Cónal Creedon is a writer and documentary filmmaker whose writing crosses borders, geographically, culturally and socially. As many of you know I have been fortunate to do a few festival events alongside Cónal Creedon, entitled Two For The Road, which has been described as a non-broadcast podcast. This has been a wonderful opportunity to get to know more about Cónal and to find out what inspires his work.
Across the month of June Cónal is undertaking a West Cork Reading Tour – Come West The Road With Me -starting in Ballincollig May 29th and finishing up June 27th in Macroom.
Come West The Road With Me is a whistle-stop reading tour around West Cork, a homecoming of sorts for Cónal who has strong family connections to West Cork. His father’s family [Creedon] are from Inchigeelagh in Iveleary and his mother’s people [Blake] are from Adrigole on the Beara Peninsula.
Why did Cónal Creedon decide on this Whistle-Stop Tour:
2024/25 continues to be a very special year for Cónal. His contribution to the arts has achieved well-deserved recognition, receiving a number of prestigious international awards including: The Leonardo Da Vinci Award from the World Cultural Council Switzerland, The IBAM Award from the Irish American Heritage Centre in Chicago, The Beatty Lecture McGill University Montreal, The Cap Award in Dublin and the Princess Grace Irish Library Monaco Residency Ireland Funds Monaco Award.
On his return from his travels, Cónal’s poem [dedicated to his mother] – Come West With Me To Beara – was broadcast on RTE radio resonating with many listeners.
Cónal was subsequently invited to read on The Today Show RTE 1 TV.
Details of the tour
May 29th Ballincollig – Cónal will be a guest of The Oars at The White Horse Inn Ballincollig.
The Oars, Eoin Coughlan and Brian Morrissey, recently returned from Louisiana USA where they recorded with multi Grammy award winner Dirk Powel. Last weekend, they performed live at the sell-out Munster Senior Hurling Championship Limerick v Cork.
June 5th – Cónal will then be joining his friend and music-collaborator John Spillane at de Barra’s in Clonakilty.
June 6th – Inanna Rare Books in Skibbereen, John Minihan [photographer] will be Cónal’s guest of honour.
The whistle-stop tour will finish June 27th at the unique venue of The Macroom Cattle Mart. Cónal will be reading with his good friend, writer and columnist Denis Lehane.
Along the way – Conal will also be reading at:
The Working Artist’s Studio in Ballydehob
The Bantry Bookshop in Bantry
Sarah Walker’s Gallery in Castletownbere
Recently I reviewed Cónal’s latest collection, Spaghetti Bowl, where I first came across his beautiful poem Come West With Me To Beara. This collection is very special but to hear Cónal read his own work live is a truly rare experience so if you are anywhere near any of these venues do drop by.
I’ll leave you with a few words I wrote from my review of Spaghetti Bowl.
Every city needs a person who will document its people and its past and in Cork, we are very honoured to have Cónal Creedon take on that role. Cónal was born in 1961 to a large family on Devonshire Street right in the heart of Cork city. He also operated a laundrette there in the 1980s. For the best part of 100 years his family have traded on Devonshire Street, but the inner city retail and cultural scene is very different from what it was in the last century. Many Corkonians moved to the suburbs over the years with much of its original character now gone, but through the eyes of Cónal Creedon, I have learned to see my city differently. He has taught me to acknowledge the changes and to be aware that underneath it all, Cork is, and always will be, a city of rebels and rogues. We are a very proud people with a great ability to laugh at ourselves and to see the humour even during the darkest of times.
https://www.swirlandthread.com/spaghetti-bowl-conal-creedon/
