Gulliver’s Travels 300th Anniversary Celebration
Gulliver’s Travels 300th Anniversary Celebration
Venue:Hunting Room, Castletown House, Celbridge, Co. Kildare
Date: 20260719
Time: 12.30-3.30pm
Brobdingnag (standard ticket) €20 | Lilliput (concession - if full price is a barrier) €10 | < 18 free | 25% off with Festival Pass.
The festival will culminate in a celebration event to mark 300 years since the publication of Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift in 1726. Swift wrote Gulliver’s Travels during the period in which he visited ‘Vanessa’ in Celbridge Abbey. Come along for a special afternoon of talks, readings, a launch of satirical cartoons, discussion, music and a reception.
Of the book, George Orwell said ‘If I had to make a list of six books which were to be preserved when all others were destroyed, I would certainly put Gulliver’s Travels among them.’
Celbridge library will be stocking many copies of this satirical and entertaining book and it is also available as from the library’s Borrow Box as an e-book. Come along to find out more and celebrate its anniversary!
The celebration includes an overview of the book and its humour and satire by Dr. Brendan Twomey; a performance of Telemann’s Gulliver’s Suite; the launch of four cartoons based on Gulliver’s voyages created by Harry Burton for the festival; and a reading of a short story by Eamon Burke ‘Donald and the Dean’. These will be followed by a discussion on ”Gulliver @ 300; still relevant after all these years?’ led by Dr. Twomey and Professor Daniel Carey, President of the Royal Irish Academy.
The event will be followed by a reception from 3.30-4.30pm.
Artists
Dr. Brendan Twomey
Dr. Brendan Twomey is a retired banker. In 2018 he completed his PhD in Trinity College Dublin entitled Personal Financial Management in Early Eighteenth-Century Ireland: Practices, participants, and outcomes This PhD included a major case study on the financial affairs of Jonathan Swift i.e. how he financed ‘the house for fools and mad’. His most recent publication is ‘A 1742 inventory of Jonathan Swift’s household goods and chattels’ in Irish Architectural and Decorative Studies, XXXVII 2026. His current research interests are focussed on public history events to mark the 300th anniversary of the publication of Gulliver’s Travels and on continuing his research into the financial and legal affairs of Jonathan Swift.
Elina Hakanen
Elina Hakanen received a professional musician- degree from Turku Conservatory, Finland in 2003. She also studied a Bachelor of Music degree (Honours) in Performance in DIT Conservatory of music and drama, Dublin which she was awarded in 2011. Her teachers included Andres Laan, Alexander Vinnitski, Pavel Vernikov and David O’Doherty.
Elina has appeared as a soloist and a chamber musician in many venues such as Sigyn-hall, Finland ; National Concert Hall, Dublin; Cadogan Hall, London; Colyer-Fergusson Hall, Canterbury and Palacio de Bellas Artes, Mexico. Elina plays regularly with the City of London Sinfonia, RTE Concert Orchestra in Dublin, Canterbury Festival Chamber Orchestra and Kent Concert Orchestra. She
has performed with artists such as Kiri Te Kanawa, Marti Pellow, Hollywood Composer Brian Byrne and Imelda May. The repertoire varies from Classical to Film Music and Popular music.
Alongside her performance work, Elina also holds a post in Alexandra College as a violin and orchestra teacher.