On 27 November 2025, the Office of the Northern Ireland Executive in Brussels was delighted to collaborate with the Embassy of Ireland to Belgium to host two writers from the Northern Ireland and Ireland. With the support of The Arts Council of NI, we welcomed Cherry Smyth and Chloe Michelle Howarth for an incredible event, giving Brussels audiences an opportunity to hear their work and perspectives.
Director of ONIEB, Aodhán Connolly, opened the event by welcoming guests and introducing Cherry offering an overview of her impressive work. Cherry followed with readings from her poems and novels , weaving in personal reflections and origins of each piece. Ambassador Kevin Conmy, Irish Ambassador to the Kingdom of Belgium, similarly introduced Chloe Michelle Howarth who shared the first chapter of her latest novel, ‘Heap Earth Upon It‘. After the readings Aodhán Connolly and Kevin Conmy led a conversation with both writers, which then opened into a wider audience Q&A session. To close the evening, guests were invited to meet the authors and had the opportunity to purchase signed copies of their books.
Cherry Smyth is a poet from Northern Ireland, novelist, and critic, born in Ballymoney, County Antrim, and raised in Portstewart. She has published four poetry collections, a poetry pamphlet, a novel, and numerous essays and reviews on contemporary visual arts. Her work also includes short fiction and a book on gender studies. Smyth’s first poetry collection appeared in 2001. Cherry was a prize-winner in the 2006 Tonbridge Poetry Competition and the 2007 London Writers’ Competition. She has won prizes in the National Poetry Competition and the Cardiff Poetry Prize. Until 2024, she taught poetry in the Creative Writing department at Greenwich University.
Chloe Michelle Howarth is an Irish novelist based in Brighton. Her debut novel Sunburn (2023) was shortlisted for a number of accolades including the 2023 Nero Book Award for Debut Fiction. Howarth grew up in Rosscarbery, County Cork with her two brothers. She graduated from the Dun Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology. Her latest novel Heap Earth Upon It is set in 1960s Ireland, a poignant and beautiful meditation on life lived under the weight of secrets, as three orphaned siblings arrive in a village longing for a fresh start
You can find Cherry Smyth on Instagram @Cherrysmythpoet as well as Chloe Michelle Howarth @Chloemichelleh
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