It’s been in the care of the State for 70 years.

Now the OPW has teamed up with Cork events folk The Good Room to host a unique literary event on one of Ireland’s finest and most interesting small islands.

Crosstown Drift Goes to Garinish combines elements of fiction, literature, and conversation, with two different events (one ticketed, one free) happening on the weekend of August 12th and 13th.

Nestled in the sheltered harbour of Glengarriff in Bantry Bay, Garinish is a small island known to horticulturists and lovers of trees and shrubs all around the world as a garden of rare beauty.

Hop aboard one of the Harbour Queen ferry fleet at Glengariff Pier and cruise out past the seals to the magical Island on the Saturday  from 5.30pm, to catch renowned Irish writers Doireann Ní Ghríofa, Conal Creedon, Catherine Kirwan, Danny Denton, and Lisa Mcinerney reading in a few of the fabulously unique locations around the island.

Podcaster and Journalist Eoghan O’Sullivan will host the event and chat to some of the writers about their work. Tickets for that one are €40 and go on sale this Friday, July 21st, at 10am from Eventbrite.

On Sunday, August 13th you can purchase a ferry ticket from harbourqueenferry.com and Blue Pool Ferries in Glengarriff and head out to enjoy free events all around Garinish Island from 12pm to 4.30pm.

Expect conversations, talks, and insights around a broad range of topics including sports, food, rewilding on the Bere Peninsula and the ecology of the birds of County Cork with engaging writers such as Eoghan Daltún, Patrick Smiddy, and Mark Shorten, Eimear Ryan, and Ciarán Murphy and Denis Cotter.