The Liminal -Voices from Direct Provision

With a focus on the Direct Provision system, The Liminal challenges all who read it to reassess privileges and socially ingrained biases that have allowed institutionalisation to repeatedly happen in Ireland.

This anthology includes testimonies from asylum seekers, as well as essays from advocates and activists from a broad range of backgrounds in social justice, journalism and healthcare. The book is illustrated by a selection of Irish artists.

Edited by Leefary & Fiadh Melina

Fiadh is a writer and editor from Dingle. She has worked closely with people living in direct provision for several years and founded voluntary organisation The Danú Project in 2020, to help provide maternity and mental health supports to asylum seekers. In 2019 she began work on The Liminal in an attempt to bring more mainstream attention to the system of direct provision. Throughout 2020, the content in The Liminal grew and broadened in response to the shifting culture in Ireland and worldwide. It became obvious there was a clear need for an intersectional study of race and colonialist culture in the Irish context. Fiadh has just completed her MPhil in Creative Writing at Trinity College Dublin and is excited to produce more anthologies with her company Tallav in the future.

Sandrine Uwase Ndahiro, B.A, M.A
Sandrine is an English Ph.D. student in the University of Limerick. Sandrine’s research centres on third generation African writers, such as Afrofuturists, who have emerged during the era of late liberalism and who have introduced multiple and nuanced perspectives for reflecting on African lives and aspirations. She co-produced a documentary entitled Unsilencing Black Voices which details personal stories and accounts by members of the black community in Ireland. She is currently an artist in residency in Visual Carlow where she is directing a new audio/visual film that looks at Irishness from a localised setting. Sandrine is also the co-founder and co-editor in chief of a new online magazine called Unapologetic. Unapologetic is a multidisciplinary, literary, cultural, and artistic response to the social issues and creative opportunities of contemporary Ireland, offering a reboot and upheaval. Sandrine believes that writing is one of the most potent form of activism.

Diane Ihirwe is a social worker, speaker, writer and social justice seeker. A graduate of Master in Social Work from Trinity College and holds an undergraduate degree in Social Care from TU Dublin. She is a guest lecturer to various institutions and a trainer who focuses on diversity, equity and anti-racism work.
Diane is the Co-Founder of Roots In Africa- Ireland Network (Riainetwork), a network that is building communities through understanding and pride of African Heritage especially for young African-Irish people.
Diane advocates for the abolition of the Direct Provision System. She travelled to the United Nations (UN) in Geneva to advocate on behalf of Asylum Seekers on the Committee of Eradicating Racial Discrimination (CERD). She co-founded the Young Mother’s Network (YMN), a support group for mothers living in Direct Provision Centres .
Diane hopes to see an Ireland free of hate and fear. An Ireland where difference is celebrated. An Ireland for us all.

Marcia Gunn is an activist and writer who focuses on equality, fiction and sport. She has a joint honours degree in English Literature and Philosophy and is a professional wrestler. Marcia also volunteers as a youth coordinator for The Danú Project.

This online event was pre-recorded and will be broadcast via the internet to wherever you are. If you are in Dingle the broadcast will be shown on the Big Screen in St James Church, Main Street, Dingle. Entrance is free but seating is limited so first come…

The Dingle Literary Festival was established in 2019 to create an annual book festival to bring readers and authors together in West Kerry. It’s a literary festival that celebrates living writers as well as honouring the literary heritage of the area. Festival events happen in both Irish and English and range across all genres and age groups. We present both author events and writers’ workshops.

Our vision is of a festival where literature, language and landscape converge to create moments to share stories, to connect minds and allow magic to blossom. It’s a place that sparks discussion, fosters innovation and collaboration in the arts and creates a multigenerational community of readers and writers.

The Dingle Literary Festival is a book festival that elevates and celebrates the richness of Irish language and literature in contemporary life. We encourage a vibrant, relevant literary community to support both established and emerging writers.

Follow this link for news of this year’s festival