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Eimear McBride: The City Changes Its FaceHosted by Jarlath Killeen
Friday, 10th October 2025
7pm for 7.30pm* Note: This event immediately follows the annual short story presentations and prize-giving in the festival dome, which begins at 7pm. This year’s short story competition was judged by Eimear McBride.
Location: Festival Dome, Bridge Lane, Castlebar, Co. Mayo, F23 PN20
Eimear McBride is the author of four novels: A Girl is a Half-formed Thing, The Lesser Bohemians, Strange Hotel and The City Changes Its Face. She held the inaugural Creative Fellowship at the Beckett Research Centre, University of Reading and is the recipient of the Women's Prize for Fiction, Goldsmiths Prize, Kerry Prize, and the James Tait Black Memorial Prize.
So, all would be grand then, as far as the eye could see. Which it was, for a while. Up until the city, remembering its knives and forks, invited itself in to dine.
It's 1995. Outside their grimy window, the city rushes by. But in the flat there is only Stephen and Eily. Their bodies, the tangled sheets. Unpacked boxes stacked in the kitchen and the total obsession of new love.
Eighteen months later, the flat feels different. Love is merging with reality. Stephen's teenage daughter has re-appeared, while Eily has made a choice, the consequences of which she cannot outrun. Now they face a reckoning for all that's been left unspoken - emotions, secrets and ambitions. Tonight, if they are to find one another again, what must be said aloud?
Love rallies against life. Time tells truths. The city changes its face.
'A writer with the courage to reinvent the sentence as she pleases, and the virtuosity required to pull it off.' – Literary Review
'A writer for whom language is an end not a means, a beginning not an end.' – Jeanette Winterson
'A writer of remarkable power and originality.' – Times Literary Supplement
Booking info: All events at this year’s festival are on a first come, first served basis. We recommend wrapping up warmly and arriving early to secure a seat. All events in the festival dome are free of charge.
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Event Venue & Nearby Stays
bridge st, Bridge Street,Castlebar, Ireland
