Frances Browne Literary Festival

10/05/2026

The best of luck to our committee member Sinéad Noonan and Twin Towns Donegal County Library who are in London tomorrow, Monday night. at the British Book Awards, hopefully winning the overall Library of the Year with the groundbreaking Frances Browne Storytellers: Seeing Beyond Sight project. 💚

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18/03/2026

Congratulations Twin Towns Library 👏👏👏

The Finn Valley Voice - in your shops today.

13/03/2026

The Festival Committee is thrilled with this news.
We are absolutely delighted for our committee member Sinéad Noonan who developed the Frances Brown Storytellers Project in honour of Frances Browne. We are also delighted for the anthology editor,Isla McGuckin, who said that sharing our diverse stories matters.

05/03/2026

Huge congratulations to our committee member Dubhán on the launch of his new poetry collection I dTreo na gCrann. All welcome

Congratulations to local author Dubhán Ó Longáin on the publication of his 2nd collection of poetry. All welcome to attend the launch.

Title: I dTreo na gCrann (Towards The Trees)
Description: Collection of Poetry
Details: A collection of around 50 newly-composed poems. Themes include life as an Irish person abroad, the connection one feels to their heritage, the start and end of relationships, birth, death, and much more of the human experience. Slam poetry (created for public 'rap-style' performance) are included towards the end of the collection. Many of the poems in this collection have placed in various competitions over the past few years.

Launch: Scoil Náisiúnta an Choimín, Thursday 12 March at 7:30. Music and refreshments on the night.
Title: I dTreo na gCrann (Towards The Trees)
Description: Collection of Poetry
Details: A collection of around 50 newly-composed poems. Themes include life as an Irish person abroad, the connection one feels to their heritage, the start and end of relationships, birth, death, and much more of the human experience. Slam poetry (created for public 'rap-style' performance) are included towards the end of the collection. Many of the poems in this collection have placed in various competitions over the past few years.

Launch: Scoil Náisiúnta an Choimín, Thursday 12 March at 7:30. Music and refreshments on the night.

20/01/2026

Wishing our sister festival, the Steinbeck in Limavady, all the best for their 2026 programme, which really has something for everyone, not just the John Steinbeck devotees. It's warm. It's welcoming. The Roe Valley Arts and Cultural Centre is a perfect festival space. It's a date in your diary. See you there.📓🖼

19/11/2025

🌟 A Heartfelt Thank You 🌟

The Frances Browne Literary Festival Committee would like to extend our sincere thanks to the Councillors of the Stranorlar Municipal District for their kind sponsorship under the Development Fund Initiative 2025 and their unwavering support of the festival.

Their ongoing commitment makes it possible for us to celebrate Frances Browne’s legacy here in her hometown, and to bring writers, storytellers, musicians, and communities together each year.

We are very grateful for their continued belief in the festival and in the cultural life of Ballybofey–Stranorlar and the wider Finn Valley.

Go raibh míle maith agaibh.

Donegal County Council

19/11/2025

In your shops today, the Finn Valley Voice
Your Community Choice - Your Community Voice.

29/10/2025

We are thrilled to present the winners of the 2025 Frances Browne Multilingual Poetry Competition - Treasure Each Voice Award and Spirit of the Festival Award featured in today's Finn Valley Voice. 🌟✍️

25/10/2025

Congratulations, Quare job and Comhghairdeas to the winning poets in the 2025 Frances Multilingual Browne Poetry Competition. The judges had a very difficult task selecting the placed and highly commended poems in each category.
Here are the 1st place winners in the international and local categories.
Thanks to everyone who entered this year’s competition. You are all winners.
Find all the winning poem announcements https://www.francesbrownel iteraryfestival.com/poetry... With thanks to Donegal County Council for their support of the Frances Browne Multilingual Poetry Competition, and to Edel MacBride Designer for her support of the Eilish MacBride Award.

Today we bring you the 1st place winners in the international and local categories of The 2025 Frances Browne Multilingual Poetry Competition.
Congratulations, Quare job and Comhghairdeas to the winning poets and to every poet who entered. Process is primary in creativity-you are all winners.

Find all the winning poem announcements https://www.francesbrownel iteraryfestival.com/poetry... With thanks to Donegal County Council for their support of the Frances Browne Multilingual Poetry Competition, and to Edel MacBride Designer for her support of the Eilish MacBride Award.

12/10/2025

💛 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐁𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐧𝐞 𝐋𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐅𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐥 💛

As the curtain falls on this year’s festival, we want to say a huge go raibh maith agaibh to everyone who made it possible.

To our funders and partners — especially and the Donegal Arts Office, who have believed in and supported the Frances Browne Literary Festival since its very beginning - your commitment has helped this small idea grow into something truly special. Thank you also to the very many funders who believe in our vision and provide support at every level. Your belief gives us the encouragement to continue.

To our local arts champions, 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐫 𝐌𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐦 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐫 𝐀𝐫𝐭𝐬 𝐂𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐞, thank you for your incredible partnership, professionalism and generosity of spirit.

To our key local media partner, the 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐧 𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐲 𝐕𝐨𝐢𝐜𝐞, thank you for always helping us share our story with the community.

To our poetry competition judges — Dubhán Ó Longáin, Pauline Holland and Anne McMaster - we’re deeply grateful for your time, care and expertise in celebrating the voices of our poets.

And to our wonderful committee of volunteers - the heart of the festival - who give hundreds of hours every year to make each event happen, we couldn’t do it without you.

Finally, a very special thank you to our 𝐅𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐥 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐢𝐫, 𝐂𝐞́𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐌𝐜𝐆𝐥𝐲𝐧𝐧, whose vision, energy and belief keep the spirit of Frances Browne alive year after year.

📖 Here’s to the stories told, the laughter shared, and the community that continues to make this festival shine.

Until next year — thank you for being part of it. 💛

.

County Library .ie Creative Ireland Edel MacBride Designer Donegal Bay and Blue Stacks Festival Balor Arts Centre @ Letterkenny Cathedral Quarter Festival Limavady