The keynote address of the festival. The acclaimed American novelist Paul Auster talks about Samuel Beckett and his influence on him as a writer. The programme also features remarks by festival organiser and County Heritage Officer Tim Carey; County Manager Eoin Keegan; Edward Beckett, executor of the Beckett estate; and Dr Eoin O'Brien, author of "The Beckett Country". The podcast was recorded at the Royal Marine Hotel in Dún Laoghaire on September 10, 2009.