‘We want Kells to be the mecca for literature-loving pilgrims’

ANNE CUNNINGHAM: Myles, how did you get involved in Hinterland and how much of your time does it involve?
MYLES DUNGAN: I’ve been involved from Day 1 really - it takes up quite a bit of time. I start inviting guests in September and it goes on from there. Writing the programme brochure is particularly time consuming, and preparing for the interviews.

AC: Ger, this festival has blossomed in a few short years. What’s its secret? Who came up with the idea?
GER GAUGHRAN: About seven years ago when RTE launched the TV programme “Local Heroes, a Town Fights Back”, Kells & District Chamber were asked for an idea that might revitalise the town. Someone suggested we look at Hay in Wales, which had a book festival and lots of second hand bookshops, and we felt we could do that given our Book of Kells connection! RTE didn’t select us, but we said ‘let’s do it anyway’. We contacted Hay in Wales and ‘courted’ them and they agreed. We also established a second hand bookshop, the BOOKMARKet, with the support of Meath Libraries - still going - and established Kells Local Heroes, still doing great work.

AC: Why the departure from the Hay Festival, and how important is it to have a well-known personality at the helm?
GG: Parting with Hay was a very difficult decision and lots of people told us we were mad! But it was time to stand on our own feet. After last year we feel that our decision has proven right - this is truly a 100% Kells festival. There was an amazing buzz and pride around last year, much moreso than in previous years.
MD: Being well-known is actually a plus for Hinterland. Many of the guests come about as a result of contacts made during a long career in broadcasting and journalism.

AC: Have you had any awkward guests over the years?
MD: The toughest was Lynda La Plante but that was because I was laughing so much! She was an absolute ticket.
GG: Generally, guests have been lovely. Last year Mary O’Rourke complained (in a good-natured way) that she didn’t have enough time, so she’s returning this year and we’re all so looking forward - she’s a tonic!

AC: Myles, who do you dream of interviewing if there were no constraints?
MD: Arsène Wenger - Armistead Maupin (and that’s just the A’s)- Caitlin Moran - Sandra Bullock - John Le Carré - Bernie Sanders - Jeremy Corbyn - Barack Obama - Bruce Springsteen - Juliette Binoche - because I really admire them all and would love a chance to engage with them. (And I wouldn’t mind a second go at Margaret Atwood and Lynda La Plante.)

Ger Gaughran and Myles Dungan outside the BOOKMARKet and Hinterland HQ in Kells

AC: Joanne Harris, best-known as author of ‘Chocolat’, has exposed the fact that many UK festivals do not pay guests, covering expenses only. What’s Hinterland’s position on this?
G. G. With the exception of our Lit Crawl free events, which give a platform to emerging artists, we pay all our guests and look after them royally while they’re in Kells!

AC: Myles, as a historian are you alarmed at the number of second-level students who drop history after Junior Cert?
MD: History has always required a lot of reading - I’m not sure students today, even Humanities students, are prepared to put in that amount of reading. I think a more imaginative Leaving Cert syllabus would help.

CHECK THE FUILL LINE-UP AND TIMES FOR HINTERLAND HERE

AC: Ger, how difficult does the state make it to get funding for Hinterland?
GG: Funding the festival is extremely difficult and meeting the criteria of the national bodies has proven nigh on impossible! That said, Creative Ireland has been a wonderful supporter for the past two years. And Meath County Council, in particular their Arts Office, along with Meath Libraries. This festival really wouldn’t happen without them. The collective contribution of local businesses, patrons, benefactors and friends, is our largest funding source and we’re extremely grateful to all who support us.

AC: What about your “secret helpers” behind the scenes?
GG: We’ve a fabulous committee with a great range of skills which makes the whole operation tick. We also have a wonderful troupe of volunteers who turn out every year to man the box-office, move chairs, put up signs, become drivers or minders for the guests, help manage venues… the list goes on. We get such lovely feedback from the festival guests on how well they’re looked after and how much they enjoy themselves, and that’s down to the volunteers. Some great friendships have been forged and above all we all enjoy it – we wouldn’t do it otherwise!

AC: Where would you like to see the festival in five years’ time?
GG: We have plans for global domination!! Seriously though - in the past Kells was a seat of learning and artistic greatness, and with Hinterland, the Type Trail, the Print Works, the Arts Club, Guth Gafa, etc. we’d like to see that status rekindled, and so that Kells once again becomes a mecca for art and literature-loving pilgrims.
MD: Kells! Still alive! (Joking.) I would like us to be in a financial position to be able to afford to invite some major cross-channel or transatlantic names. Then maybe I can do those interviews with Armistead Maupin and Margaret Atwood…