Launch of Boyne Berries 13

To Tommy Murray in Heaven is the title of the first poem in the latest issue of Boyne Berries. This poem is by well-known poet, Tom French, who knew the late Tommy Murray well through his work with young writers in Navan Library.

Tommy’s work was featured in many issues of the magazine and he wrote a foreword to the first issue so it is fitting that he be remembered thus. 

The magazine, which is published by Boyne Writers Group, Trim, will be launched on this Thursday 21 March at 8pm in the Castle Arch Hotel, Trim.

Well-known local writer and member of the Meath Writers Circle, Frank Murphy, will officially launch the magazine. Frank has been a good friend of the Boyne Writers Group over the years as well as being a worthy opponent in the annual Battle of the Books at the Trim Swift Festival.

The sixty or so pages of this issue contain a wealth of prose and poetry on a wide variety of topics. A quick glance at the titles gives a flavour of the contents: The Dark Upstream, Maybe Paris, The Big Freeze, The Trouble with Knitting, The Personal Perils of Appreciating Bob Dylan’s Art, The Inextinguishable Symphony, The Talking Bench, Shy and his Harley-D.   

Local writers are well represented. A feature of this issue is the number of poems which have local Meath references. Kenneth Keating’s poem Navan is a very clever palindromic poem reflecting the town’s name. Anne Crinion, a painter and photographer as well as a writer, has two short illustrated poems on Newgrange and Knowth. Pearse Murray, in his Village Square at Slane, talks about Francis Ledwidge and Elaine Martin writes of a journey from Maynooth to Killyon. John Ennis’ poem on Joe Dolan starts “You filled each dance hall with the South Seas”.   

The stories included deal with lost dreams of foreign place, Paris and America, sailing up the Amazon, tragic deaths, WWF wrestling and the delights of train travel. Quite a variety there.    

The cover illustration of a window in a derelict house is provided by Greg Hastings whose distinctive cover images have been a feature of the magazine since the beginning.

Many of the contributors will attend and read their work at the launch. Admission is free and all are welcome.

Boyne Berries 13 costs €8 but will be on sale at a reduced price at the launch. It will also be available in Antonia’s Bookshop, and in SPAR, Trim.