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arts · Tuesday 22 September 2026 · 6:30 PM 
The Linenhall World Book Club
At The Linenhall Arts Centre · Linenhall Street, Castlebar, Co. Mayo, F23 AN24
At The Linenhall Arts Centre · Linenhall Street, Castlebar, Co. Mayo, F23 AN24
The Linenhall World Book Club meets monthly to read and talk about writing from around the world. The remit is deliberately loose: serious literature sits beside light summer reads, modern fiction beside translations, earlier works beside popular classics. The point is range, and the group picks up books that most Irish book clubs would never get to.
The September meeting takes One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, the short novel that opened up the Soviet labour camp system to readers inside and outside the USSR, and which the Linenhall describes as one of the most extraordinary literary documents to have emerged from the Soviet Union. The club is hosted by Michael Minassie, a journalist with thirty years’ experience who produces Mekelle Foresight, a discussion programme on Horn of Africa politics. That background shapes the conversation: the discussion tends to run into history and politics rather than staying on plot. The club receives support through the Social Inclusion and Community Activation Programme, and everyone is welcome, whether or not you finished the book.
The Linenhall is on Linenhall Street in the centre of Castlebar, a couple of minutes from The Mall and the main square. By road, the N5 comes west from Dublin through Longford and Roscommon, the N84 runs north from Galway, the N60 connects Claremorris and Roscommon, and the N58 comes down from Ballina and Foxford. Irish Rail runs Dublin Heuston to Castlebar services via Manulla Junction, and the station is a short walk from town. Bus Eireann links Castlebar with Galway, Sligo, Westport and Ballina. Street parking around Linenhall Street is pay-and-display and charges usually finish by early evening, with larger car parks a short walk away.
Heading to The Linenhall Arts Centre in Castlebar? Mayo has plenty more to see. Read the Castlebar area guide, find what else is on, and explore the towns and villages nearby.