Portrait of John Broderick by Harry Kernoff
John Broderick Bequest & Writers Residency
The novelist John Broderick was born in Connaught Street, Athlone in 1924. He had 12 novels published, his best known being The Pilgrimage (1961). His bestseller was An Apology for Roses (1973), which sold 30,000 copies in the first week of its publication
in 1973. He spent the last 8 years of his life in Bath, England where he died in 1989. Following his death, he bequeathed his estate to the Arts Council for “the benefit and enhancement of the Arts in Athlone”. The value of the estate did not move
over to the Arts Council for over two decades following his death until other bequest conditions were met. In partnership with Westmeath County Council it was agreed (in 2017) to pilot the first 3 years of investing this bequest through a series of
writers’ residencies.
The selected writers were Annemarie Ni Churreáin (2018/2019), Martin Dyar (2019/2020) and Keith Payne (2021). With the exception of Keith Payne, who had to carry out his residency remotely due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the residencies were based at the
Aidan Heavey Library in Athlone. This is where John Broderick gifted much of his library, art and music collections. The outputs by all three writers are substantial, especially with regards to delivering public engagement activities for a diverse
range of local Athlone publics. Following the pilot, the Arts Council commissioned Promenade to conduct an evaluation of the first three years. In partnership with Westmeath County Council, a second 3 year writer’s residency programme is being delivered
from 2024 – 2026.
John Broderick Centenary
This year the Arts Council, in partnership with Westmeath County Council will be celebrating the John Broderick Centenary. We will be marking 100 years of John Broderick with a special reprint of The Waking of Willie Ryan, along with an accompanying audiobook
and pamphlet of newly commissioned essays. We will be launching a One Town, One Book initiative for Athlone and a new Emerging Writers Bursary.
Borrowbox (Public Library App): The Waking of Willie Ryan by John Broderick