Thousands flock to Delvin for book fair

Thousands of books sold to thousands of people, and many thousands of euros raised - but you couldn't put a number or a measure on the amount of good will and festivity in Delvin on Sunday last, as huge crowds turned out for its very first "Garradrimna" Book Fair.The event, held in support of the Delvin Sports and Leisure Centre project, was billed as be the Midlands' biggest ever book fair, and the organisers certainly didn't disappoint.Somewhere between 25,000 and 30,000 books were neatly organised in stalls built around the maze of cattle-holding pens at Delvin Salesyard, as buyers and visitors - some local, some from as far afield as Dublin, Galway and Northern Ireland - spent hours browsing the many titles on offer.Local artist, Hazel Revington hosted an arts exhibition in the midst of this deluge of books, and outside, a carnival atmosphere reigned supreme, with drinks, organic foods and other items on offer in the yard surrounding the mart complex.But this very special day wasn't just about selling books, or raising monies for sporting projects. Equally, it was about a village in rural Ireland confronting the ghosts of its past.With that in mind, the organisers made the first public reading of Brinsley MacNamara's controversial novel, 'The Valley of the Squinting Windows', central to Sunday's event, in a bid to exorcise these ghosts. Published in 1918, the book caused consternation in Delvin when locals realised that the fictional town on which the book was based, "Garradrimna", was a literary representation of the village. Furthermore, they realised that the characters in the book were less than charitable caricatures of real people who lived in Delvin at the time. Court cases, public book burnings and years of friction in the community followed.Emotional first readings of 'The Valley' were delivered by Delvin natives, Mary McEvoy (well known stage and screen actress, and star of 'Glenroe') and Eamonn Lawlor (Lyric FM host and former RTÉ newsreader). Other readings were performed by John Potterton, Mullingar man Michael McDonald, and Bernie Comaskey, who read passages from his book, 'If Ever A Man Suffered'."There is a wonderful passage of John Donne, in which he imagines Heaven as a vast library, into which God gathers the books of our lives, the books of our souls... and in which those books are all open to each other," Eamonn Lawlor told his audience, after reading a passage from "The Valley".Referring to the events which followed the publication of the controversial novel, and the people involved, he continued: "Let us imagine them - and everyone who was drawn into conflict here 82 years ago - all wiser and happier, for being gathered into the Library together, and at last finding rest."Garradrimna, rest in peace. Up Delvin!"The readings were well received - almost as much as the variety of books for sale. From 12 noon on Sunday, thousands of titles disappeared, as book lovers from near and far turned out in their droves.