writer’s life and work. Others joined the movement - Shirley-Anne Bonner who, growing up a few doors down from where Frances grew up, went on to write her play “In My Mind’s Eye”, exploring how Frances Browne’s imaginative inner life and creativity transformed obstacles into unbelievable artistic success. Shirley-Anne also brought Frances’s own works - The Legends of Ulster - to the story in a play adaptation.

 

The Bicentenary Event launched on 16th January 2016 with a very strong committee heralded a number of events during 2016 to commemorate Frances Browne including, drama, music, a walking tour, public reading, lectures, art and poetry competitions and events at The Pound Historical Park, Stranorlar. The committee comprised Shirley Anne Bonar, Susan Doherty, Rita Herron (who went to Richmond Cemetery where Frances is buried), Pauline Holland, Philippa Collings, Conor Malone, Gerard Doherty, Paddy Bonar, Whitby McClay, Pat Holland, Moya Holland and Celine McGlynn,

 

And so to 2021 when, with the support of Donegal County Council, Celine agreed to start a Festival to promote a revival of interest in Frances in her native area and beyond. In doing so we celebrate the unique linguistic and cultural diversity of this part of Donegal. And perhaps as importantly we also celebrate and support writers, artists and musicians - new, established and unjustly forgotten - who add to the richness of Frances Browne’s legacy. We seek to tell the stories of other, less well-known writers, from the North West in all traditions.