CORK AFTERS - PHOTOS

I'm in recovery mode after Cork and the short story festival. My favourite festival of them all. I taught a four day novel course to an enthused group of nine writers; I read and took part in a panel; I heard Richard Ford say the short story was a lesser form (than the novel) - ouch!; I listened to writers read, discuss, argue and laugh into the early hours.

I met lovely Canadian writers (again!) - like my fellow reader Matt Rader and also Lynn Coady, who read brilliantly with the sublime Alison MacLeod. We ate, we drank, we pub-crawled, we talked. It was exhausting and exhilarating, as ever. Kudos and gratefulness to Pat Cotter, Jen Matthews and all at Munster Literature Centre and Triskel for making it so good and for welcoming us all in.

My photos are pretty uniformly rubbish - I didn't bring my camera, for some reason, so it was phone snaps all the way. So, if you are not pictured here, it's because the photo I took of you is terrible. Here are a small few pics of the festival and of spots around Cork itself:

Jaki McCarrick reading at the library

Paul McVeigh reading at Culture Night in Waterstone's

Shane Vaughan reading at Culture Night in Waterstone's

Valerie Sirr reading at the library

Declan Meade introducing Sara Baume, Davy Byrnes 2014 winner, & Danielle McLaughlin, runner-up

Tofu gorgeousness at Café Paradiso

Juno sending a postcard to her brothers

The butter churn obsession continues apace - this one at The Butter Museum

Retro butter packets at The Butter Museum

Juno at The Butter Museum

Kay O'Mahony's, Shandon

Every time I go to Cork, I think, This is really a great place to visit. My top tips for visitors to Cork: eat at the Quay Co-op, the Farmgate Restaurant in the English Market, and Café Paradiso, Visit the Butter Museum and Mutton Lane Inn. Go to the Crawford Gallery and Vibes 'n' Scribes Book Shop. Enjoy, enjoy. I'm already looking forward to next year's Cork Short Story Festival.