Boyne Readings - Kieran Furey

Our first Boyne Readings and Open Mic went well last evening. Fog, flu and cold kept the attendance small but those that were there enjoyed Kieran Furey's readings and the assortment of prose and poetry at the open mic.

Kieran Furey read from three of his books. He read a sonnet sequence from The History House, his collection of poems centred on Strokestown House and the Great Famine. Strokestown House has an impressive famine museum. The sonnet sequence entitled Water deals with the voyage to America on a famine ship.

He then read from his travel book, In India, a passage describing his attempts to get an interview with the Dalai Lama. He succeeded and we all wanted to know what transpired at the interview. Finally he read from his recently published book on working on the buildings in England, Linnane in London. He is on virtual Writer here.

You know the feeling you get when you are just about to read and you think "I shouldn't have picked this piece". That's how I felt when I started my two poems, both sonnets, about Blanchardstown/Newgrange. Perhaps a rethink, a bit of editing? Maybe.

Picture: Kieran Furey signs a book for Boyne Writers Group Member Evan Costigan.