The Clare Champion Clare news, sport, entertainment and local notes
A Derry-based academic has uncovered evidence suggesting that the world-famous karst landscape of the Burren Region inspired J.R.R. Tolkien in his masterworks ‘ The Lord of The Rings’ and ‘The Silmarillion’. Following a recent trip to examine the original J.R.R. Tolkien manuscripts and papers at Marquette University in Wisconsin, USA, Tolkien scholar Dr. Liam Campbell will discuss his research findings and their outreach in terms of how the English writer’s acclaimed work has profound and traceable interconnections with Ireland. Dr Campbell’s talk will feature at the Burren Tolkien Society Festival on August 15-24. Organised by the Burren Tolkien Society and supported by Clare County Library and the Burren & Cliffs of Moher Geopark, the festival will feature contributions from Tolkien experts, writing workshops, screenings, lectures and guided walks of the locations frequented by Tolkien, including Poll na Gollum Cave which event organisers suggest influenced the creation of one of the author’s most famous characters (Gollum). “An unexpected body of evidence …
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