Adam Clayton is U2's bass player. Acknowledged as one of the best live acts in the world, U2 have toured the globe countless times and released 14 studio albums with sales in excess of 157 million. Adam has written about contemporary art for British GQ and the role of art critic has seen him interview artists including Wolfgang Tillmans, Jeff Koons and William Eggleston. In 2022 he presented a documentary titled Francis Bacon: The Outsider which follows the story of the painter's early life in Ireland.

John Kelly is one of Ireland's foremost Arts broadcasters. He presents Mystery Train on RTÉ Radio and The Works Presents on RTÉ Television. He also presents the weekend show Elevation on Sirius XM. His poetry has been published in numerous journals and anthologies. Two collections – Notions (2018) and Space (2022) are published by Dedalus Press.

Get tickets for next year's festival (June 7th-9th):

https://festivalofwritingandideas.com/tickets/