Author Morgan Llywelyn at Killaloe Library

On May 6th and 7th Killaloe Public Library was privileged to host talks by the renowned author Morgan Llywelyn, best known for her historical fantasy, historical fiction and historical non-fiction. She has received several awards for her works which amount to over 30 publications and sales of over 40 million copies to date. Having lived in Killaloe for several years she has an obvious love and affinity for the area and its people. She introduced the audience to her latest publication “1014 – Brian Boru and the Battle for Ireland”, and it was fortuitous that Clare County Library had chosen two of Morgan’s books for the One County One Book 2014 initiative to commemorate Brian Boru and The Battle of Clontarf. These are “Lion of Ireland” and “Brian Boru: Emperor of the Irish”.

On Tuesday night her audience was fascinated, entertained and amused by her tales of Brian Boru, the Battle of Clontarf and life in general. County Librarian Helen Walsh presented Morgan with a beautiful painting of Killaloe Bridge by local artist Tim Moloney. On Wednesday we were joined by sixty 5th and 6th classes from local schools for a similar talk about the young Brian and his life, the importance of the river Shannon and the intricacies of how the Battle of Clontarf was actually won. This was very interactive and beneficial as the pupils were very familiar with Brian and with her writings. She has promised to return to Killaloe at the latter end of the year – we’re looking forward to the return visit.