It was a quiet and calm  start in the Spoken Word Tent when four of

the Pig Executives arrived for their gig.

Perfect for a morning snooze.

The powers that be at the Mind Field really pulled out the stops for the Tent this year… the carpet was changed from a rat’s arse brown to a pretty pink; comfy cushions replaced the rat’s  arse brown carpet and small wooden benches made such a difference from the rat’s arse brown carpet of last year.

Once again the Pig Executives started the weekend’s festivities. 12 noon Saturday August 3rd. No one was there.  Except for that guy face down in denim and brown, arse up, on the pretty pink carpet and the comfy cushions. We waited for the sound engineer and began.

There they are, except for the pig on stage taking the picture

( and a blurry one at that)

Finally and later

An Audience arrived.

We were brilliant.

But of course.

Look for us again in 2011.

It will be our third year at the Spoken Word Tent

Thanks to Marty (the bollocks) Mullingan

and to the Pig that orgainsed us,

KP ( the bolloocks) MacManus

Other stuff in 2010

Pigs Dine by the Sea

After six long years together we finally made it over to our mentor’s castle, garden and home for one of our monthly s.

Though most weren’t in our flowers, ( ah maybe we were, I can’t say for sure; going through menopause myself I presume everyone is going through it as well. Who knows… ach, but I digress…My apologies -whee whee allthewayhome)

We did have a thoughtful time in the venerated chamber known as the cottage.

It was as if the books had ears and the each craning their spines to listen.

Naturally we obliged.

And made another a silk purse.

And once more, this little piggy had the camera.

Other things that happened on 2010.

Pigs got shortlisted for prizes ( again!!) well done  to The Anti Pig for making on to the Fish List and by god if they don’t give it to you next year it’s be a bacon wrap for those slime suckers.

Other Pigs were bringing over well known poets for tours and reading. Good on Snowball for that. Pity this pig can’t remember the poet’s name , he was good, he was handsome a good time was had by all

Still other Pigs were continuing the line of Pig Awarded to the Tyrone Guthier Centre-

2009 went to KP Pig and 2010 went to Whee Whee Whee All the Way Home

Still other Pigs were given grants to develop plays, well done

Suckling Pig

and further afield, like across the big pond, Pigs were honoured and chosen to have their poems sculptured in snow

Good on you Pearl!

Back home Pigs abound with adventure.

Trot-skee climbed the Himalayans

Mucky brought order to the HSC

Salty delivered orders to Sligo and surrounding areas

H1N1 rocked and rolled with new earth quake stories

Prima Bana had her poem were taught in school !!

How cool is that.

Speaking of cool, see picture below.

Thats Trots and Whee Whee “hillwalking” at the Poison’ Glen in Donegal

All the Way Home was never to glad to

the back of that little hill.

For Trots , it was just another Sunday stroll.

The Anti Pig read at the Writers’ Night during the Written Word Weekend.

Knowing how shy she is the photo was deliberately taken out of focus.

Here’s a not so blurry picture of the nights writers.

From left to right: The Anti Pig, Belinda McKeon,

Eion MacNamee, Tony Curtis, Whee Whee Whee All the Way Home.

As well, KP came home from Cork to read his Boy’s Stories in his parent’s old pub , now an empty shop

There he is legs sprawled, chatting and listening.

Here’s fashion spirit, Whee Whee at the Open Mike Night on the first night of 2010

Written Word Weekend.

Of course we have new Pigs on the block that are bringing much to the table:

One Pig is this years’ editor for the Leitrim Guardian, a great magazine which certain pigs keep missing deadline for.

and yet again other Pigs are trotting the boards with plays and and performances

Sorcha Fox is skipping about the country with The Wet Senor

a Benbo Production

( thats not her jaysus no… yikes )

You’ll have to excuse me, this pig tends to be all crackle.

And finally our mentor Dermot Healy has a book of poetry published

A Fool’s Errand

Dermot Healy’s fourth collection presents itself as a book-length poem that charts the annual migrations of thousands of barnacle geese between their breeding grounds in Greenland and their winter quarters on an island beside his home. Section titles suggest stations on their route: The Leavings, The Arrowhead and The Wild Goose Chase.

From renewed joy ‘as they come – from gaggle to skein – in beautiful stitches – along a thread’ the book’s formal pattern displays a new skill as it reflects and records ‘the story of two homes’ and the shapes and sounds of their marvellous routines. But A Fool’s Errand is also a study of fate. Framed by the funerals of friends, the poem yields lessons through epiphanies, scintillating poetry and the music played by the ‘orchestra of memory’.

Educated in St. Patrick’s College in Cavan, Dermot Healy was born in Finea, County Westmeath, in 1947 and now lives in Co. Sligo.

His books include Banished Misfortune (stories), Fighting with Shadows, A Goat’s Song and Sudden Times (novels), and The Bend for Home (memoir). A new novel, Long Time, No See, will be published next year.

The Gallery Press has published his three previous collections of poems: The Ballyconnell Colours (1992), What the Hammer (1998) and The Reed Bed (2001). From The Anglo Celt October 6th /11

That’s our man

Finally , something that has nothing to do with  us………

a quiet shot of author Leland Bardwell examining somebody’s  accordion

at Ellen’s Pub, BallyConnell Sligo

Naturally you take your pig to an in door pool for her daily exercise

and the male pigs trot around the periphery occasionally dipping their trotters in.

Its the way of the pig.

Nothing better than a Pig and Book

Buy yours today

We are a group of writers from County Leitrim Ireland- the least populated county on the island and we’re proud of it.

No you don’t have to visit. Stay away… for heaven’s sakes, doon’t be standing in our sun, we’ve not seen a lot of it.

The Pigs need to have this cyber business card because we’re having our tails rung off with inquiry about us performing and reading at festivals, launches, theatrical events and somber occasions. Plus information and contacts filter through our writer’s group , to other writers groups in the North West and beyond the great river (that be the Shannon).

So this is our first entry and certainly there is much more to come. There are approximately 12 Pigs, and a little more than half of us are the performing pigs. We had terrific success at the 2009 Flatlake Festival in Clones being the first group mentioned in the Irish Times at Flatlake review       (thank you very much)

as well as later in the summer we were GREAT at the WORD TENT in the Electric Picnic .

Another festival we shone was during the first 2009 Written Word Weekend in Drumshanbo.

If you have any questions comment, conundrum or complaints please leave at the bottom of the page or write to our email address thepigexecutives@gmail.com

Thank you for clicking in.

We have discovered that we have an unlimited capacity for accepting praise.

As we assemble this site it our hope that you get a taste of all of us and that in the future you shan’t be surprised to see a Pig at a podium.

This little piggy stayed at home

This little piggy had bread and butter

This little piggy had none

This little piggy cried,”whee whee whee” all the way home.