10th annual Rostrevor Literary Festival

The 10th annual Rostrevor Literary Festival on Saturday attracted a huge audience and heard from a diverse range of writers from across the island.

The programme included Fergal Keane - one of the world's most distinguished foreign correspondents in conversation with former

Political Correspondent and Festival founder William Graham.

Also on stage was acclaimed actor, comedian and novelist Ardal O'Hanlon who is best known for his much loved roles in

Father Ted, Death in Paradise and Derry Girls. He was interviewed by Festival committee member and poet Fionnbharr Rodgers.

Festival opened with Dara McAnulty, the naturalist, writer, and environmental campaigner. He talked on stage with Jane Kelly one of the key organisers of Saturday's sold out event.

Also there were remarkable contributions from the Dublin based poet Jane Robinson - plus the Arlen House Irish women writers

Nessa O'Mahony, Csilla Toldy, Rosemary Jenkinson, Maureen Boyle and Dierdre Cartmill.

The festival closed with Daniel Mulhall talking about W B Yeats and the Ireland of his time.

Dan Muhall is a retired Irish Ambassador who served in London and Washington and is an expert on Irish history and literature.

Day 2 of the festival included a writers memoir workshop with Maureen Boyle and and also an open mic sesion with Matthew McGrath at Crawford's Bar in the Rostrevor Inn.

The festival was supported by Newry, Down and Mourne Council . It was part funded through the Community Events and Festival Grant.

William Graham from the Festival Committee said this was one of the most successful events ever and paritcularly fitting

in celebrating the 10th anniversary of Rostrevor Literary Festival.

``I would like to pay a tribute to my fellow festival committee organisers - Jane Kelly, Carrie Alexander, Csilla Toldy and Fionnbharr Rodgers for the huge amount of work they have put in to make all of this possible,'' Mr Graham said.