Photos by Manuela dei Grandi.
A Journey of Creativity
Over a 3 month period, Emer issued an open invitation to writers of all levels to join her aboard Local Link Kerry buses, travelling routes from Daingean Uí Chúis / Dingle to Dunquin, Tralee to Camp, and as far as Sneem and Cahersiveen. Each journey carried a central theme: “A Sense of Place”.
Writers were encouraged to pay close attention the moment they boarded — to the sights, sounds, interactions, and fleeting moments that so often go unnoticed. These subtle observations served as the seeds for poems, short stories, and reflections.
"A sense of noticing over interrogation — a great feeling of participation," remarked one participant, capturing the gentle and observational nature of the project.
Among the many overheard musings from the buses:
“Two young men sharing sweets.”
“We depend so much on the bus for transport. It brings back memories of that era!”
“Garden gnomes in a lane in Ventry that I had never seen before.”
“The windscreen wipers were sweeping hills out of the rain, showing the hills outside.”
These small yet powerful insights helped root the creative writing in real, lived experience — the heartbeat of rural Kerry life.
TFI Local Link bus services connect communities throughout rural Ireland as part of the TFI Public Transport Network. They form a network of affordable bus services for everyone who wants to travel to travel to or from local towns and villages. We have two different types of Local Link…
Gathering and Guidance
At the end of each outbound journey, the group gathered over refreshments to reflect on what they had noticed and written. Emer offered encouragement and editorial guidance, helping participants shape their thoughts into finished pieces. Whether prose, verse or poetry, the goal was to develop new work for public display on Local Link Kerry buses — turning each vehicle into a moving library of local voices.
Is scríobhnóir í Orna Dunlevy atá ag maireachtaint agus ag obair i gCorca Dhuibhne. Oibríonn sí i mBéarla agus i nGaelainn agus tá filíocht, drámaí agus gearrscéalta foilsithe aici. Orna Dunlevy lives and works in the West Kerry Gaeltacht. She writes in English and Irish and has written & published poetry, plays and short stories.
Cheryl Donahue chanced into West Kerry while on a short holiday in December 1996 and has (mostly) been living there since. She started writing poems after a personal bereavement and a surprise friendship with an interesting poet. She finds poetry a way to say what can’t be said directly.
From Bus Seats to Book Pages
The project culminated in the selection of 12 original written pieces that were proudly displayed on buses throughout the county. Passengers travelling through Kerry could engage with the work — a celebration of place and people, seen through the eyes of those who live there. Many of these pieces remain on display beyond the project’s end, continuing to resonate with readers on the move.
These works have now been lovingly curated into a digital anthology, *available on BorrowBox, Kerry Library’s digital lending platform. The collection features the selected 12 writers alongside a wider group of contributors who joined the journeys and contributed their own reflections.
