A MAJOR celebration of the memory of Irish writer Kate O’Brien is to take place in Limerick later this month despite her former home lying in ruins in the city.
The annual Kate O’Brien literary weekend will celebrate the writer’s most acclaimed works. Fintan O’Toole will deliver the keynote speech at the event, which will run from February 25th until February 27th.
Her former home, Boru House, has been on the market for several years with a price tag of €1.4 million. However, the property has become a location for rubbish dumpers, drug addicts and street drinkers.
The annual literary weekend in Limerick is funded by the Arts Council and Limerick City Council, and organised by readers for readers to celebrate the memory of O’Brien.
O’Brien’s former home was damaged by fire last year and has been fenced off from the public street.
She was born into a prosperous Limerick family in 1897. Having settled in Galway in 1950, she moved to England in 1960 and later died in Kent in 1974.