Favourite Books: Conversations on Books at The Dock

What to Expect

Favourite Books is a book club session with a difference: nothing has to be read in advance. Instead of working through one set title, everyone brings a book they love and talks about why. The Dock frames it around three questions - which classic do you adore, which contemporary author’s work resonates with you, and have you found a book that left you wondering why it is not more widely celebrated.

The 90-minute afternoon session is run by The Dock and the ticket price includes refreshments, so it functions as much as a sociable afternoon as a literary one. The venue’s own note for the event quotes Joyce Carol Oates on reading as the sole means by which we slip, involuntarily, often helplessly, into another’s skin, which gives a fair sense of the register. It suits people who want to talk about books without the commitment of a monthly reading list, and newcomers to Carrick-on-Shannon looking for a way in to the local reading crowd.

Good to Know

• Date: Saturday 26 September 2026
• Time: 2pm, running 90 minutes
• Venue: The Dock Arts Centre, St George’s Terrace, Carrick-on-Shannon
• Admission: €10, which includes refreshments and the booking fee
• No advance reading is required; bring a book you love
• Book online through The Dock’s Ticketsolve box office or by phone to the venue
• The Dock is wheelchair accessible
• The Dock also hosts a John McGahern talk in October if you want more from its literary strand

Getting There

The Dock occupies the former courthouse on St George’s Terrace, in the centre of Carrick-on-Shannon beside the bridge over the Shannon and a couple of minutes from Main Street on foot. The town is on the N4 Dublin to Sligo road, roughly two hours from Dublin and about forty minutes from Sligo. Carrick-on-Shannon railway station, on the Dublin Connolly to Sligo line, is within walking distance, and Bus Eireann’s Dublin to Sligo coaches call in the town. Public parking is available at the Market Yard Centre and along the riverside quays, both a short walk from the venue, though Saturday afternoons are busy in town.