Have you ever heard of a book without words? There is such a book and it has a foreword by author Roddy Doyle.
The book is The State We're Out and is the work of Laois-based artist Brendon Deacy, who has re-created his father's emigrant journey from the west of Ireland to England in 1951.
The stark images were made by linecut printing and there are 53 of them.
The launch of the publication, which has a limited edition of 250 copies, will mark the beginning of another special event, the John Keegan/Fintan Lalor commemorative weekend.
Brendon was born in Lancashire, England, and educated at Burnley College of Art and Leeds Polytechnic. He has been teaching art in England and Ireland for many years.
He has exhibited widely in solo and group exhibitions and has work displayed in many galleries, including the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, and the National Library, Dublin.
The theme of the weekend, on October 1st and 2nd, will be "Young Ireland Then and Now". It will be based at the new Dunamaise Theatre, Portlaoise.
Before the launch of the book, the official opening will be performed by Senator David Norris,
What makes this weekend different is that it is one of the first of its kind in Co Laois, mainly because there is now a venue available, according to Ms Mary Mulvey, the co-ordinator of the event. "There have been other events but they have not survived because of the lack of proper facilities. The new arts centre in Portlaoise has made this possible," she said.
"The lack of a venue made this very difficult for us, so it is only now that we can envisage holding summer schools or weekends like this. "This first venture will be a two-day one, but if we get the interest and the support, we will expand it and we may not necessarily be keeping the same theme." She said that on the Saturday, the event will open with a reading by Danny Morrison, the former Sinn Fein director of publicity, who is now a full-time writer.
In the afternoon there will be lectures on the lives of John Keegan and James Fintan Lalor and on their contribution to Irish life in the last century.
The lecture on John Keegan will be delivered by Mr Tony Delaney and Prof Willie Nolan, of UCD, will give a talk entitled "Young Ireland and the 1848 Rebellion".
Mary said there was great interest in the symposium "Politics and the Pen", which begins at 7.30 p.m. and will be chaired by Sean O'Rourke, of RTE.
Of particular interest will be the contribution by Mr Oliver C. Gibson, who is a Democratic Unionist Party councillor from Omagh, Co Tyrone, and an Assembly representative for West Tyrone.
He is a member of the Royal Black Institution and the elected representative of the south-west Ulster committee of the Apprentice Boys.
He was a member of the Ulster Defence Regiment, serving as an intelligence officer for the West Tyrone area. He now promotes tourism in the area and is a noted historian, author and promoter of Ulster culture.
Other speakers will include Mr Alan Dukes TD; Mr Pat McDonnell, an SDLP councillor on Omagh District Council; and Mr Teddy Fennelly, manager of the Leinster Express.
Bookings for the weekend can by made by contacting 0502-63355 or 0502-31653.