The Lit Festival, through the eyes of a former member 

Attending the eighth annual Lit Festival gala was an utterly surreal experience. I remember the very first Lit opening night like it was yesterday. The nervous anticipation after months of work to create Europe’s first youth-run literary festival. Now, there I was, eight years later, attending the event as a journalist rather than as an organiser.

Although the night was all about the fantastic young people who put together an amazing programme of events, from panel discussions to book clubs to open mic nights, there was also a distinct tone of nostalgia at the event.

My fellow Lit alumni attended the event, some of whom I haven’t seen since I was a teenager. Now we’re secondary school teachers and playwrights and journalists, I never thought we’d grow up!

If the concept of so much time passing was unsettling for me, I can only imagine how Ollie Breslin felt. How many young people has he watched become pillars of the Waterford Arts Community under his guidance? Too many to count. Instead of counting, the festival co-ordinator and my old fellow committee member, Alana Daly Mulligan, presented him with a brand new award. They said: “This is an award for artistic citizenship, it recognises someone in Waterford City or County who has made an indelible mark on the cultural landscape of our city.” 

Ollie was uncharacteristically speechless, but it was clear that he was moved by the gesture. 

After a skateboarding joke and a heartfelt thanks to Alana, he sat back down and turned to us veteran Waterford Youth Arts members, beaming. He told us delightedly, “I had no idea!” 

Next up was a brilliant discussion between Lit committee member Evan Wemyss and illustrator Kathi Burke. Evan kept Kathi on her toes with hard-hitting questions such as “soft or crusty blaa?” (Kathi prefers soft), as well as more light-hearted topics such as “how will AI affect illustration?” (Kathi thinks “we need to make more weird art”).

I have no doubt that I’ll be seeing Evan interviewing people again for RTÉ in the future. He was utterly relaxed on stage, sharp as a tack, he had the audience in stitches, yet he had no fear of asking serious questions as well.

One marker of how much the festival has progressed and gained momentum was the presence of the mayor at the event. Mayor Seamus Ryan made a speech. 

“The strength of the arts in Waterford is something that should not be understated. Whatever you’re doing, keep doing it,” he said. 

Waterford Gallery of Art Director, Luke Currall, gave an inspiring speech about the intrinsically human need to create. He told the audience that the gallery “belongs to you”. 

He also passed on some words of wisdom to the young people, “The heart of all great art is vision and determination to express yourself.” 

DJ Roibi Rua made sure the vibe of the evening felt like that of a New York City warehouse house party. Surrounded by Michael Cullen's intensely expressive art, purple lighting and fresh music, the location of Waterford Gallery of Art was perfect. Amongst up-and-coming creatives, cans of Gaza Cola and a DJ with pink hair, Kathi Burke and I agreed Waterford had gotten cool since we'd left and subsequently returned. 

Lit co-organiser Síofra Tobin gave a beautiful speech about how reading is both a solitary and communal experience. 

"It is endlessly fascinating to me how we can all read the same book and come out with different key moments, favourite quotes, favourite characters," she said. "Likewise, I love when we read a book and have an opinion we think we are alone in, only to have someone or everyone else to have thought the exact same thing."

My favourite part of the night, though, were the parts where there were no speeches or photo ops. I loved watching this group of young people revel in Waterford’s artistic community. They were utterly unafraid to approach the writers, artists and curators present and explain their view of the world. They made us laugh with their wit and warmed our hearts with their enthusiasm for make-believe worlds.

Mary O’Donoghue, alumnus of the Lit and current WYA creative writing teacher, put it best when she said, “I am in awe of what the Lit festival has become. I feel like Alice marvelling through the looking glass.”