The 2025 Frances Browne Literary Festival launch
FREE Event - booking not required
At the launch, we are delighted to extend a special welcome to author Helen Nicholl, and to enjoy a musical interlude from talented sean-nós singer Geneviève Galarneau. The event will also feature the presentation of the Frances Browne Award, and full programme details will be revealed. Copies of the programme will be available on the day.
This is a free event and we welcome everyone to come and join us.
With thanks to Donegal County Council for their continued support.
When & Where
Date: Thursday 9 October 2025
Time: 3.00pm
Venue: Kee’s Hotel, Stranorlar, Co. Donegal
About the Participants
Helen Nicholl
Born in apartheid South Africa to activist parents, Helen Nicholl grew up in Cape Town before moving to London, where she worked as a nanny and married Northern Irish artist Kenneth Nicholl. Her life has taken her across England, Northern Ireland, and post-Independence Zimbabwe, where she worked as a nursery school teacher and school librarian. She has published journalism, a children’s picture book (The Animal Bus), and two adult novels (The Traveller’s Guide to Love and Life Study #2), with further middle-grade novels and a third adult novel recently completed. She now lives in Belfast, where her work continues to reflect a lifetime of creativity, travel, and storytelling.
Geneviève Galarneau
Geneviève is an All-Canada champion sean-nós singer, having won the Comórtas Amhránaíochta Sean-nós at the Oireachtas na Gaeilge Cheanada in 2021. She has studied, performed, and taught with renowned traditional performers in both the US and Ireland, and holds a master’s degree in folklore and ethnomusicology. A native of Portland, Oregon, she has now made her home in County Donegal, where she continues her lifelong study of the Irish language, folklore, and song tradition.
Is amhránaí sean-nóis í Geneviève a bhfuil Comórtas Amhránaíochta Oireachtas na Gaeilge Cheanada buaite aici. Rinne sí staidéar agus cheol sí le roinnt de na ceoltóirí is cáiliúla i SAM agus in Éirinn. Tá MA aici i mbéaloideas agus eitnicheoleolaíocht. As Portland, Oregon ó dhúchas di, tá cónaí uirthi anois i gContae Dhún na nGall agus í ag leanstan lena staidéar ar thraidisiún na Gaeilge, ar an bhéaloideas, agus ar an amhránaíocht.
Ticketing Info
Admission: Free event
No booking required, all welcome.
About the Frances Browne Literary Festival
The Frances Browne Literary Festival celebrates the life and legacy of Frances Browne (1816–1879), the “Blind Poetess of Ulster.” Rooted in her hometown of Ballybofey-Stranorlar, Co. Donegal, the festival brings together poets, writers, musicians, and communities from Ireland and beyond to share in her spirit of creativity, inclusion, and multilingual expression.
📖 Explore the full programme and festival information at: www.francesbrowneliteraryfestival.com
Acknowledgements
Festival sponsors: Donegal County Council and the Finn Valley Voice.
