Lilliput Press, 2006. Edited by Sheila Pratschke, Director of Annaghmakerrig, with works selected by Ruairi O Cuiv (visual art) and Evelyn Conlon (literature).

The Tyrone Guthrie Centre in Annaghmakerrig celebrated a quarter of a century in 2006 and marked this important milestone with the launch of a beautiful volume, Annaghmakerrig. The Centre is an artists’ retreat set amid the lakes and drumlins of County Monaghan. An eclectic and varied list of poets, musicians, actors, directors and visual artists use the space to develop what we see on stages, pages and gallery walls throughout the country.

The book is a collection and a collage that captures the essence and history of the centre, as well as the stories of its fascinating and somewhat eccentric families, not to mention the creativity of the five thousand artists who have spent time there since it was opened by Brian Friel in 1981.

In the book, Eugene McCabe remembers Tony Guthrie the theatre director, while Joseph Hone provides a touching and powerful childhood memoir. Other contributors include Colm Toibin, John Banville, Gerald Barry, Anne Enright, Joseph O’Connor, Paul Muldoon, Patrick Scott, Alice Maher, Rosita Boland, Tim Robinson and Claire Keegan.