THE ROCK BAR, FALLS ROAD

ADMISSION £6, PAY CASH AT DOOR

Doors open at 3:30pm for 4pm start

2024 is the centenary of the birth of Pádraic Fiacc (from Elizabeth Street, off the Falls) whose poetry tackled the Troubles head-on with an unflinching style. In this new publication, Tear The Dead Back Alive, Michael McKernon and Fiona Gault, reading from Fiacc’s work, present the early years of Pádraic’s life in New York, his emerging poetry, painting and music, and his decision to return to Belfast in 1946. At 15, Katriona O’Sullivan was pregnant, homeless and poor. Yet she had extraordinary self-belief and today is an award-winning academic whose unflinching and inspirational memoir, about how she turned her life around, is a Number One bestseller. ‘Moving, funny, brave and original’- Roísín Ingle, Irish Times. ‘One of the best books I’ve read about the complexities of poverty . . . one of the most remarkable people you will ever meet’ – Guardian. ‘Heroic’ – BBC Woman’s Hour.

Jan Carson’s critically acclaimed writings explore themes related to identity, place and belonging, but also to angst and alienation, in such works as The Fire Starters (winner EU Prize for Literature, 2019) and The Raptures. She is also very funny! About her latest collection of short stories, Quickly, While They Still Have Horses, the Irish Times said: ‘Long after the reader has closed the book, these tales linger in the mind: vivid, original and moving.’

In Irish Pints Ali Dunworth delves into the culture, customs and craic surrounding pints in Ireland, from pints for celebrations, weddings and funerals, festival pints, quiet pints, crisps and pints and everything in between, including ‘rounds’. Ali is a freelance food, drink and travel writer and her work has appeared in the Irish Times and Food & Wine Magazine. She has also worked on ‘Saturday Kitchen’, ‘Great British Menu’ and Nigella Lawson’s television series.