Nadine Hughes Campbell is the author behind Noah’s Cork Adventure. Born and raised in Montréal, Nadine traded in the busy streets of her Canadian hometown for the gorgeous landscapes of Cork. This children’s author and devoted mother discovered her passion for storytelling upon the birth of her first child, turning each bedtime into a voyage […]
Ethel Crowley PhD is an Irish sociologist. She is the author of Land Matters, Daring to Dream and Your Place or Mine?, as well as other journal articles, book chapters and newspaper articles. Over the years, she has combined university lecturing and academic writing with travels in Latin America, the Middle East and India. She […]
Sheila Armstrong is a writer and editor from the north-west of Ireland. How to Gut a Fish, her first collection of short stories, was shortlisted for the Kate O’Brien Award and longlisted for the Edge Hill Prize. Falling Animals, her debut novel, was shortlisted for the RSL Ondaatje Prize 2024 and chosen for BBC2’s Between […]
Who was the Bellman? Where was World’s End? What was a bridge of boats? When did chocolate arrive? Why fight a battle at Christmas? Step into history with Barry to find out. Barry Moloney has been a tour guide of Kinsale for the last 20 years. He has just published an illustrated history of Kinsale […]
EVENT ALERT - event time has been moved to 2:45pm. Sinéad Gleeson’s essay collection Constellations: Reflections from Life, was published by Picador in 2019 and won Non- Fiction Book of the Year at the 2019 Irish Book Awards and the Dalkey Literary Award for Emerging Writers. It was shortlisted for the Rathbones Folio Prize, the […]
Rónán Hession is an Irish writer and musician based in Dublin. His debut novel, Leonard and Hungry Paul was published by Bluemoose Books in 2019. It was shortlisted for the Kerry Group Irish Novel of the Year, the An Post Irish Book Awards, the British Book Awards, the Books Are My Bag awards, the Dalkey […]
Marian Keyes is a phenomenon. The multimillion copy, internationally bestselling author of some of the most widely loved, genre-defying novels of the past thirty years – including Rachel’s Holiday, Anybody Out There and Grown Ups – has millions of devoted readers around the world. My Favourite Mistake is her sixteenth novel. In addition to her […]
We are always very proud and supportive of our local writers and this event is a wonderful opportunity to showcase their talent and spotlight their voices. Michelle Dunne is a crime and thriller writer from Cobh whose new psychological thriller, The Good Girl, was published by Bloodhound Books in March 2024. In July 2024, The […]
Have you ever wondered how paper was made? Come and learn the ancient technique of paper making using recycled denim, vegetable matter and recycled paper. In the class we will learn how to cast leaves, grasses and other matter and also how to make sheets of paper suitable for book making and other art projects. […]
Enjoy this years events and festivities at Words by Water 2025 (*excludes all workshops, the Ancestral Storytelling event, and the Gaitkrash Beckett event).
While translating his father’s and grandfather’s diaries from the two World Wars, Joachim was drawn into conversation and arguments with his forefathers that never happened when they were alive. Joachim […]
Come and join us for an evening of readings, curated by poet Matthew Geden. We will be showcasing work by new and established writers. This will be a relaxed and […]
Diarmuid Ferriter and Peadar Thompson in conversation with JJ Hurley Diarmuid Ferriter is Full Professor and Chair of Modern Irish History at UCD, as well as the author of numerous […]
In the Celtic calendar, Samhain is a time for honouring those who have gone before us, when the veils of the world are at their thinnest and our ancestors can […]
Niall’s newest novel, Time of the Child was published in 2024 to wide critical acclaim and won the Kerry Group Irish Novel of the Year Award in 2025. It centres […]
Would you like to spend the morning with one of Ireland’s best loved children’s authors in the beautiful town of Kinsale? If so, this event is for you! Marita will […]
‘I was looking for a music of words, one that belonged simultaneously to poetry and to everyday speech – advertisements, headlines, fashion magazines, erotic classifieds, horoscopes – an inconspicuous music […]
Amanda Neri is an award-winning singer and director who loves to write. She is an avid reader and enjoys exploring the written word in all its forms. Her most recent […]
Gratitude Workshop with Trish Kelleher, author of The Giant of Kinsale and The Giant’s Gratitude Journal. What does gratitude mean to you? According to research, the one daily habit for […]
Harriet Wistrich in conversation with Vanessa Conneely Harriet Wistrich is the Founder and Director of the UK's Centre for Women’s Justice. A trained solicitor, with decades of experience, Harriet won […]
Join us for a celebration of exciting new voices from Cork, as four outstanding debut novelists share their journeys into fiction. Catherine Airey grew up in England in a family […]
Creating beautiful writing using the ancient art of calligraphy has held a fascination for people for thousands of years. Des Meade of The Calligraphy Scribe, is a Carrigaline-based calligrapher, who […]
Discover Kinsale’s history with a local expert Barry Moloney has been a tour guide in Kinsale for over 20 years. He is the author of An Illustrated History of Kinsale, […]
Moderated by Shane Coleman. Two acclaimed authors come together to discuss writing, memory, love, loss, and the powerful role of fiction in shaping how we see the world. Kit de […]
Aoife Barry is a Dublin-based freelance arts journalist and broadcaster. She is the author of the bestselling non-fiction book Social Capital (HarperCollins Ireland) about the impact of social media on […]
Described as ‘specialists in sorcery’ (Irish Times), GAITKRASH Theatre Company presents an exciting montage of Samuel Beckett’s later plays, Footfalls (Bernadette Cronin, Máirín Prendergast) and Not I (Regina Crowley), wrapped […]
Sharing is caring and what better thing to share than a love of books! Bring your fiction, non-fiction and children’s books to our bookswap and exchange them for something new […]
Matthew Geden was born and brought up in England, moving to Kinsale in 1990. He is a poet with numerous publications throughout Ireland and abroad. His most recent collections include […]
Have you ever wondered how paper is made? Come and learn the ancient technique of papermaking using recycled denim, vegetable matter and recycled paper. Participants will learn how to cast […]
Words by Water is delighted to work with one of our local primary schools again this year. Karen Harte, comic creator, visual designer and illustrator will collaborate with Scoil Naomh […]
Building on the popularity of our primary school-based events, we are happy to announce a collaboration with our local secondary school. Author Louise Nealon will deliver a talk to Transition […]
Approximately 70 children from all classes in Dunderrow National School have been busy painting their favourite book character on canvas and their masterpieces will be displayed for the month of […]
Weekend pass covers all events except John Spillane's songwriting masterclass, Regina Crowley's workshop, children's events, Bonfires of Remembrance and the Irvine Welsh interview.
Come and join us for an evening of readings, curated by poet Matthew Geden. We will be showcasing work by new and established writers. This will be a relaxed and […]
By invitation, a number of local bookclubs have come together to read the chosen book, Greener, by local writer, Gráinne Murphy. What would you do if you went to visit […]
Set in Paris in 1898, Will Govan plays an exiled Oscar Wilde looking back on his extraordinarily colourful life and ruminating on love, fame, family and misfortune with his infamous […]
Sponsored by Kinsale Mead Co. Paddy Doyle, poet and storyteller, is joined by singer and actor Rosie McCarthy, with both performers holding space, representing both the Traveller and settled community, […]
Martin Doyle, Ken Murray & Eugene Reavey in conversation with Mary Wilson A discussion on how identity, religion and politics divided communities in Northern Ireland and how cover up and […]
Join us for a morning of fun and story-telling in our award-winning library in Kinsale. There might even be a special guest! Suitable for children aged 4 - 8. Please […]
This masterclass with RTÉ Folk Awards Album of The Year 2024 recipient and Meteor award-winning songwriter John Spillane will get to the heart of songwriting and storytelling. John will focus […]
*****SOLD OUT***** Lara Marlowe was born in California and studied French at UCLA and the Sorbonne, then International Relations at Oxford. She started her career as an associate producer with […]
Claire Adam and Neil Tully in conversation with Mairéad Hearne The two authors discuss exploring recent history in fiction, including when and how the social, political and legal standards of […]
***** SOLD OUT ***** Barry Moloney has been a tour guide in Kinsale for the last 20 years, and recently published An Illustrated History of Kinsale for children. He will […]
Family relationships, how they are shaped and how they shape us, is the topic of discussion between two authors whose work addresses intertwined lives and secrets that cast long shadows. […]
Niamh Hargan and Tanya Sweeney in conversation with Tara Flynn Part of the joy of fiction is the exploration of unfamiliar worlds. The books of Niamh Hargan and Tanya Sweeney […]
Irvine Welsh was born in the great city of Edinburgh and matured in the housing schemes of Leith, West Pilton and Muirhouse. Neither school nor conventional employment appealed, but he […]
Learn a series of physical and imaginative exercises that will awaken the expressive potential of your voice. Drawing on the work of world-renowned voice specialist Kristin Linklater, author of Freeing […]
Jennifer Horgan is a Cork poet. Her debut collection, Care, was published in 2025 with Doire Press. More recent work appears in Cyphers, Poetry Ireland Review and The Stony Thursday […]
Sharing is caring and what better thing to share than a love of books! Bring your fiction, non-fiction and children's books to our bookswap and exchange them for something new […]
*****SOLD OUT***** Vincent Browne has been a journalist since 1968 and founded Magill in 1977. In 1983 he revived The Sunday Tribune and edited the paper until 1994. Over the […]