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DCU Arts and Culture
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Celebrating Stories of Equality, Connection and Belonging: DCU and Dublin Book Festival continue their Partnership with Class Acts

Dublin Book Festival and Dublin City University (DCU) are delighted to announce the return of their partnership for the second year running with Class Acts: Equality, Connection and Belonging, a one-day literature event taking place on Thursday 6th November at DCU St. Patrick’s Campus, Drumcondra.

Curated in partnership with Marcella Bannon, DCU Cultural Arts Officer, and Sarah Gilmartin, Arts Council Writer in Residence at DCU, the event celebrates writers whose work illuminates underrepresented lives—working-class communities, fractured families, and outsiders navigating complex social and emotional landscapes. Across poetry, fiction, story, and song, the day will explore themes of class, identity, mental health, resilience, and belonging.

Marcella Bannon, DCU Cultural Arts Officer, said:

“After the success of last year’s inaugural event, it makes perfect sense to continue this partnership with Dublin Book Festival at DCU St. Patrick’s campus. The conversations and performances at Class Acts resonate deeply with our students, staff, and the wider community as a University of Place. It is a space where literature becomes a catalyst for empathy, connection, and creative reflection on the complexities of Irish life today.”

Julianne Mooney Siron, Director of Dublin Book Festival, added:

“We are thrilled to be returning to DCU for a second year of collaboration. Class Acts reflects Dublin Book Festival’s core mission—to showcase diverse voices and stories that speak to the realities of Irish life. Partnering with DCU allows us to bring writers, students, and the community together in a unique setting, creating space for dialogue, connection, and shared cultural experience.”

 

Programme Highlights

Class Acts: Poetry on Class and Belonging

1.00pm – 2.15pm | Belvedere Library, Belvedere House

Three powerful poetic voices—Colm Keegan (Dublin), Charles Lang (Glasgow), and Clíodhna Bhreatnach (Waterford)—share work that illuminates working-class identity, belonging, and emotional resilience.

 

Class Acts: Emerging Voices in Irish Fiction

4.00pm – 5.00pm | Belvedere Library, Belvedere House

A panel discussion with DCU’s Arts Council Writer in Residence Sarah Gilmartin, featuring rising fiction talents Fíona Scarlett, JP McHugh, and Niamh Mulvey, exploring the role of class, place, and inequality in shaping Irish stories today.

 

Class Acts: Navigating Emotional and Social Landscapes through Story and Song

7.00pm – 8.30pm | Seamus Heaney Theatre, Cregan Library

An evening of readings by acclaimed Irish writers Elaine Feeney, Lisa Harding, and Rónán Hession, interwoven with live music by I Have a Tribe (Patrick O’Laoghaire). Hosted by Professor Derek Hand, Dean of Humanities and Social Sciences, DCU.

 

Booking

All events take place at DCU St. Patrick’s campus, Drumcondra. 
Admission is free but booking is required.

For more information and bookings, please visit: Dublin Book Festival Website