Upcoming Banagher celebrations to mark Charlotte Brontë's birthday

The Banagher Brontë Group is preparing to celebrate Charlotte Brontë's birthday on Saturday, April 18, in Crank House, Main Street, Banagher, commencing at 3.30pm.

The main event of the afternoon will be the world premiere of Brontës: Love and Honour, a melodic tribute to the celebrated 19th century Brontë family of Yorkshire.

This cycle of ten studio-recorded songs was written by the well-known composer Michael O'Dowd and his wife, Christine. The cycle relates the joys and sorrows of the family in music and lyrics with linking dialogue and illustrations to provide ambience and clarity.

Organisers say this will be a truly delightful and enchanting experience for all attending.

The afternoon will also include a 'Miscellany for Charlotte', a session of readings created or chosen by members of the group and others wishing to do so.

Following a series of creative writing sessions, a selection of new writings, including poems by pupils from sixth class in St Rynagh's Primary School, are ready for the celebrations.

Charlotte Brontë's connections with Banagher include that her husband, Arthur Bell Nicholls, was raised there, and that the couple honeymooned in Banagher in 1854.

Charlotte was born on April 21, 1816. Best-known for her novel Jane Eyre, she died on March 31, 1855, at the age of just 38.