Enniskillen International 

Beckett Festival
Photos by Pat Keenan

Watercolour painting of Samuel Beckett by Pat Keenan
following his visit to Enniskillen festival, August 2013

     Dublin born Nobel Prize-winning writer Samuel Beckett, a leading key member of what Martin Esslin called the Theatre of the Absurd, went to Portora Royal School in Enniskillen, County Fermanagh. A blue plaque was unveiled on school wall in 2008 alongside that of another famous literary pupil, Oscar Wilde.

When humour comes, it comes black
     Beckett's work is bleak and minimalist and when humour comes, it comes black.  The festival reflected some of this darkness in his work, with underground performances in The Marble Arch Caves, and Falling, an haunting interpretation of Beckett's The Lost Ones  by Tomoko Mukaiyama (Japan) & Jean Kalman (France), in the servants tunnel in Castle Coole. I was impressed by the eerie walk in a dark dense fog through the tunnel, or cylinder, which according to The Lost Ones, "invites you to search a journey of your own tale, probably a tale of loss. The deep murk creates music, its timbre evokes the consonance which you used to share. Familiar air with moist and warm temperature touches your memories. There has always been an exit, where all these have started. The tunnel, a little pilgrim to visit yourself.” This was a strange and haunting experience.

Castle Coole, on Belfast to Enniskillen road (A4), one of Ireland's finest Neo-classical houses, the home of the Earls of Belmore is now a National Trust property

Castle Coole, Castlecoole Rd  Enniskillen, BT74 6JY Tel: 028 6632 2690 Email: castlecoole@nationaltrust.org.uk  Web:  www.nationaltrust.org.uk/castle-coole/

The Marble Arch Caves is one of Europe's finest show caves allowing visitors to explore a fascinating, natural underworld of rivers, waterfalls, winding passages and lofty chambers. Both Marble Arch Caves and the nearby Cuilcagh Mountain Park have jointly been recognised as a UNESCO Global Geopark due to the world importance of their geology and landscapes. The site is one of only 3 UNESCO Geoparks in Ireland.

Tours of the Marble Arch Caves are available, Monday- Sunday from Saturday 16th March 2013 until the end of September 2013.

Marble Arch Caves Global Geopark, 43 Marlbank Road, Legnabrocky, Florencecourt, County FermanaghNorthern Ireland BT92 1EW  Web: www.marblearchcavesgeopark.com/

Dinner at 'Blandings' - well actually Crom Castle 
Celebrating Happy Days Enniskillen International Beckett Festival

     The Earl himself and his son Viscount Crichton welcomed us into their home for a dinner celebrating the work and influence of Samuel Beckett, as part of the 'Happy Days' Enniskillen International Beckett Festival. This was the second sucessful year of the festival and plans are already shaping up for next year. Flushed with the success of the G8 summit earlier this year, the evening brought together local industry and business representatives with visiting media to showcase Fermanagh and Northern Ireland, locally, nationally and internationally.

Crom Castle, on a 1,900-acre estate on the shores of Upper Lough Erne, is the home of Lord and Lady Carnarvon, and strictly off limits to the public, with the exception of the West Wing which is open to the public and is available for hire.
Viscount Crichton, himself made a brief appearance in the BBC TV series Blandings as an under butler.

Visit: www.cromcastle.com

West Wing, Crom Castle, Newtownbutler, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland  

T: (+44) 028 677 38004  Email – info@cromcastle.com Web: www.cromcastle.com

Accommodation

     We stayed at an outstanding hotel in the heart of Fermanagh, overlooking the golf course, overlooking Lough Erne. The breakfast omelettes, made to order are delicious. Highly recommended - the breakfast too.

Manor House Hotel, Killadeas, Enniskillen, Co. Fermanagh, Tel + 44 (0)28 6862 2200 
Checkout: www.manorhousecountryhotel.com/

Manor House Hotel overlooking Lough Erne

Dinner on Lough Erne

     Lady of the Lake Dinner Cruise departs from Inishclare Jetty, Killadeas.

Captain Frank Milne

We had a delicious, informal and relaxing four course dinner including wine (or whatever -there's a bar on board) while cruising along Lower Lough Erne. Our initial views from our drive up and the vista from our hotel confirmed that Fermanagh is a very beautiful county but as you cruise along into a sun setting evening it becomes magical. A guide gave us a some facts and history about the area and some anecdotal stories of local and visiting people. In the old days you could set your watch on the arrival of the Duke of Westminster's flying boat. We could still see the concrete remains of the flying-boat base still remaining.

     We had live music on board, not exactly to my taste, that blend of Irish country music that manages to name every county and every town in Ireland and then drags on to includes the old mother and the sweet calleen left behind on the green green grass of home. However it is local, very popular in these parts, and it has to be said, my fellow diners including a large Japanese contingent seemed to enjoy it immensely.

Lower Lough Erne: cruising into a sun setting evening

Greek lunch in Enniskillen

     I love Greek food. Imagine then my surprise, a Greek restaurant in the centre of an Irish town. Owned and run by Frank Doll, Christa Deffge, Sarah and Georgios Maravelakis, hence Dollakis. 

     Start with crusty bread grilled with garlic, herbs with green and kalamata olives. Then Chicken Souvlaki, marinated in lemon & oregano with Greek potatoes and a Greek salad. My coffee could have been a tad stronger, that apart, it was a  great lunch. Recommended.

Restaurant Dollakis, 2b Cross Street, Enniskillen  Tel: 028 6634 2616

Checkout: www.dollakis.co.uk/

Dinner at 'Blandings' -actually Crom Castle 
Celebrating Happy Days Enniskillen International Beckett Festival

     The Earl himself and his son Viscount Crichton welcomed us into their home for a dinner celebrating the work and influence of Nobel Prize-winning writer Samuel Beckett, which was taking place in Enniskillen. This was the second sucessful year of the festival and plans are already shaping up for next year. Flushed with the success of the G8 summit earlier this year, the evening brought together local industry and business representatives with visiting media to showcase Fermanagh and Northern Ireland, locally, nationally and internationally.

The cast of the soon returning BBC tv-series 'Blandings' at Crom Castle.                              Photo: BBC

     Crom Castle on a 1,900-acre estate on the shores of Upper Lough Erne, is the home of Lord and Lady Carnarvon, is strictly off limits to the public, with the exception of the West Wing which is open to the public and is available for hire.
     Viscount Crichton, himself made a brief appearance in the BBC TV series Blandings as an under butler.

Beckett with Portuguese sub-titles -"stunningly lit and delivered"
     At the Ardhowen Theatre we watched a Beckett triple bill by the Teatro Plastico from Portugal. This company has dedicated itself to the work of Samuel Beckett’s plays, and on this occasion presented their highly visual take on three short plays Rough for Theatre 2, What Where and What is the Word.

     I'm shamelessly robbing a nice review by Clare Brennan writing in the London The Observer  because I too heard the girls snigger and I couldn't have said it better. Over to Clare: "Teenage girls sitting behind me in the Ardhowen theatre snicker as the subtitles repeat the same lines for the fourth time. What Where, written in 1983 and Beckett's final play, is the last of three stunningly lit and delivered shorts from the Portuguese company Teatro Plástico. To the teenagers, the repetitions seem ridiculous. They're right; they are young. Older members of the audience cannot laugh. To us, the repetitions, each following the disappearance of an actor from the stage towards a mysterious interrogation, are relentlessly oppressive". I was one of those older members of the audience.

Ardhowen Theatre: Beckett, stunningly lit and delivered

For more information on Happy Days Enniksillen International Beckett Festival

visit www.happy-days-enniskillen.com/‎

For more information on Fermanagh visit www.fermanaghlakelands.com/
or Tel: 44 (0) 28 6634 6736

For further information on Northern Ireland go to  www.discovernorthernireland.com 

or contact the Tourism Information Centre, Suffolk St, Dublin 2 

or Callsave 1850 230 230.

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