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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
Rory Carroll Ireland correspondent

Colm Tóibín quits role at Irish literary festival in row over volunteers

Colm Tóibín
Colm Tóibín stepped down as president of Listowel Writers’ Week in support of the festival’s volunteers. Photograph: NurPhoto/Getty Images

A question mark hangs over one of Ireland’s oldest literary festivals after its voluntary committee was dismissed amid allegations of a “toxic” culture and the novelist Colm Tóibín stepped down as president.

The board of Listowel Writers’ Week, which is held in the County Kerry town each summer, triggered the row after announcing it would replace dozens of volunteers with a professional literary curator.

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