Féile an Phobail Friday Events Include Concert, Peace Talks, and Literary Discussions
Féile an Phobail continues on Friday with a day of events across west Belfast, including a large outdoor concert and multiple panel discussions and workshops.
At Falls Park, Irish comedy duo The 2 Johnnies will headline an evening concert. Jonathon McMahon and John O'Brien (known as Johnny Smacks and Johnny B) will be supported by acts including The Junior B All Stars, The Shamrocks, The Highstool Prophets, and Mark McCabe. Tickets are available through Ticketmaster.
Many of the day's other events take place at St Mary's University College. At midday, west Belfast crime writer James Murphy marks a decade of his fiction in conversation with Phillip Jordan. A book launch for John Mackel's 'When The Boys Came Out To Play', a novel set in early-1970s Belfast, is scheduled for 3pm.
Several events address themes of conflict resolution and social justice. At 1pm, Dr David Gallagher discusses his book on Methodism and the peace process. Also at 1pm, journalist Amanda Ferguson facilitates a survivor-led panel with co-founders of the NI Survivor Council. At 5pm, Jo Berry, whose father was killed in the IRA's 1984 Brighton bombing, will speak alongside former IRA member Pat Magee, who planted the bomb, about their joint reconciliation work.
Other highlights include a panel on the radical history of Belfast's Assembly Rooms and Dublin's Moore Street at Áras Uí Chonghaile at 3pm, with Deirdre Hargey MLA and Cllr Mícheál Mac Donncha. The Big Andytown Bake Off takes place at 1pm at Upper Andersonstown Community Forum. A talk on Frank Stagg's 1976 hunger strike, featuring his brother George, is at 3pm. At 6.30pm, Gerry Carroll MLA converses with author Michael Magee and Moya Doogan on the topic 'Generation Ceasefire'.