The Penny Dreadful Launch

The Penny Dreadful literary magazine is about to publish its second issue. The launch details are as follows:

Dublin: Friday July 26th - The Twisted Pepper, Lower Abbey Street - 7:30-10:00

Galway: August 2nd - Charlie Byrne's Bookshop -  Time TBC

Cork: August 19th - The Roundy, Patrick Street - 20:30 till late

I hope to attend the Dublin launch to read my poem about 1916. This was written in response to a LitLab exercise. "Write" might be the wrong word as this is what is called a "found poem", the text is not mine but the arrangement is.

If you can't attend one of the launches you can purchase online on the website.

Ledwidge Day - Sunday 28 July 2013

The annual Ledwidge Day event takes place this year on Sunday 28 July in Tankardstown House, Slane at 3.30pm.

This afternoon of music, poetry and song will include the Dublin Shakespeare Society in a drama, Letters of Love and Loss. This will be followed by a reading by poet John F. Deane from his recently published collection Snow Falling on Chestnut Hill.

More information on the Francis Ledwidge Museum website. Free parking. Come early to avoid disappointment.

RSPB/The Rialto Nature Poetry Competition

The RSPB is working in partnership with leading independent UK poetry magazine, The Rialto, which will showcase the winning entries. As well as offering poets the chance to win considerable cash prizes and publication of their poems, the competition will raise money for conservation and poetry.

Prizes: 1st £1000: 2nd £500: 3rd A Place on a Creative Writing Course at Ty Newydd in 2014 (worth £540). Additional prize, a personal tour with Mark Cocker of his most cherished wild life places in East Anglia. Mark is one of Britain’s most celebrated writers on nature.

The judge is celebrated poet, writer and broadcaster, Ruth Padel.  Ruth is a Fellow of the Royal Society for Literature and a Council Member for the Zoological Society of London.

Her latest collection, The Mara Crossing, shortlisted for the Ted Hughes Prize, explores human and animal migration in poetry and prose. She writes and presents BBC Radio 4 ‘Poetry Workshop’. Ruth will read all the poems entered in the competition.

The entry fee is £6 for the first poem and £3 for each subsequent entry. Full details and the facility to enter online can be found on The Rialto website. Closing date for entries is 30 September 2013.

They are anxious to stress that the term ‘Nature Poetry’ will be given a wide interpretation by the judge and they refer to this mention of the competition in an editorial for The Rialto:

So what is Nature Poetry? As the flier says, the judge will give this a wide interpretation. I’d imagine it won’t have to be just poems about creatures and beings that share the planet, or about ‘environmental concerns’. We are all air and water, everything we eat comes from the earth or the sea, most people know the roughness of a leaf or the heft of a stone can change a mood or express a feeling. I asked a 16 year old, What is nature? and she said, insects and grass: I asked a 32 year old the same question and she said, the sun and the moon and the stars and flowers and fruit and babies. You might just have to write your poems and take a risk.

Cara Quilt a Poem Competition

LitLab, organisers of the Bailieborough Poetry Festival 4-5 October 2013, have announced the Cara Quilt a Poem Competition. Full details are on the website. The competition is sponsored by Cara Pharmacy and Beauty.

Poems must be about, or inspired by, any of the quilts exhibited on the competition page. Closing date for entry is Friday 13th September. First prize of €250.

All shortlisted poems will be featured at a reading at Bailieborough Poetry Festival on Saturday 5th October 2013, and authors will be invited to attend. If the author is unable to attend the short-listed poem will be read by a LitLab member. The winner will be announced at that reading and will be published on the website.

Each poem must not exceed 50 lines, and should be typed, single-spaced. Up to three poems may be submitted per entry. A fee of €5 per entry (3 poems) is payable. Payment can be made via PayPal on the website. Submissions should be emailed to quiltcomp@bailieboroughpoetry.com. Postal entries will also be accepted.

I have been asked to judge this competition and look forward to the responses to the wonderful quilts on show on the webpage. These quilts will also be on exhibition in Bailieborough Library during the Bailieborough Poetry Festival.

Bailieborough Poetry Festival & Competition

My "other" writers group is LitLab which began in 2006 as an initiative by Meath and Cavan Arts Offices to provide mentoring for new and emerging writers in the two counties.

The initial workshops were held in Kells Library under the guidance of John McAllister, author, from Armagh. The group continues to meet fortnightly, in the Library in Bailieborough, County Cavan.

LitLab is publishing an anthology of the members' work in October. The anthology is being edited by well-known poet and performer, a fellow-Doghouse poet, Barbara Smith.

In connection with the launch of the anthology the group is organizing a weekend of readings, workshops and a poetry competition in Bailieborough on the weekend of 4th and 5th October this year - a Poetry Festival.

Visiting poets will include; Nessa O’Mahony, Barbara Smith, Heather Brett, Rebecca O Connor and Noel Monahan. The venues will include the town library in the old Market Square, Bia restaurant and the Wesleyan Church.

In conjunction with the poetry festival there will be a quilt exhibition hanging in the arts space of the library and the poetry competition, sponsored by Cara Pharmacy and Beauty, is based on responses in poetry to these quilts.

The festival website has just been put online. It has details of the competition. A full programme for the festival will follow soon.

John Hewitt International Summer School

A week of poetry (and much, much more) in Armagh: Monday 22 July– to Friday 26 July 2013.

A fantastic programme of poets at the Marketplace Theatre in Armagh City including Simon Armitage, Medbh McGuckian, Penelope Shuttle, Julian Stannard, James Byrne, Orfhlaith Foyle, Pat Boran, Noel Monahan, Jean Bleakney and Conor O'Callaghan, plus a choice of seven creative-writing workshop groups running throughout the week, with the poetry sessions led by James Byrne and Eoghan Walls… plus lectures, talks, drama, music, visual arts, discussions, exhibitions & a creative-writers' reading event.

Other guests include Shirley Williams, Salley Vickers, Pat McCabe, Diljit Rana, Anne Enright, Suleiman Abdulahi, Carlo Gebler, Andy Pollak, Heather Richardson, Nessa O'Mahony, Deirdre Madden, Jan Jedrzejewski: plus Ian Sansom and Wireless Mystery Theatre in The Play of the Book, and the Lurig Players' prizewinning production of David Mamet's Duck Variations.

All part of the five-day festival of culture and creativity that is the 26th John Hewitt International Summer School, with this year's lectures and discussions themed around Living Among Strangers: the lost meaning of home. Full programme online.

Come for the week, a day, or a single event, or dip in and out through the week as you discover this great ancient city & the stunning countryside that inspired poets Paul Muldoon and John Hewitt….

A Book for Mary Lavin's Centenary

The centenary of Mary Lavin’s birth occurred last year and there were a series of events organised in Meath where the writer lived for many years.

Now Irish Academic Press has published a collection of essays honouring her, one of the leading figures of the Irish short story tradition.

Throughout her lifetime, Mary Lavin’s writings were recognised and celebrated both at home and abroad.

Her first collection of stories, Tales from Bective Bridge, won the James Tait Black Memorial Prize in 1943 and she won two Guggenheim awards in 1959 and 1961.

In this book leading critics examine the main themes and stylistic features of Lavin’s novels and short stories from a variety of perspectives. Heather Ingman explores the themes of masculinity and gender in Lavin’s writing;; family and community are the main themes analysed by Elke D’hoker.

Aspects of her own turbulent life are examined as her critics aim to understand her multiple meanings, contexts and concerns. This book is a poignant and significant study of the life, work and writings of one of Ireland’s most prolific female writers of the twentieth century, Mary Lavin.

The editor is Elke D’hoker, Associate Professor at the University of Leuven, Belgium, and the foreword is written by Colm Tobin.

The book is available in paperback, priced at €24.95 from good bookshops or from the publisher's website.

Skylight 47 Launch

The July Over The Edge Writers’ Gathering at Galway City Library, St. Augustine Street on Thursday, 11 July, 6.30-8pm will see the launch of the second issue of Skylight 47, with special guests Eamonn Wall and Patrick Kehoe.

All contributors to this issue of Skylight 47 are invited to come along and read their poem from the magazine. All are welcome. There is no cover charge. Copies of the magazine will be on sale on the evening and can also be purchased here.

Eamonn Wall, Professor of Irish Studies/Professor of English at the University of Missouri-St. Louis and a Wexford native, will officially launch the new issue and read some of his own poems. Poet Patrick Kehoe will also read from his debut collection, It's Words You Want.


I was lucky to be included in Issue One of this poetry newspaper and I'm delighted that my collection, Asking for Directions, is being reviewed in this issue.

President Michael D Higgins at Swift Satire Festival

The Swift Satire Festival closed this afternoon with President Michael D Higgins delivering the inaugural Swift Lecture to a large, appreciative audience in Trim Castle Hotel.

Before the lecture the President unveiled an information panel beside Trim Castle about the film Braveheart, made in Trim at a time when Michael D Higgins was the minister in charge. He spoke of the importance to the film industry in Ireland of films such as Braveheart and Saving Private Ryan.

His lecture was entitled Jonathan Swift, savage indignation, contradictions, vulnerabilities and a lesson for our times. It was a comprehensive, wide ranging discussion of Swift, his times, his writings and the relevancy of his ideas. A fascinating overview for those who knew little about Swift with keen insights for those who were familiar with the writer.

One of his main themes was Swift's rage at the realization that rationality was not sufficient. It is this rage in Swift which is sometimes mistakenly labelled as misanthropy. Human nature, Swift said, was not rational but rather was capable of being rational.

The President drew a parallel with current affairs suggesting that we had been led to believe that financial structures, institutions and markets were rational but have been disappointed. He also pointed out that one of Swift's best known satires, Drapier's Letters, published anonymously, was against a financial scheme.

And so much more! All delivered with great enthusiasm. Makes you want to go back and read Gulliver's Travels again. It is possible that the text or video of the lecture may appear on the website of the President at a later date.

The Great Gulliver Gathering

Scenes from the Great Gulliver Gathering, the reading of the whole of Gulliver's Travels in just over six minutes at the Swift Satire Festival.

All 302 pages of Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels were read by over 100 people in the largest simultaneous reading event ever undertaken in Ireland.

Top: The scene beside the castle where registration took place. Sunshine, stalls, bouncing castle, the comedy tent - a glorious setting.

Below: Part of the crowd of readers near the Sheepgate just before the reading commenced.

The Festival continues when one of the highlights should be the inaugural Swift Lecture to be delivered by the President of Ireland. This takes place in the Great Hall at Trim Castle Hotel at 4pm on Sunday, 7 July.

All the details are on the website.

Poetry in Motion

Some pictures from Friday's Poetry in Motion, poetry reading in the main street in Trim before lunch. Some passers-by startled by Yeats, Kavanagh, Auden, Holub, Shakespeare, Heaney, Kipling and work by the visiting group from Bradford.

Poetry in Motion is on again tomorrow, Saturday, in the Castle Grounds near the Garda Station at 11. Remember registration for the Great Gulliver Gathering takes place there from 11.30.

All 302 pages of Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels will be read by 302 people (one page per reader) in the largest simultaneous reading event ever undertaken in Ireland. The reading will start at 1pm sharp. It's free to participate, will take only three or four minutes and you will get a certificate.

Swift Satire Festival - A Good Start

The Festival was officially opened last evening in the Trim Castle Hotel. A large crowd heard praise for the festival committee and the local community, some thoughts on Swift's regard for Trim and what he might have to say were he to return.

Then the first event which was, appropriately enough, a local satire competition. Boyne Writers Group and Meath Writers Circle fought the Battle of the Books and we came out victorious in the end. This victory maintained the 'every second year' pattern of victories. 

A large crowd attended, the judges were great, joining in the satire themselves and even introducing an X Factor element. Should I be delighted to have been described as "the Susan Boyle of Swift Satire"?

Paddy Smith was the MC and his dreadful puns at the expense of the contestants went down very well; OK maybe just went down well.

It was nice that the late Tommy Murray was well remembered at the event and that some family members were present. Also nice to see our friends from Bradford there and former Battle of the Books judge and key festival committee member, James Ward.

There should be some photos on the Festival Facebook page later, one already on Boyne Writers FB page. Watch also for the blogs of Orla Fay and of Frank Murphy, captain of the Meath Writers Circle team.

The Festival continues until Sunday night. Today sees our Poetry in Motion reading of poetry in the streets of Trim and tonight has the Swift Round Table with Barry Murphy, Alan Shortt and Colm O'Regan in the Knightsbrook Hotel.

Lots of events on Saturday and Sunday. Full programme on the website.

Battle of the Books, Swift Satire, Trim 2013

The Swift Satire Festival, Trim starts tomorrow, 4 July, with the official opening and the Battle of the Books. This is the fifth year of this satire competition between the two Trim-based writers groups. The holders are Meath Writers Circle and the pattern so far is a different winner every second year. So the pressure is on Boyne Writers Group this year.

The format has been changed. Previously the contest was held as part of the Bite of Satire lunch which featured some other entertainment as well as the contest. This year it is a stand alone event taking place at 9pm this Thursday immediately after the official opening in the Trim Castle Hotel.

The teams of three submit their satire scripts in advance to the judges who will be familiar with the material before the event. Contestants take turns to deliver their satire, maximum time allowed five minutes, and receive an immediate judgement and score.

The teams have been given a general definition of satire which includes:

In satire, human or individual vices, follies, abuses, or shortcomings are held up to censure by means of ridicule, derision, burlesque, irony, or other methods, ideally with the intent to bring about improvement. Although satire is usually meant to be funny, the purpose of satire is not primarily humour in itself so much as an attack on something of which the author strongly disapproves, using the weapon of wit. 

It is still difficult to be definitive as regards what is or is not satire so every year the judges query if a particular piece is satire or not.

This year of course we will miss the late Tommy Murray who captained the Meath Writers Circle in previous years and who died suddenly at the end of last year.

Frank Murphy is their captain this year, a worthy successor to Tommy. Frank has participated in each contest so far and has usually scored highly.

So let the battle commence. I should however mention a few excuses in case we are beaten. The weather is against us. Every year we won the sun was splitting the stones. One of our members has come down with a bad cold. Cough! Cough! Our team is entirely composed of amateur satirists unlike the opposition. 

My own satire for this year? I got this great idea one day while thinning turnips but the finished satire is pretty poor. As usual it pokes gentle fun at a few sacred bulls, is very innocuous, not designed to upset anyone. Complete rubbish!  Not!!

Swift Satire Festival on Facebook.

Picture above: Festival patron Noel Dempsey presenting last year's trophy to the winning side, Meath Writers' Circle; from left, Michael Shiels, the now sadly deceased Tommy Murray, and Frank Murphy.

The Blackfriary Community Archaeology Project

It's a busy time. This weekend sees the Hay Festival in Kells, the Swift Satire Festival takes place next weekend in Trim and early next week there is an archaeology conference in Trim.


Power, Prayer and Public Archaeology, a conference in celebration of 750 years since the foundation of the Black Friary, Trim will be held on 2nd-3rd July 2013 in the Knightsbrook Hotel Spa & Golf Resort, Dublin Road, Trim.

More details and the full programme are available here.

The Blackfriary Community Archaeology Project is an initiative of the Irish Archaeology Field School, Cultural Tourism Ireland and Meath Local Authorities working in partnership with the local community and stakeholders.

The project aims to carry out a detailed archaeological investigation of the Black Friary; a four acre site including the ruins of the thirteenth century Dominican Friary, once a significant part of the history of the medieval town of Trim.

This project is engaging with the local community and stakeholders, to conserve the site and create a space where community and visitors alike can explore heritage and use the site in a sustainable way. I attended the recent open day there and was impressed by the site and the discoveries being made.


The Blackfriary Community Archaeology Project and the heritage of Trim has been included in the National Geographic book ‘100 Places That Can Change Your Child’s Life,’ (2013). Author Keith Bellows, in an interview with CNN Travel listed his Top 10 experiences from the book; which included Trim and the
archaeological project at the Black Friary.

For more information about the Irish Archaeology Field School and the Blackfriary Community Archaeology Project go to the website or the Facebook page.

Winner - Fermoy International Poetry Competition

"The overall winner of the Fermoy International Poetry Festival Blue Max Review competition is Michael Farry from County Meath Ireland.

Judge Noel King said 'selections were made on the overall skill across the batches of 3 poems rather than individual poems'."

I was delighted to get the phone call from Gene Barry and I'm looking forward to attending the Fermoy Poetry Festival at the beginning of August. I've passed through Fermoy many times on my way to Cork (before the bypass) but I don't think I ever stopped there. 

When I saw my name among those of all those other great poets on the long list earlier this week I was honoured to be in that company and to have been declared the winner is brilliant. The three poems I entered are recent, all written this year and scrutinised by Boyne Writers Group and LitLab members. Thanks!


Thanks especially to the organisers and to the judge. The programme for the Festival looks very interesting with a number of overseas poets attending and reading. I'm looking forward to a good few days in Fermoy.

Hay Festival Kells

The newest chapter of the Hay Festival takes place in Kells in County Meath next week-end, 28–30 June 2013.

The impressive programme includes novelists John Boyne, DBC Pierre, John Banville, Tiffany Murray; poets Owen Sheers, Nerys Williams, Eurig Salisbury; memoirs from Jeanette Winterson; children's writers Jenny Valentine, Sarah Webb; playwright Frank McGuinness; actors Peter Sheridan, Lisa Dwan; a film animating The Secret of Kells; academics Germaine Greer on Shakespeare and Dr Bernard Meehan on the Book of Kells; politician Jesse Norman on Burke; and musician Alex Valentine.


The rather pretentious title for the festival is IMAGINE THE WORLD: SAMHLAIGH AN DOMHAN, whatever that is supposed to mean. Why imagine the world? It's all around, just look at it!

The full programme is available on the website.

On Sunday 30 June at 2pm poets Peter Fallon and Vona Groarke will read in the Church of Ireland, Kells. Poet, editor and publisher, founder of The Gallery Press, Peter Fallon reads poems from his published works alongside award-winning poet Vona Groarke, whose collections include Spindrift, Juniper Street and Flight. Admission: €4.00

Among the many interesting smaller events organised for the week-end is a Victorian Afternoon Tea hosted by the Kells Arts Club with literature, poetry and song. This takes place in the Edmund Rice Centre, Bective Street, Kells from 2pm to 6pm on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Feel free to drop in and listen and if you have a poem or a song you might even be tempted to recite, read or sing!

North West Writing Weekend

North West Words group has organised a very interesting Writing Weekend in Letterkenny, Co. Donegal  on the weekend July 19-21 2013.

Weekend Programme:
 
Friday July 19
Launch at Café Blend, High Road, Letterkenny. 7.30pm
Reading by workshop facilitators, with music by Seoirse O’Dochartaigh

Saturday July 20 
Gallagher’s Hotel, Upper Main Street, Letterkenny
9.30am Registration
10.00-11.30am Workshop 1:
Collage Workshop or Deepening Your Writing Practice

12.00-1.30pm Workshop 2:
Turning Memories into Writing or Writing for Younger Readers

2.30-4.00pm Publishing Panel Chaired Discussion with Declan Meade of Stinging Fly Press, John Walsh and Lisa Frank of Doire Press and wordlegs editor Elizabeth Reapy

4.00-5.00pm Café Blend
Reading by Freya McClements, Deirdre Hines, with music by Shay Halligan, and Open Mic

8.00pm Gallagher’s Hotel
Reading by workshop facilitators, with music by Simon Mc Cafferty, and Open Mic

Sunday July 21 
Gallagher’s Hotel
9.30am Registration
10-12.30pm Poetry Workshop
1.30-4.00pm Techniques in Editing Fiction or
Poetry Clinic with John Walsh

Facilitators and Contributors include Celine McGlynn, Ellen Factor, Kathryn Daily, Denise Blake, Malachy Doyle, Declan Meade, Lisa Frank, John Walsh, Gréagóir Ó Dúill and Janice Fitzpatrick Simmons.

Course fee: Saturday only: €40. Sunday only: €50. Both days: €80. Course fee includes entry to all readings and open mic events over the weekend. Fee must be paid in full at the time of booking. Places are limited so early booking is advised. Bursaries may be available for those who need financial assistance with the fee.

Work must be submitted by email in advance for Sunday’s master classes, further details on booking.

Preferences allocated on a first come first served basis.
Enquiries to maureenwcurran@yahoo.ie Bookings and payment by cheque or postal order to NWW Writing Weekend, 54 Thornberry, Letterkenny, Co Donegal

North West Words has been hosting monthly poetry and prose readings in Letterkenny since 2010. They publish a quarterly magazine of writing and arts news which they distribute across Donegal free of charge. They run an annual schools poetry competition and last year they organised their first poetry competition for adults. In the summer they present events at festivals in Donegal.

Remarkably, they run on donations, support from the County Arts Office and from Donegal Local Development Company Ltd (DLDC) under the Local and Community Development Programme 2013.

Sixth Swift Satire Festival, Trim

Full details of the Sixth Swift Satire Festival, Trim, Co. Meath, which will be held from 4 July to 7 July 2013, have been posted on the website.

This annual event celebrates the life, works and legacy of Jonathan Swift by bringing together distinguished guests from the arts, politics, the media and comedy to celebrate satire.

Swift was appointed vicar in Laracor, just out the road from Trim, in 1700. The author of such famous satires as Gulliver’s Travels, A Tale Of A Tub and A Modest Proposal, had many firm friends in the town of Trim itself.

The full programme is on the website as is a downloadable brochure.

The launch takes place on Thursday 4 July at 8pm in the Trim Castle Hotel. Admission is free, wine and canapés will be served and the launch will be followed by the first event of this year’s festival, the perennial staple of  The Battle of the Books, the satire competition between keen rival groups Meath Writers Circle and Boyne Writers Group. This takes place at 9pm, also in the Trim Castle Hotel. Admission: €5.

A novel event (Pun! - Gulliver's Travels is usually considered to be a novel) is The Gulliver Gathering reading. All 302 pages of Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels will be read by 302 people (one page per reader) in the biggest simultaneous reading event ever undertaken in Ireland. Places can be pre-booked on the website.

This takes place on Saturday 5 July. Registration of readers from 11.30am on the day, and the reading will start at 1pm sharp. Venue: Trim Castle grounds (opposite Garda Station). Don't miss being part of this!

Other events include: A Bite of Satire in the company of President Michael D. Higgins: Eneclann Genealogical Roadshow: Poetry in Motion: Project Swift – a spectacular projection of the life, travels and works of Jonathan Swift: Satire-Day Comedy Festival: Satire-Day Evening Show: Oliver Callan’s Satire Circus: The Swift Round Table with Barry Murphy, Alan Shortt and Very Special Guests: The Swift Tour.

Full details on the website.

A Selection of Irish Poetry

Paddy Smith and myself were asked to provide about 30 minutes of Irish poetry for a group of visitors to Trim and to Meath who were investigating their Irish roots as part of The Gathering.

We came up with the following list which with short introductions actually went on for nearer 50 minutes. But no-one complained and the audience enjoyed the readings greatly. Paddy introduced the event, and then we took turns.

We had quite a discussion as regards the composition of the list. Paddy, a former journalist, was strong on the entertainment aspect of the poems while I, the former teacher, wanted to include the important Irish poets.

We made sure to include some Meath poets and I also thought it important that we read one in Irish. You can figure out which were Paddy's selection and which mine.

The Lake Isle of Innisfree William Butler Yeats (1865-1939)

Biddy Mulligan Seamas Kavanagh

Anois Teacht an Earraigh Antaine Ó Raifteirí (1784-1835)

I see His Blood Upon the Rose  Joseph Mary Plunkett (1887-1916)

Lament for Thomas MacDonagh Francis Ledwidge (1887-1917)

The Fairies William Allingham. (1824-1889)
 
The Stolen Child William Butler Yeats (1865-1939)

Father and Son F. R. Higgins (1896-1941)

Digging Seamus Heaney (1939- )

Kerr's Ass Patrick Kavanagh (1904-1967)

The Priesting of Father John

A Satirical Elegy on the Death of a Late Famous General Jonathan Swift (1667-1745)

Are You Right There Michael Percy French (1854-1920)

A Soft Day Winifred M. Letts (1882-1972)

The Great Blasket Island Julie O’Callaghan (1954- )

Bewley’s Café Paul Durcan (1944- )

The Song of Wandering Aengus William Butler Yeats (1865-1939)

Poetry Press Workshops

Poetry Press Workshops by fellow Doghouse poet, Monica Corish, in Kinlough, Co Leitrim.

Saturday, June 29, 11 am - 6 pm. : A Day of Writing: Finding your Poem.
Sunday, June 30, 10 am– 5 pm. : A Day of Manuscript Response: Strengthening your Poem.

These two workshops, suitable for both beginner and more experienced writers, will be led by poet and AWA trained writing group leader Monica Corish. Participants may choose to attend either one workshop or both at a discounted price.

More information about the workshops, including cost and accommodation details, can be found on Monica's website. Places are limited, so advance booking is essential.

Monica Corish's poetry has been nominated for the Patrick Kavanagh and the Hennessy New Irish Writing Awards; she was the Featured Poet in the Spring 09 edition of The Stinging Fly; and she has received writing bursaries from the Arts Council, the Arts and Disability Forum, and Leitrim Arts Office.

Her first collection of poetry, "Slow Mysteries", was published by Doghouse Books in June 2012.

Yeats Day - The Sisters

This year Yeats Day included the launch of a 10-day rescheduled and re-branded Craftfest Northwest festival honouring WB's sisters Susan and Elizabeth - affectionately named Lily and Lolly by her siblings.

Susan (Lily) was a keen embroiderist.  Elizabeth (Lolly) trained under the renowned artist and textile designer William Morris in London. She was an artist and the main inspiration for the Cuala Press which she ran with her sister. They printed the work of WB Yeats and many other well-known writers including Ezra Pound, Douglas Hyde, Rabindranath Tagore and Elizabeth Bowen.

The LilyLolly Craftfest will build on the success in recent years of the Northwest Craftfest. The rebranded and rescheduled festival - promoted by Made in Sligo craft workers group - will now be launched on Yeats day every year.

I went along to see the exhibition of quilts suitable titled The Fascination of What's Difficult by the Yeats County Quilters. Wonderful work. The top, smaller quilt, is a Sligo Heritage quilt of theirs.

Fathers' Day

This Sunday, 16 June, is Fathers' Day in this part of the world.

I spotted this nice display for Fathers' Day in Liber Bookshop, O'Connell St., Sligo on Thursday. "No ties, Just lots and lots of great Jackets"!!

Indeed! and I was delighted to see my history book jacket in there among Dan Brown and Benjamin Black.

Yeats Day 2013 Sligo

This second Yeats Day in Sligo seems to have been a great success; a lot of people around the town, attending the various events and there were lots of events.

I got to the Hilary Pyle talk on the Jack B Yeats exhibition, Enter the Clowns in the Model, the official launch of the Tread Softly Yeats Festival, the Happy Birthday Mr Yeats celebration in O'Connell St, the exhibition of Yeats’ work from The National Library, Sligo County Library and IT Sligo in the old Pollexfen building in Wine Street, the art installation at the Yeats statue at the old Ulster Bank, the quilt exhibition by Yeats County Quilters and I even read two poems at the Poetry Parlour in the Yeats Memorial Building.

Pictures:
Top: The O'Connell St celebrations in the afternoon.
Above: The launch of the Tread Softly Festival by the Mayor of Sligo beside the new portrait of Jack B Yeats in the Model Art Gallety.
Below: The art installation at the Yeats statue by art students Hugh McGettigan and Ciara Finan. Four of his poem were printed on the stands. After reading each poem you were invited to go under the cloth and look at a photographic interpretation of the poem.

Yeats' Day 2013

 Poetry, painting, song, craft and ... eh ... wine and sausages? All will be on the menu for Sligo's second annual Yeats Day celebration throughout the town on Thursday June 13, birthday of Nobel Prize Winning poet W.B. Yeats.

This year the day will be a dawn to dusk celebration not just of Sligo's Nobel Laureate and his works, but also of his brother Jack, one of the country's most significant painters of the last century, and his sisters Susan and Elizabeth- who made an enormous contribution to the Gaelic art and crafts revival in the early 20th century.

The highlight will be the birthday celebrations on O’Connell Street, Sligo from 3pm to 6pm with poetry, balloons, birthday cake and music.

A sample below of the many events scheduled for the day. Full list on this page.

8am Lough Gill: Boat Trip, Full Irish breakfast and poetry readings €40. Booking essential. Email: info@roseofinnisfree.com Tel:  087 2598869

11am Hawk's Well Theatre: The Gathering - Flock of 400 Textile Birds created by children and adults from across Co. Sligo sponsored by Borough 400

12.30pm County Library: Choral Yeats - Children in costume recite Yeats poetry

12.30pm Various venues: The Wine and Sausage Lunch - celebrate the Nobel Prize winning poet’s award as he did; a glass of wine and a sausage!

1pm The Model: Jack B. Yeats ‘Enter the Clowns’ - Official Launch and curated tour with the National Art Gallery’s renowned Professor Hilary Pyle

2pm Drumcliffe Churchyard: Feis Shligigh and Feis Ceoil Yeats Cup poetry winners perform The Nobel Prize - an interpretation of W.B.Yeats’ speech on being awarded the Prize; with actor Michael Fish

3pm Yeats Building: Afternoon Tea with Aleck Crichton - His personal memories of W.B. Yeats

4.30pm Departs Parke’s Castle: Hazelwood Heritage Boat Trip Readings of poetry by W.B. Yeats, history of Lough Gill and Hazelwood Tickets €20, available in advance, from Fáilte Ireland Office, O’Connell St, Sligo

6pm Hargadons Pub: Party Piece - Read, sing or perform your own favourite W.B. Yeats poem

6.30pm Yeats Building: Poet’s Parlour - Poetry, drama and family fun

7pm Sligo Abbey: The Icelandic Connection - Writer Brian Leyden reads W.B. Yeats with poet Andres Eiriksson’s ‘Icelandic Translations’

Poetry Ireland Director

Poetry Ireland are currently recruiting for a Director who, under the direction of the Board, will work with a dedicated team and will develop and lead the organisation towards its 40th anniversary.

Poetry Ireland is the national organisation for poetry in Ireland, dedicated to developing, supporting and promoting poetry throughout Ireland. As the largest literary resource organisation in Ireland we deliver through four core strands: publications, readings, education (which involves writers of all genres) and the provision of an information and resource service, we seek to promote access and excellence by embracing and fostering poetry and language as tools for living.  

We are looking for a creative and strategic individual who has a deep knowledge, passion and concern for poetry and literature in general. Highly developed organisational, strategy, financial and management skills are required, alongside excellent communication and interpersonal skills. Salary will be commensurate with knowledge and experience.   

A detailed job description and further information are available to download from the Poetry Ireland website.

Interested applicants are invited to submit a detailed CV, highlighting relevant experience, and a covering letter in strict confidence to the Chairman by email: chairman@poetryireland.ie (preferred option) or by post: Chairman, Poetry Ireland, 32 Kildare St., Dublin 2

The closing date for applications is next Tuesday 18 June, 2013 at 5pm

Swift Satire Festival Trim - Programme

Full details of the 2013 Swift Satire Festival, 4 July - 7 July, are on the website where you can also book tickets. Quite a number of changes in this year's programme. The Battle of the Books satire competition is going ahead but the time and day has been changed.


The Swift Satire Festival Launch takes place at 8pm on Thursday 4 July in the Trim Castle Hotel. Admission is free, wine and canapés will be served and the launch will be followed by the first event of this year’s festival, the perennial favourite, The Battle of the Books.

This annual satirical joust between our Boyne Writers Group and Meath Writers Circle will take place at 9pm in the Trim Castle Hotel, Admission: €5. Time to get the satire ideas down on paper, polish up the delivery, check the timings, decide the running order and hope for the best.

Another novel event to look out for and maybe take part in is the simultaneous reading of Gulliver's Travels at 1pm on Saturday 6 July. All 302 pages of Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels will be read by 302 people (one page per reader) in the biggest simultaneous reading event ever undertaken in Ireland.

Places can be pre-booked on the special website page. Registration of readers from 11.30am on the day, and the reading will start at 1pm sharp. Venue: Trim Castle grounds (opposite Garda Station). Admission: Free.

Romancing Charlotte

As well as being a member of Boyne Writers Group I'm also a member of LitLab which is a Cavan/Meath writers group which was started in 2006 by Meath and Cavan Arts Offices to mentor and encourage writers in the two counties.

The group has prospered and meet fortnightly in Bailieborough. Over the last few years one member, Pat Devaney who has an impressive list of publications to his credit, brought for criticism some episodes of a series of his which was being published in a monthly Irish magazine.

The serial has concluded and Pat has had it published as a novel under a pen name, Colin Scott. It is available as an e-book or paperback from Authorhouse and from Amazon.

This is how Pat describes the book:

Set in Post-Celtic-Tiger Ireland, this novel follows the efforts of PJ, a returned Yank, to win the love of Charlotte, attractive English-born widow of Sir William Herbert and owner of the local Big House. Differences of religion and class would seem to doom the romance but the growing relationship between PJ's son and Charlotte's daughter and a shared interest in saving a local bog from illegal turf cutters dramatically alter the situation.

Roger Hudson's Dublin Launch

Poems that tell stories is a major feature of Roger Hudson’s new collection Plaything of the Great God Kafka (Lapwing Publications, Belfast) which will be receive its Dublin launch at Monday Echo, basement of International Bar, Wicklow Street, Dublin 1 at 7.00pm on 10 June. 

Roger has chosen Monday Echo to express his thanks to Dublin’s fringe venues and performance poets like Karl Parkinson, who launches the book, Stephen James Smith, Raven and others who showed him exciting ways to communicate his own poems. 

Since then he has gotten into performing with improvised music and in a group with multiple voices as well as performing solo, which should be reflected in the evening’s presentation. Lending support will be Anne Tannam, Steve Downes and other poets.

Roger promises that the poems will give a colourful view of the development over a lifetime of his often quirky worldview, assembling narratives of life incidents and social and political observations that range through Vietnam War atrocities, the Cuban missile crisis, puberty, propaganda, prejudice, prostate biopsy, the banking crisis and much more.

Roger has lived in Dublin and Drogheda for some twenty years now. As leader of Drogheda Creative Writers, he has organised and hosted its awards, open mics, anthologies and slams, as well as working on his previous collections Lifescapes (in Side-Angles with Steve Downes) and Greybell Wood and Beyond, also with Lapwing, and his historical crime novel Death Comes by Amphora.  

He grew up in Surrey, England, and lived and worked in London and Dublin in various forms of writing, editing and film-making.

All welcome. Supported by Create Louth. Signed copies available on the night at €10. Seating limited, so don’t be late.

Launch of 4 Salmon Poetry Collections

Salmon Poetry are launching four new poetry collections at the Irish Writers' Centre on next Thursday 6 June at 6.30pm.

The God Thing by Susan Millar DuMars
Shy White Tiger by Richard W. Halperin
The Stern Wave by Noel King
Offspring of the Moon by John W. Sexton

Quite a collection there! It should be a great evening of poetry. Each poet will read a selection.

Visit the Salmon website to read more about each collection and/or purchase copies.

On the other hand attend the launch and get a signed copy.

Boyne Berries Magazine - Guest Editor

Boyne Berries magazine is open for submissions until 13 July. We are delighted to have Kate Dempsey as our guest editor for this issue. Kate's poetry and fiction is widely published in Ireland and the UK including in Poetry Ireland Review, The Moth, Orbis and Magma. She won the 2011 Plough Poetry prize for a short poem and her first book of poetry, Some Poems, was published by Moth Editions, also in 2011.

Picture: Kate with member Orla Fay at one of our Open Mics in 2010.

We look forward to working with her and expect that the magazine will profit from her expertise and experience. Kate blogs here.

We accept poetry and prose. Please check the submission guidelines carefully and follow them meticulously. The guidelines are here.

I am always astonished at how heedless some people can be. We can all make mistakes but if a magazine asks for three poems why send four? If the line limit is 60 lines why send a 70-line poem? And if you are asked to send a brief biography why send a page listing your every publication credit?

And please proof read your work very carefully before you send. The editor does not have time to check with you if the strange spelling in stanza three is a clever literary pun or a mistake.

We get many more submissions than will fit in our little magazine so if you get a rejection don't take it personal. Send it off again to another magazine and send us something else next time.

This will be Boyne Berries 14 and the provisional launch date is Thursday 26 September 2013 in Trim.

Bloom in the Park Gardens

I went to visit Bloom, the gardening show, in the Phoenix Park for the first time on Thursday morning last and spent two hours there before the large crowds arrived. I enjoyed the show gardens especially, not as much artificiality as I had expected.

These gardens caught my eye:
The Kerry Group / Concern Worldwide 1000 DAYS Garden. It won a Gold Medal and Best in Concept Garden Category. On Thursday the President was especially interested in this. The "water features" in this had a practical irrigation purpose.

'Past Times' - A 70s Retro Garden which won a Silver Medal. Remember those days!

A Love Letter to The West. Ah yes! This Medium Garden was a Silver-Gilt Medal Winner. The designer lives and works in County Leitrim. The planting was wonderful here.

Destination Bloom. A Concept Garden which was a Silver-Gilt Medal Winner. A crash-land garden with some of Irelands worst invasive culprits.

Bealtaine Poetry Reading

The Bealtaine reading by the members of the Bealtaine Writers Group in the Hugh Lane Gallery yesterday was a most enjoyable event in a splendid setting. The group members read their poems, responses to artworks in the gallery, especially concentrating on works by modern Irish artist Sean Scully.

The Gallery is featuring an exhibition of his works at the moment. These are generally large and abstract, based on simple geometric shapes and at first glance not easy subjects for poems. One painting from the Doric series above. But the group responded with great creativity and skill and the poems made you want to go back to the paintings and look again.

Tom Dredge, above, the only male reader on the day, is also a member of our Boyne Writers Group.

The group's poems on this topic were developed from a series of writing and editing workshops with the poet Macdara Woods in the Irish Writers Centre, supported by Dublin City Council Arts Office and Poetry Ireland.


Well done to all!

Poetry on Thursday

The long established Bealtaine Writers Group will visit The Hugh Lane Gallery, Parnell Square, Dublin and read poems they have written inspired by artworks in the gallery. This event is free and open to the public on Thursday 30 May at 1.15pm as part of the Bealtaine Festival.


A member of Boyne Writers Group, Tom Dredge, who is also a member of the Bealtaine group will be reading at the event.

Their poems have developed from a series of writing and editing workshops with the poet Macdara Woods in the Irish Writers Centre, supported by Dublin City Council Arts Office and Poetry Ireland.

And the first series in the Poetry Ireland Introductions Readings 2013 featuring Madeleine Barnes, Stephenie Conn, Brian Kirk and Annemarie Ní Churreáin takes place at the Irish Writers' Centre, Parnell Square on the same day, Thursday at 6.30pm, admission free.

A History of Coolaney in 15 Objects

The talk in Coolaney on Saturday evening went very well. I was delighted to see such a great crowd and to meet some old school friends. The renovated Centre looks very well. Congratulations to the committee and the people of Coolaney.

This is the list of the objects I used to frame the talk. Most were illustrations but some, 9-13, were actual objects which I had there on display.

1. Rathbarran food vessel and axe c. 1,500BC (National Museum)

2. Miniature portrait of Cormac O'Hara, Coolaney c.1590. (O'Hara Family, Annaghmore)

3. Map of Coolaney 1716. (O’Hara Papers, National Library)

4. Engraving of Meemlough Castle. (The Antiquities of Ireland, Francis Grose, London, 1791)

5. Ordnance Survey map of Coolaney village 1837

6. Drawing of Coolaney old bridge by Raymond Piper. (Hayward, This is Ireland, Mayo, Sligo, Leitrim, Roscommon, London, 1953)

7. Wanted Notices 1838-40. (National Archives, Dublin)

8. Relief Application Form, 28 April 1847 Kate P. Thompson, Knockadoo House. (National Archives, Dublin)

9. Envelope of letter from Coolaney about election, 1852. (O’Hara Papers, National Library)

10. National Schools Amalgamation Brochure 1972

11. Railway warning sign c.1895

12. A Coolaney brick c.1907 (Photo above)

13. Account book of Coleman’s Coolaney 1902-1924 (Photo in post below)

14. Census Form 1911 Charles Mackenzie, Coolaney court clerk

15. Cartoons of Peter Cawley, Coolaney politician (Roscommon Herald 1912, 1914)

Coolaney Community Centre

Coolaney is a small village on the southern slopes of the Ox Mountains in County Sligo. I was born in the the parish and wrote a short history of the parish and published it in 1985.

The population of the area increased enormously during the tiger years and the village regularly comes out on top in Sligo in the Tidy Towns competition.

The local committee have just finished a major renovation of the Community Centre in the village and it is being re-opened this Friday, 24 May. I was asked to do a talk on the history of the village on Saturday evening 25th. I was delighted and decided to call it A History of Coolaney in 15 Objects, reflecting a current trend in such things.

Most of the 15 objects are in museums or libraries but I will have six or seven actual objects with me on the evening including the one pictured above. More on the night. I'm looking forward to the event and hope I do the occasion justice.

The well-known Book of O'Hara which contains 37 bardic poems of the late sixteenth century was compiled in honour of Cormac O'Hara, head of the family who lived in Coolaney and died in 1612. Some of these poems were written by the poet, Tadhg Dall O'Higgins, born close by near Achonry.

And of course five of my poems about the area, including one called Coolaney, were published in an anthology, Imagination and Place: Cartography,  in Kansas, USA earlier this year.

Scripts, Ireland’s Playwriting Festival

Birr Theatre and Arts Centre presents Scripts, Ireland’s  Playwriting Festival, 8-14 September 2013.

Scripts, Ireland’s newest playwriting festival is dedicated to new Irish plays - the writing of them, the development and nurturing of them. Playwrights can submit original 10 to 15 Minute plays on the theme Home for selection.

Those selected will benefit from a professional development process where they will be mentored by professional playwright Eugene O' Brien in an exciting work shopping process. Closing date 1 July.

For 7 days in September the picturesque heritage town of Birr, Co. Offaly, a haven of Georgian elegance, will play host to an ensemble of playwrights, producers, actors and directors, all working towards one goal -  to produce 7 outstanding new Irish plays in 7 fun-filled days!

You can also register to be part of a “Pop Up” Play in a Day Challenge. Playwrights will have 24 hours to write the 5 minute plays which will be performed as Pop Up Plays in cafes in Birr throughout the festival and again at the "It's A Wrap" event on Sunday September 15th.

Visit the website for more info on this exciting new festival.

The Swift Festival in Trim had a five-minute play competition last year which was a great success. Not sure if something similar will take place this year.

Strong / Shine Poetry Award Shortlist

The shortlist has just been announced for the 2013 Strong / Shine Award for debut volumes of poetry, to be presented at the Poetry Now at Mountains to Sea dlr Book Festival in September.

The four are: Eleanor Hooker's The Shadow Owner's Companion, Mary Noonan's The Fado House (both Dedalus), Rebecca O'Connor's We'll Sing Blackbird (Moth Editions) and Michelle O'Sullivan's The Blue End of Stars (Gallery Press).

The dlr Strong Award in partnership with Shine is presented annually to the author of the best first collection of poems published by an Irish poet in the previous year.Last year's winner was Sound Archive by Nerys Williams published by Seren.

Congratulations to the four authors and best of luck. Eleanor was another of the Poetry Ireland Introductions Class of 2011.

Get Digital - Converting Books to eBooks

Eoin Purcell, Commissioning Editor at  New Island Books, will be hosting a workshop on converting books into ebooks in the Irish Writers Centre on Saturday 8 June from 10am until 2pm.

This course is specifically tailored towards published writers who now own the rights to previously published material which they would like to make available as ebooks. 

Over the course of the morning ebooks will be examined with a section on how to create them, where to upload them, covers, pricing, marketing and a brief guide to rights.

*Please note this course is only open to published writers. To book please visit the Centre's website.

Eoin Purcell is the publisher of Irish Publishing News the source of news and information about Irish publishing and The Irish Story, a digital magazine and ebook publisher that focuses on Irish History. They published a review of my Sligo book recently.

Eoin writes occasional blog posts and columns on the Irish book trade for The Bookseller magazine and several other publications. He has kept a blogs on publishing and digital change since 2006.

The Caterpillar Magazine for Children

Announcing The Caterpillar, a new arts and literature magazine for children, featuring stories, poems and artwork. ‘As far as I can tell,’ says its editor Rebecca O’Connor, ‘there is nothing else quite like this out there for children.’

It features:
Poems and stories for children aged 7–11.
Well known children’s writers.
Full colour original artwork throughout.
Interactive pages for children to encourage creativity.

The first issue, to be launched on 2 June 2013 at the Moth Studios, Cavan, will feature the likes of Michael Morpurgo, author of War Horse; Mark Lowery, shortlisted for a Roald Dahl Funny Prize this year; and Janet Wong, who has read her poems on the Oprah Winfrey Show and at The White House, as well as such well known Irish writers as Matthew Sweeney and Julie O’Callaghan.

There will be four issues a year – in March, June, September and December. Available online, at Easons and at select bookshops, price €4/£4.

A school or library annual subscription costs €40 (including postage) and can be purchased at www.thecaterpillarmagazine.com or you can email enquiries@thecaterpillarmagazine.com or call 00 353 49 4362677 to set up payment.

New Poetry Collections

Another poet from the class of 2011, the Poetry Ireland Introductions of that year, is publishing a first collection.

Consent, the debut poetry collection by Kimberly Campanello, published by Connemara-based Doire Press, is being launched on Thursday 16 May at 7pm in the  Irish Writers’ Centre, Dublin.

Evelyn Conlon will do the honours on the night. Well done Kimberly!

More information here on Facebook.and here on Kimberly's website.

And it has also just been announced that another of the class of 2011, Donna Sandahl Sørensen, has just  signed a book deal and her debut poetry collection, Dream Country, will be published by New Island Books later this year.

Poetry Reading and Writing Workshop - National Library

As part of the Bealtaine Festival the National Library, Kildare Street, Dublin will host two Australian poets, Diane Fahey and Ali Cobby Eckermann for a poetry reading, 1.10pm - 2pm, followed by a  poetry writing workshop, 2.30pm  – 3.45pm, on next Wednesday, 15 May.

No need to book, just drop-in on the day.

Diane Fahey grew up in Melbourne and now lives in Clifton Springs  in south-eastern Victoria. She has written individual poetry collections on Greek myths, fairy tales, and insects. The poetry of place and nature writing, with a special emphasis on birds are abiding creative concerns.

Ali Cobby Eckermann, a celebrated poet and writer, lives in Koolunga, South Australia, where she has established an Aboriginal writer’s retreat. Ali has won several awards and has published poetry collections and verse novels. Her poetic memoir, Too Afraid To Cry, is being released in 2013.


These poets have been chosen for the Australian Poetry International Tour to Ireland in 2013, funded by the Literature Board of the Australia Council.

Themed Thursdays - Animals

I'm delighted to be taking part in the Seven Towers Thursday Themed Reading (6.30-8.00 pm every second Thursday 2013) in the Workman's Club, Wellington Quay, Dublin. on this Thursday

In these readings four writers/poets read on a specific theme for five to seven minutes each followed by a short open mic.

The temptation is to bend the rules and intepret "animals" very widely as one could. I've searched around, found enough poems on real or imaginary animals and am ready.

These are the other readers:

David Murphy is an award winning Science Fiction Writer. He is co-founder of Irish fiction magazine Albedo One, and has published two novels, Akron Chronicles and Longevity City and a collection of short stories Lost Notes.

Alma Brayden is a well-known Dublin poet and accomplished visual artist, a member of Dalkey Writers’ Workshop and has had poetry published in many anthologies and magazines.Her first collection Prism was published by Seven Towers in 2010

Seamus Cashman's poetry collections are Carnival (1987); Clowns & Acrobats (1997); and New & Selected Poems (Salmon, 2007). He has edited, with Bridie Quinn, The Wolfhound Book of Irish Poems for Young People, (Wolfhound Press, 1975) and Something Beginning with P (O’Brien Press, 2004) He established Wolfhound Press in 1974 and was its publisher for 27 years.

I'm delighted to be reading in such good and varied company. The Seven Towers events are always friendly and welcoming so I'm looking forward to the event.

Headspace: A New Magazine Promoting Positive Mental Health

HeadSpace is a writing and art magazine based around the theme of mental health which began with a group of young people who felt that a greater understanding of mental health in all its forms  is needed.

In particular, people who spent time in psychiatric wards found that there was a lack of reading material there, and felt they would have gained a sense of solidarity and support to read and see the work of writers and artists who understood their own experiences.

The name HeadSpace was motivated by the idea that in culture and society, we are not given the time or capacity to express, create and think as time is money, but all of us feel the need to buy some 'headspace' in order to maintain positive mental health.

HeadSpace features inspiring, deeply moving personal accounts involving dealing with depression. There are articles on how to make yourself more confident, the importance of mental health and how to cope when your mental health is not as strong as it sometimes is.

It also features a range of spectacular creative writing, with poems and short stories dealing with the panic, depression, and confusion that comes with mental health difficulties and diseases as well as stories of hope and recovery coming from unlikely places  Its pages are also packed full of evocative, thought-provoking art.

Issue One is to be launched on May 11 in  in the Twisted Pepper, Abbey St., Dublin at 6 pm (Coiniciding with Mental Helath awareness month) and will be distributed for free to a psychiatric ward and a school catering to pupils with mental health difficulties.

The magazine is entirely not-for-profit and was created by a group of volunteers. Costs have been met via crowdsourcing and fundraising events. Issue One is now available for advance orders online here for €5 including delivery. For more information please visit the facebook page.