Literary Arts Festival ended by lack of funding

The John O'Connor Writing School and Literary Arts Festival has announced the end of a three year run. Arts Council of Northern Ireland's Head of Literature Damian Smyth expressed sadness at the school's closure: "The Arts Council was indeed delighted to support the weekend festival for three years and the level of funding was significant for a new initiative … unfortunately, other funders and sponsorship couldn't reach sufficient levels to make the festival sustainable."