Keynote speakers Tim Severin and Sir Ranulph Fiennes pictured at Ballyrafter House during the Immrama Festival of Travel Writing in Lismore. | Photo: Sean Byrne
The eighth Immrama Festival of Travel Writing was another unbridled success last weekend, as Lismore played host to some of the world’s greatest living explorers.
On Saturday last, the Blackwater Community College sports hall was filled twice over, as the legendary Sir Ranulph Fiennes and Tim Severin regaled audiences with tales drawn from their many adventures.
Speaking to The Munster Express, both authors/explorers spoke warmly of their day in Lismore and the great satisfaction they drew from the re-telling of their many remarkable adventures.
“I gave a lecture a long time ago to the Cork Literary Society, maybe 25 years ago; I’ve also spoken in Dublin and Belfast in the past but I’d never been to Lismore until today and it’s an extraordinary, beautiful place,” said Sir Ranulph.
Almost 12 months to the day since he became the oldest Briton to reach the summit of Mount Everest, Ranulph Fiennes is not only an extraordinary explorer, but a prolific writer.
With 18 books written over a 36-year career, travel writing is also a passion for the man who has followed in the footsteps of Ernest Shackleton, Tom Crean and his great hero, Captain Scott.
“When you’re on the trips, you’re not being morbid,” said Sir Ranulph when asked had he faced his mortality during those energy-sapping months on the ice of the Arctic and Antarctic.
See The Munster Express newspaper for full story.
