A heartfelt Thank You to our supporters!

galway | arts and media | press release Wednesday May 21, 2008 15:54 by Fred Johnston - The Western Writers' centre - Ionad Scríbhneoiri Chaitlin Maude - Galway westernwriters at eircom dot net 34 Nuns Island, Galway 091.533594

We were overwhelmed by your support

At a presentation at Galway City Hall recently, the Western Writers' Centre were pleased to unveil a variety of development plans - bolstered by enormous national and even international support

Fred Johnston at the Jack Lynch House, Shandon, Cork

The Western Writers’ Centre - Ionad Scríbhneoiri Chaitlin Maude - wishes to thank all of those who sent in expressions of support for our work prior to our recent presentation at Galway City Hall.
Our special thanks go to Senator David Norris, Dr Paul Michael Garrett (Senior Lecturer, Dept. of Political Science and Sociology, NUIGalway), novelist and journalist Martina Devlin, poet and journalist Gerry Smyth, John Arden and Margaretta D’Arcy, Breandán O Heaghra of Galway City Museum, The Munster Literature Centre, poet Gerard Hanberry, Patrick Early (France), Jorge Fondebrider (Buenos Aires, Argentina), Mary O’Donnell (Aosdána), The White House Poets (Limerick), Seosaimh O Guairim, Nuala Ni Chonchúir, Breda Lymer, and Jessica Traynor, Literary Assistant, The Abbey Theatre, Dublin. There were so many more, writers and arts’ and community practitioners from Galway city and abroad, and we are deeply grateful to them; their goodwill was also an illustration of the considerable reach of the Centre through its practical work and the use of our Website, at www.twwc.ie and our newsletter, ‘The Word Tree.’
We were overwhelmed and indeed moved by the enormous and immediate response of support for the Centre, especially as we had not worked directly with all of those who supported us.
But something important has now been said about the significance of the Western Writers’ Centre in a wider context. It is the aim of the Centre to develop into a viable literary hub in the City which will reach throughout the West of Ireland; at the same time, we would become a commemorative space for the great writers of Galway’s literary history, featuring their work and history where possible, and providing modest accomodation for visiting contemporary writers. We are open to any suggestions from Galway City Council as to how this development might be progressed and where it might be sited.
Once again, our sincere thanks to everyone who rowed in behind us - and a thanks also to Galway City Council’s IT department, for assistance with our presentation, and to our Chair, Aoife Nic Fhearghusa, for preparing it.