Irish America

Los Gatos Irish Celebrate

By Irish America Staff
November / December 2018

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Irish folk musician extraordinaire, Vincie Keenan. All photos by the author

Showcasing the best in contemporary Irish arts and literature

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he Irish Arts & Writers’ Festival brought together Irish writers and audiences in the historic and intimate town of Los Gatos, CA (an hour south of San Francisco), on October 12-14, 2018. Additional events in 2018 are scheduled for Berkeley, Oakland and San Francisco.

Christine Kinealy, who has a new book out on abolitionist Frederick Douglass, who was politicized by his trip to Ireland in the 1840s, and poet of world-renown, Paul Muldoon.

Founded and directed by Dubliner Catherine Barry, the Irish Arts & Writers’ Festival is a project of Irish Culture Bay Area. The inaugural Los Gatos Irish Writers’ Festival took place in October 2016. Los Gatos was chosen as a location due to its 23-year-old sister city relationship with Listowel, Ireland, where the internationally acclaimed Writers’ Week has been held for the past 40 years. The charming town lends itself to an intimate festival. Proximity of venues and availability of accommodation at a festival discount make it an ideal getaway weekend for the literary and arts minded. ♦

Shana Morrison, Van Morrison’s daughter with Janet Planet, began performing with her group Caledonia in San Francisco in 1996. Her style has been called pop with a side of blues and rock. She’s also known to throw in some country, R&B and jazz into the mix. Since 2002, the band has been busy with tours across the U.S. 

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