Sligo Rovers Win the FAI Cup

We won, after extra time and penalties. A long match indeed but worth it in the end. After a scrappy start Sligo Rovers played the better football, had the better chances but didn't score. As the match wore on you thought it was going to be one of those days when a team plays well but gets beaten by one mistake or one very good move.

Our seats were behind the south goal, (the DART end?), defended by Sligo in the first half so we saw lots of action in the second half and were delighted when the ref chose our end for the shoot out. To score no goal in a penalty shoot-out seems unusual, to have them all saved as against missing them rarer still. To miss one penalty, Mr O'Neill, may be regarded as a misfortune; to miss four looks like carelessness. To be fair Sligo missed two of theirs as well. My picture above is, I think, of Pat Flynn of Shams about to take and miss their second penalty.

A great crowd there, great noise from the two sets of supporters of what used to be traditional rivals. A great advertisement for the local game which needs as much good publicity as possible. It's a shame so many Irish people call themselves soccer followers and mean that they follow only English clubs.

The stadium is impressive, our seats were good though we could only see half the pitch through the netting on the goals. We parked at Blackrock DART station and took the DART figuring correctly that most DART-using fans would be travelling in the opposite direction. It would be different if it was a rugby match. We got away very quickly afterwards.

Sligo Rovers have now won the FAI Cup three times, 1983, 1994 and 2010.

Well done the Rovers, and the FAI! RTE Report here. Irish Times here.

FAI Cup Final

Sligo Rovers are playing in the FAI Cup Final tomorrow. First FAI Cup Final in the new Aviva Stadium and tickets are cheap - 10 euro. Weather forecast seems favourable and there is talk of a possible attendance of 25,000, 10,000 of whom should be Sligo Rovers supporters. We were in the final last year as well but got beaten by Sporting Fingal on a very windy wet day in Tallaght Stadium.

The opponents are the resurgent Shamrock Rovers - Shams to us - who are looking for the double having won the league. Sligo Rovers are assured of European football having finished third in the league.

The Irish Times had a feature on Wednesday about the Sligo Rovers v Shamrock Rovers cup final in Dalymount in 1978. Giles and Dunphy were playing. I can't remember that one, must have missed it. I can vividly remember the Easter Sunday of 1977 when Sligo Rovers beat Shams in the Showgrounds to win the League for the first time in 4o years. They haven't won it since.

Eamonn Sweeney's There's Only One Red Army is a great read for Sligo Rovers followers. He has many other books, including at least one novel and a recently published book on the 70s and 80s, to his credit.

Theatre Nights

THEATRE NIGHTS is an initiative being launched by Tall Tales Theatre Company in association with Solstice Arts Centre and Meath County Council Arts Office.

Previously known as Script Club, THEATRE NIGHTS is organised and run by its members and is free to join. All you have to do is join the mailing list at theatrenights@gmail.com

You will then be sent regular emails about trips to see various shows in the Solstice and in Dublin. They are also interested in organising post show discussions with cast members, writers and directors, giving our members insight into the creative process of producing theatre.
Various theatres are offering reduced priced tickets to THEATRE NIGHTS members.

THEATRE NIGHTS is for everyone who enjoys the theatre and who wants to expand their knowledge in a sociable way!

Writers' Block

I don't believe in writers' block or writer's block. In my opinion it's just a handy name for a variety of conditions including laziness, tiredness, needing a break, worn out, your brain telling you you're no good anyway etc.

One of our Writers Group members once gave us an exercise to overcome writers' block - write a poem about it.

But if you have writer's block there are some suggestions here that might help. Actually they're just good ideas for getting you writing, some better than others.

House Ruins

There is something sad and noble about the ruins of old houses such as this one at Knockadoo near Coolaney, Co Sligo. Picture taken on my recent visit to the area. Sad to think that once this was a shop, much more than a shop, the centre of the local community, bought eggs from the housewives, gave credit until the end of the week, month or until the cattle were sold.

I barely remember it as a shop and think it closed sometime in the late sixtes. I knew it as Sharkey's but I think it was Henry's in its heyday.

There is something beautiful and tragic in the way it has been allowed to decay slowly rather than be demolished and replaced.

I absolutely refuse to write a poem on this subject. Been done before. No matter how original you think your thoughts are someone else has been there.

Oh if there’s an original thought out there, I could use it right now -
Bob Dylan Brownsville Girl.

I actually stole the first line of this song and slightly altered it for my movie poem High Noon. No-one has yet noticed the plagarism though I've read it a few places.

On the other hand the Climbing Knocknashee poem, which was more or less commissioned and I hope is unique, has been finished satisfactorily.

Arvon Poetry Prize - Jean O'Brien

Irish poet, Jean O'Brien has won this year's Arvon Poetry Prize of £7,500 with her poem Merman.

This year’s competition attracted thousands of entries from more than 43 countries – including the Philippines, New Zealand, Zimbabwe and the United States of America. The shortlist was decided by a judging panel chaired by Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy, who was joined by leading poets Elaine Feinstein and Sudeep Sen.

I'm delighted for Jean. She was kind enough to award me second prize at the Goldsmith Poetry Competition in Longford a couple of years ago and said some very encouraging things about my poem.

Well Done Jean!!

Keash United Irish League Banner

Back to history. I gave a talk on County Sligo 1914-1918 to the NUIM (National University of Ireland Maynooth) History Forum in Maynooth on Friday evening. A toothache doesn't help on these occasions but the talk seemed to go reasonably well. Lots of very interesting questions.

My brother recently alerted me to this wonderful United Irish League banner from Keash, Co Sligo being offered in an Ian Whyte sale in Dublin on 13 November. I included a slide showing it at the talk. The United Irish League was launched in 1898 with the motto The Land for the People. It soon became the main constituency organisation of the reunited Irish Parliamentary Party which survived until the 1918 election.

This large banner would have been carried at all the great meetings and marches of the Home Rule campaign in Sligo from 1900 to 1917. Painted in oil on canvas by Dublin artist Samuel Rowan Watson it's disappointing in that it has no local reference apart from the name. One would expect the outline of Keash Hill at least in the background. Possibly you bought such a banner off the shelf and the artist just added the organisation's name.

My great grandfather, Pat Gallagher, was secretary of the Killoran branch of the UIL for most if not all of the same period. I wonder what happened to the Killoran UIL banner?

Reading in Kilmore, Cavan

I drove down through pouring rain, took the detour around Virginia (road works on the N3), took the road out of Cavan town and found the sign for the former Kilmore See House. Was I mad I wondered to be going such a distance to read two poems and listen to some others whose books I had or could easily get.

It was well worth the journey. A surprisingly large crowd turned up at the very fine old house to listen to prose and poetry readings and three musicians. Very good food, drink and conversation afterwards as well.

The setting was unusual. The house has a grand staircase (photo) and we read from the middle landing with half the audience sitting in the lower hall looking up and the other half on the upper landing looking down. It meant a split level audience at quite a distance from the reader. The sound system was good and everything worked out well.

Four members of LitLab, Maireád Donnellan, Antoinette Rock, Paddy Halligan and myself along with Cavan poet Rebecca O'Connor read two poems each. This went very well, short introductions, good delivery and a good response from the audience. Rebecca is the publisher of the new magazine The Moth and she read two poems, about a honeymoon and a later family journey back to the ferry.

I picked my High Noon and Philately poems. The more I read the second the better I like it but I'm not sure about the first, it needs a bit more attitude in the delivery. I mention Coolaney, Co Sligo in the High Noon one and afterwards someone from Coolaney came up and introduced themselves.

There were three special guests - Grace Wynne Jones, Patrick Chapman and Noel Monahan.

Grace read from her novel, Ready or Not. I'm not a great fan of novel extract readings but this was a good choice, an almost self-contained piece with the minimum of introduction but a good description giving us an idea of the sort of character involved. I haven't read or listened to many descriptions of a character getting her hair done but this was interesting and kept the audience's attention well.

I had attended the launch of Patrick Chapman's latest book The Darwin Vampires last week and was again impressed by his style of delivery. Clear brief introductions gave us an idea of the tone and mood of each poem. He reads in a quiet intimate style allowing the words to speak for themselves. I was especially taken with his use of repetition in poems such as 4 degrees about global warming with its refrain of The lost city of ... The lost city of ... and in his chilling You Murder the Sun poem the lists beginning You murder . . . You murder . . . are heartbreaking.

Noel Monahan was the local hero in a sense last night, an adopted son of Cavan. He read widely from his five published books concentrating on seasonal poems dealing with autumn, November, the holy souls and Christmas. He read a seasonal extract from his impressive long poem on his native Granard from his most recent collection Curve of the Moon and also read the original and his own translation of a Sean O' Riordáin poem. He is one of a number of poets translating this Irish language poet's work for a forthcoming book. Noel is also off to the USA to read his poetry at one of the universities there.

A great night and most of the credit must go to poet Heather Brett for the organisation of the event. Credit also to Cavan Arts Officer and Office for their support. Well done!

The rain had stopped for the journey home, a clear sky with Orion in front of me all the way. To avoid detours I took the Mountnugent - Oldcastle route home and crossed the Loughcrew Hills with their megalithic tombs - now there's a sacred landscape.

Picture above: Organiser Heather Brett (centre) with LitLab readers Maireád Donnellan and Paddy Halligan.

Knocknashee Hill, Sligo

Last Tuesday my Australian cousin and myself climbed Knocknashee Hill between Tubbercurry and Coolaney, Co Sligo. {It's the hill in the masthead (bloghead?) above.} Our parents were born close by and had climbed the hill in their youth so this was an essential part of a Sligo visit. The rain and the wind only added a necessary touch of hardship to the occasion.

The summit of the hill has a fairly recently identified hill fort with hut circles and habitation sites. There are two stone cairns on top one of which has an open chamber. No excavations have yet been carried out on the hill.

In spite of the rain there was an impressive view from the top. To the north are the Ox Mountains and the peak closest to Coolaney, Doomore, has a cairn on the top. Over the Ox Mountains we could just make out Knocknarea with its cairn. To the south east is the hill of Keash with its cairn.

In between there are smaller hills some of which have mounds or cairns. None of these mounds have been excavated, they may contain tombs, passage graves possibly. There are a number of Wedge Graves especially along the slopes of the Ox Mountains and an array of old burial grounds and church ruins in every direction.

The term Sacred Landscape has been used extensively to describe just such an area. It's not a term I like, smacking as it does of something else rather than the day to day living and dying that went on here and everywhere else over thousands of years. People lived and made their marks some of which survive, some not.

Anyway Knocknashee and the area around it is a wonderful landscape which is probably better off remaining relatively unknown. I can't help comparing it to a much more famous hill, Tara, with its few earthworks with fancy made-up names.

There is an emigrant ballad called The Hill(s) of Knocknashee. A number of versions on YouTube, here and here. You can buy a version here.

So there's not a great reason for me to write a poem on the visit . . . or is there? It was All Soul's Day of course.

Poetry and music at The See House, Cavan

A poetry and music event will take place at The (former) See House, Kilmore, Cavan tomorrow, Thursday November 4, at 7.30pm.

In association with Cavan County Council Arts Office, poets Noel Monahan and Patrick Chapman along with novelist Grace Wynne Jones will grace the fantastic staircase of the former bishops’ residence.

The evening will be hosted by Windows Publications editor and poet Heather Brett, music will be by A Smile Just Came (the O’Brien brothers) and refreshments will be served. Members of the Cavan-Meath Lit Lab group will also read. The event is free and everyone is welcome to attend what is hoped to be the first of many such special evenings in the Georgian mansion.

The house was once the bishop's house connected with the nearby Kilmore Cathedral which is chiefly renowned because of the marvellously carved Hiberno-Romanesque doorway which has survived from earlier buildings and serves as a vestry door.

Funny enough I came across the then Bishop of Kilmore in the 1913 Sligo Champion who gave an interesting speech on Home Rule. And I attended Patrick Chapman's poetry launch last week.

Anyway I have to choose two poems to read at this function. More later.

The Divine Comedy and Conceptual Poetry

I'm a great fan of Dante's Divine Comedy - not just Inferno, you need to read Purgatorio and Paradiso as well. I also suspect every translation especially translations of poetry. how do you know to what extent the poet's ideas, tone, style, etc have been translated. And which, if any, of these is the most important to preserve or pass on anyway?

I was delighted when I came across this conceptual poetry project on the internet.

Caroline Bergvall, a French-Norwegian poet living in London, transcribed the opening three lines of each of the 48 translations of the Divine Comedy in the British Library in May 2000, 700 years after the date fixed by Dante for the start of the journey. She arranged them in alphabetical order of first line and added the translator and publication date.

She called the piece VIA (48 Dante Variations) and you can hear her read it by following the link on this page.

The poem opens:

Nel mezzo del cammin di nostra vita
mi ritrovai per una selva oscura
che la diritta via era smarrita

There is an article on Conceptual Poetry here which includes more on this project.
Picture above: A street in Florence.

Hallowe'en Poems and Poets Graves

A seasonal touch here on poets.org - Vampire poems, Hallowe'en poems, lists of poets' burial places, poems about the underworld etc.

The burial places list is mostly American, this Poets' Graves site is more comprehensive and even lists four Irish poets, Louis MacNeice, Carrowdore, Co. Down, Jonathan Swift, Dublin, Gerald Manley Hopkins; Dublin (Glasnevin) and W.B. Yeats, Drumcliff, Co. Sligo.

On Thursday I visited Swift's resting place in St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin and tomorrow or Tuesday I hope to say hello to fellow Sligo poet at Drumcliff.

I finally found Raftery's grave near Craughwell on the recent trip to Galway. It's not signposted and easy to miss. His fellow poets and competitors, the Callanan brothers, are buried in the same graveyard.

The Trip to Gort - Thoor Ballylee

And nearing Gort a visit to Thoor Ballylee is essential. Yeats' tower stands by the bridge in a dark hollow, surrounded by trees. My last few visits have all been off season when the tower is closed and has no other visitors - the best way to experience the place.

It's a wonderful cold, bleak, lonely place and you wonder how well Yeats and Georgina survived here. I'm not sure how long they actually spent here. A great place I suppose if you wanted to write then over to Lady Gregory's for afternoon tea.

Writing about the Civil War as I am at the moment I couldn't help but quote these pieces from Meditations in time of Civil War one of the great poetic sequences from Yeats' volume The Tower which was mostly written here:

An ancient bridge, and a more ancient tower,
A farmhouse that is sheltered by its wall,
An acre of stony ground,
Where the symbolic rose can break in flower,
Old ragged elms, old thorns innumerable,
The sound of the rain or sound
Of every wind that blows;
. . .
A winding stair, a chamber arched with stone,
A grey stone fireplace with an open hearth,
A candle and written page.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

A barricade of stone or of wood;
Some fourteen days of civil war;
Last night they trundled down the road
That dead young soldier in his blood:
Come build in the empty house of the stare.

Viaduct Bards, Drogheda

A most enjoyable visit to the Viaduct Bards in Drogheda last Wednesday evening. A relaxed informal setting but still some pressure on our group being the visiting featured readers - especially when the hosts read their poetry first and it's very varied and very impressive. Follow that!

I didn't read the cafe poems after all and read four other older ones which I especially like and felt suitable for public reading. Fellow Boyne Writer and blogger Orla Fay has blogged about the event and included photographs here and I agree with everything she says (except the bit about feeling unworthy!).

We had a great discussion after the reading on topics like poetry, what is poetry, the place of rhyme and rhythm; do poems need introductions; what about conceptual poems, criticising poetry at meetings, Boyne Berries, publishing poetry in Ireland etc. Strong lively opinions on every side!

Among the attendance were Susan Connolly and Emer Davis, poets who have collections to their names, who have been published in Boyne Berries and been featured readers in Trim

The Trip to Gort - Another Ann Meldon Hugh Sculpture

A stop on the way to Gort last week to see this new Ann Meldon Hugh sculpture commissioned by Westmeath County Council for the N6 Motorway Kilbeggan to Athlone at the Moate Interchange. The sculpture is entitled Moategranoge. The mound on which the sculpture is placed represents the motte that gave the town of Moate its name.

The figure represents Grainne Og who gave her name to this motte. Grainne was a Munster lady who married one of the local chieftains. She took upon herself the office of Brehon and from the motte adjudicated on law cases.

The figure is of bronze and stainless steel and the motte is constructed of precast concrete covered with earth and planted with slow growing grass.

It seems a pity that it's not actually visible from the M6, you have to take the Moate exit to see it. Still another striking roadside sculpture.

Ann Meldon Hugh is based in Kells, Co Meath and has many public sculptures, especially in counties Meath and Louth, to her name.

Salmon Poetry Launch

I was in Dublin yesterday doing research (The Sligo Champion 1913 finished!!!) so I walked the few hundred metres from the National Library to the Unitarian Church for the Salmon launch. Four books were being launched, by four poets though one book was a memoir.

The venue is great, reading from a pulpit has a special quality about it. I wondered how the evening would be organised, four books, four readers had the promise of a long drawn out affair. It was anything but.

Joe Woods of Poetry Ireland welcomed us, the publisher and the poets. Jesse Lendennie of Salmon introduced each author in turn in alphabetical order. Her introductions were bright, insightful, welcoming and short. Jessie likes long unusual titles for poetry collections citing Patrick Chapman's earlier volume Breaking Hearts and Traffic Lights as a great title. Each read for about ten minutes, three or four poems, a short extract from the memoir.

The four writers are at different stages in their writing lives and displayed a range of writing and reading styles. Patrick Chapman in his fifth poetry collection The Darwin Vampires mixes the surreal and the mundane to create sad, funny meditations on memory, love and death.

Noel King's collection Prophesying the Past has poems about family members, grandparents, parents all deal with in a cool non-sentimental way. They range over a large time frame and geographical area and are written in a variety of forms including a number where the line and word arrangement adds to the effect.

Alan Jude Moore' Strasbourg is his third collection and in spite of its title it is firmly rooted in his native Dublin but reflects the way our cultural identity has widened beyond narrow nationalism to include all of Europe and beyond.

Poet Knute Skinner has published thirteen books of poetry. An American native he now lives in Clare. His memoir, Help Me to a Getaway, tells of his two year travels in the late 50s in Ireland, Denmark, England, Spain, Italy, and France as he searched for a place to spend the rest of his life writing poetry. He read an extract which involved a beautiful girl called Rosa in one of the Canary Island.

I had a dilemma. I couldn't buy the four new books - on pension, a stack of to be read at home already, overfilled bookshelves - so I had to pick one. Which? I'm actually reading with Patrick Chapman and Heather Brett in Kilmore, Cavan next week so I may get his there. I have Alan Jude Moore's Black State Cars, I prefer poetry to memoir so that ruled Knute out.

That left Noel King. We've published Noel in our magazine and the poem is included in this volume and Boyne Berries gets an acknowledgement. We're publishing a short story by him in the next issue also. We hope to have him as a featured reader in Trim early next year as well. Co Prophesying the Past it was.

Have to choose my own set of four or five poems for Drogheda reading tonight. It's in a cafe so maybe that recent set of Coffee and Scones poems might be just the ones. My TV performance still isn't online.

Boyne Writers Group in Drogheda

We're reading tomorrow night in Drogheda: Poetry in Motion in Drogheda - Wednesday October 27

The Viaduct Bards presents readings from local poets and writers on the last Wednesday of each month. This months special guests are the Boyne Writers Group from Trim. Copies of the Autumn edition of Boyne Berries will be on sale on the night.

Venue: Droichead Arts Centre - Stockwell St, Drogheda, Co Louth. Time: 7.30pm-9.30pm
Email: emerdavis@hotmail.com

New Magazine - The Moth

Rebecca O'Connor and Will Govan launched The Moth - a new arts and literature magazine - in June of this year, and issue 2 has been published containing an extract from Julia O’Faolain’s memoir and an interview with Michael Harding. Lots more including poems by Heather Brett, Colette Bryce, Kate Dempsey and one of out LitLab members, Antoinette Rock.

They are planning to launch issue 3, which will feature Anne Enright, George Szirtes, Toby Litt, Annie Freud, Paddy Campbell, Vona Groarke, Tim Wells, Martin Dyar and Matthew Sweeney, among others, in London on 16 December.

If you'd like to sample a few poems and stories, or purchase copies of the magazine, or submit work then visit the website.

The strange case of the Chrysanthemum Killer

OK, at last, the big day is here.

Programme 4 in the CSÍ series on RTE 1: Chrysanthemum Killer featuring reconstructions using a some members of Trim Drama Group and one non-member (he had a beard and was available during the day). He (me), the pathologist, is the real hero of the case.

It's on at 7.30pm tomorrow Monday and should be available on RTE Player for a few weeks afterwards.

This from the RTE website:

The summer 1946 in Athboy, Co. Meath, a young man is pronounced dead after what seems like a street fight. But the death of Larry Higgins, was it accidental? Malicious? or something stranger than fiction? CSÍ - this week investigates the strange case of a murder that never was.

Bláthnaid Ní Chofaigh remembers as a child the stories about the case but where the truth began and the fiction ended she never was sure. Turning to the official records in the archives and going back to her home place, the scene of the crime, Bláthnaid reveals what really happened to Larry Higgins. She talks to the family of Dan Tom Taimín, who was sent to prison for a crime that he claimed he never committed. Where does the truth lie? This historical crime story is stranger than fiction. This the strange case of the Chrysanthemum Killer!

National Novel Writing Month - November

Dermot Bolger joins the Irish Writers' Centre in promoting National Novel Writing Month.

The Irish Writers’ Centre is delighted to welcome award winning poet, playwright and novelist Dermot Bolger to the Centre on Friday 29th October at 2pm to kick-start National Novel Writing Month 2010. They are awarding 12 contestants the opportunity to participate in a free 2 hour Novel Writing workshop with Bolger. They will then be opening up the centre to the 12 individuals Monday to Friday for the month of November, offering a writing space and facilities.

Interested parties are invited to send an email or letter to the Irish Writers’ Centre with 100 words stating why they believe they should be chosen to participate. The Centre encourages aspiring and established writers to partake. The winning candidates will be chosen by a panel of judges made up of staff members and tutors of the Irish Writers’ Centre.

Submissions should be sent with contact emails and telephone numbers to info@writerscentre.ie Closing date: 26th October 2010

Grace Tierney is the the municipal liaison for National Novel Writing Month in Ireland North East (Louth, Cavan, Monaghan and Meath). The challenge is for writers of any age to write 50,000 words of a novel during the 30 days of November. This year in the 11th and there are nearly 2,000 writers participating in Ireland in this free online creative writing programme and over 100,000 worldwide.

There will also be real-world write-in meetings during the month of November in the D Hotel, Drogheda, Co Louth starting at 10am on October 31st, with regular Write-in sessions at 8pm each Sunday in November. But writers can simply register on the website and get writing. If you’ve any questions, please ask Grace: Grace.tierney@ireland.com. If there are enough interested writers in your own area, you can host your own write-ins during November. Just contact Grace.

Boyne Readings and Open Mic - Emer Davis

The first Boyne Readings of the autumn took place last night. A good crowd, almost twenty, including Frank from Meath Writers Group, two LitLab members from Cavan and an American who is in Trim for a year. The usual varied and interesting material, friendly banter and an excellent featured reader Emer Davis (reading above and below with chairman Paddy Smith).

Emer read old and new poems including a selection from her new collection, Kill Your Television - Episode One. This included the impressive title poem, a lovely play on "found" expressions and repetitions. Her poems are sparked off by memories of Achill where she grew up and subsequent travel between Ireland and England. Coming Home is a response to seeing a very old suitcase on a train and imagining its journey through life.

She read four striking poems from a work in progress, a collection dealing with the experience of Irish women during the second world war and she also read Requiem which we published in Boyne Berries 8.

A good start to our new season. The next event will take place on November 18.

George Szirtes in Gort

The library in Gort is housed in the old Church of Ireland church which has memorial plaques on its wall to members of the Gregory family. This was Lady Gregory's parish church I was told and she insisted that her house guests who were non-Catholic attend service here with her. So W.B. might have worshipped there!

Last night it was another European poet, George Szirtes, who occupied the space and enthralled a reverential, knowledgeable congregation. After some wonderful music and a vigorous reading by Clare poet Patrick Stack, George took to the stage. His reading ranged over his work so far and included some new unpublished work.

His introductions led us into each poem, containing as they did thoughts on the form, the occasion and relevant biographical information. George is a fan of form in poetry and read sonnets, conzone and poems in terza rima - properly rhymed terza rima at that. His use of rhyme is a great confirmation of how effective it can be when used by a master.

I like these forms, George told us, because they can lead me to places I didn't know I was going. He also uses poetic series to a great extent - which is an excellent way of getting around the tyranny of the 40 line lyric.

He read Ross: Yellow Star from his In the Face of History: In Time of War series based on twentieth century photographs, this one by Henryk Ross. What a last line!

He read Newspapers from Flesh: An Early Family History and talked about his Hungarian origins, his move to England and his return to Budapest in 1984 which changed his life.

His most recent volume is The Burning of the Books and he read Madhouse from the title sequence which makes great use of repetition - the first nine lines each begin: The point about the madhouse is . . .

He answered questions after the reading and you got the impression that he was completely at ease and could have gone on chatting about poetry, history, Hungary all evening. Fred Johnson and the Western Writers' Centre deserve great credit for bring him to Gort.

George blogs here and no doubt will have some comments on the Gort reading. George is also on the Poetry Archive here.

Emer Davis at Boyne Readings, Trim

The featured reader at the October Boyne Readings and Open Mic in Trim will be Emer Davis of the Viaduct Bards, Drogheda, who has just launched a new poetry collection, ‘Kill Your Television’.

The readings, which are organised by the Boyne Writers Group, take place this Thursday in the Village Hall of the Knightsbridge Retirement Home, Longwood Road, Trim, starting at 8pm.

‘Kill your Television’ is a collection of poems exploring love, passion, innocence, friendship, family history, betrayal, sorrow and loss in a changing landscape, from the jagged coastline of Achill Island, Co Mayo, where Emer Davis spent her childhood, to the urban decay of London and Dublin, where she lived until moving to Drogheda five years ago.

Paddy Smith, chairman of the Boyne Writers Group, says Emer’s work examines issues of women in a changing society, with vivid descriptions capturing snatches of human life.

“Her poetry is full of sensuous imagery,” he says, “and we catch a glimpse, one moment, of a lingering thought such as 'dandelion picking in summer frocks', 'a timid kiss upon the cheek', 'steel drums reverberating', 'salt cleansed her burning flesh' and 'wavering in the shimmering lights of Soho' unfolding onto the pages.”

In the Open Mic session of the evening, writers of poetry and prose will read their own work. Writers have been coming from all over Meath and from counties Longford, Louth, Dublin, Kildare and Westmeath for this series of readings, which are held on the third Thursday of the month.

Paddy Smith emphasises that the readings are open to all. Visitors are particularly welcome, whether they wish to read or not. The €5 admission includes tea/coffee and biscuits.

George Szirtes in Gort

The Western Writers' Centre - Ionad Scríbhneoirí Chaitlín Maude - Galway presents a reading by renowned Hungarian born poet, George Szirtes, on this Wednesday, October 20th, at Gort Library, Gort, Co. Galway. The reading begins at 8pm and admission is free. Clare poet and musician Patrick Stack will also take part. More here.

It's a long way to go to hear a poet reading but maybe I'll make a day of it, maybe visit Galway city as well. I've heard George read at Dun Laoghaire Poetry Now Festival a couple of years ago and nearly attended an Arvon course he was a tutor on. He is a Manchester United fan and blogs here.

Writers and Social Media

Just passing this on:

Sonas Training is running workshops specifically for writers that may be of interest .

The next workshop will be held in Carton House on October 23rd and will cover Social Media and how writers can use this free medium to their advantage. The cost of the day-long workshop - including lunch - is just €99.

The Internet is a marvellous, FREE medium that all writers can use to promote their work worldwide - no matter what kind of writing they do. Correct utilisation, however, hinges on adequate understanding of the medium. Once you know what you're doing, you'll find that you can promote yourself and your work in a whole new way.

'Social Media for Writers' will run from 10am until 6pm, and will cover the following areas of social media and how to make them work for you as a writer: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Wikipedia, YouTube

The focus of the workshop will be on the function and content of the different applications and how you can use them to your best advantage; this is a workshop about communication - it won't be technical!

Further details can be found on the website.

Sligo's Day

Yesterday was a day full of Sligo. Did I ever mention that I'm from Sligo? In the National Library 10 - 5 reading the Sligo Champion August to December 1913 on microfilm. Not just reading of course, researching. That means looking for and noting or photocopying what could be important for the book and ignoring all the other interesting bits - the court cases of assaults, neglect of children by mothers, neglect of wives by husbands, the beginnings of the setting up a medical system to deal with TB, the complaints of medical neglect, the sports reports.

The air is of waiting for the Home Rule Bill to make its slow way through the British Parliament and come into effect in 1914. A parliament for Ireland in Dublin at last! Poor things had no idea what was going to happen - the Great War, 1916 Rising, War of Independence, partition, the civil war.

Well, partition was in the air and the paper was full of the argument about Ulster. Sligo Protestants were vocal in their opposition to Home Rule and a lively debate was taking place about tolerance and intolerance in Sligo, Ulster and the rest of Ireland.

Then on to Dalymount Park for the FAI cup semi-final, Sligo Rovers against Bohs. We lost last year's final on a wet, windy cold November day in Tallaght. This year's final will be the first in the new Aviva stadium. We arrive early (of course) at the stadium and find Sligo supporters are being sent (I avoid the use of the word "herded") to the small stand behind the goal - that must be what Philip Greene used to call the Tramway End. There is an open stand on the other side but no-one is allowed in there.

Not the greatest place to watch a match from but the large group of Sligo supporters make the best of it and out-sing and out-chant the rivals. Especially when Sligo actually play the better football and seem more likely to score. We have a great view of two great first half saves by Bohs keeper.

In the second half most of the play is at the far end from us and we don't get a good view of the Sligo winning goal. A one-nil win for Sligo and off to the Aviva. How much will tickets cost? I got in for fifteen euro last night and could have got in for ten if I said I was an OAP. Pride and truth is more important than five euro though!

It was a very good match and the standard of football was high. The Irish Times website at the moment has the match report at 8th in its Soccer section - disgraceful! It leads with some tired story about buying and selling a foreign football club. The Irish Independent has it at number two in its Soccer section from which the photo above is taken of Gavin Peers scoring the winning goal.

The Sligo Champion of 1913 was also very critical of the Irish Times but for different reasons.

Clonfert Cathedral

On the way to Dromineer last Friday I wandered off the direct route. I was far too early, the tail backs, accidents, bad weather, diversions I allowed for (and always allow for) didn't happen so driving through west Offaly I was tempted to cross the Shannon into Connacht at Banagher. I went to look for Clonfert Cathedral.

I knew that this, especially its twelfth century Hiberno-Romanesque doorway, is one of the most impressive mediaeval buildings in the country, had studied it on paper in 1969 in UCD so it was time to actually visit it.

Not easy to find, not many signposts and nowadays there are very few people walking or cycling on these smaller back roads. Those that are seem always to be talking on mobile phones. The person I asked interrupted her conversation and gave precise directions. It was worth the visit.

What's so impressive and unexpected is the scale. This is a small cathedral with a small west doorway. But what an impressive doorway it is with the human heads and triangles regularly arranged above. The six orders of the doorway have more human heads and animal heads and various geometric and plan like patters. The inner order with the carvings of clerics or saints is in limestone and is fifteenth century.

The famous St Brendan the Navigator is said to have founded the monastery on this site and to be buried there.

That's two Church of Ireland Cathedrals in the one week.

Off to watch Sligo Rovers in the cup semi-final in Dalymount tonight (Friday).

Spirits of Meath Halloween Festival

Be careful the rest of the country, Meath appears to be taking ownership of Hallowe'en. This follows its successful take over Irish pre-history (Newgrange etc) and Celtic Ireland (Tara etc). [Did "The Celts" ever really exist or are they a Bord Fáilte invention?]

Anyway from October 22nd - 31st 2010 County Meath is bringing you Ireland's biggest and most electrifying Halloween Festival!!

See the launch video on YouTube.

This is what they say:
Samhain, the ancient Celtic Festival that we now call Halloween, originated here in Co. Meath more than 2,000 years ago. Samhain marks the end of the old Celtic Year and the beginning of the New Year. The Celts believed that this was a time of transition, when the veil between our world and the next came down, and the spirits of all who had died since the last Oíche Shamhna (Night of Samhain) moved on to the next life.

One of the main spiritual centres of the ancient Celts was located on top of the hill of Tlachtga, now called the Hill of Ward, near Athboy, Co. Meath. The druids felt that this world and the otherworld were closest at Tlachtga and it was here that the festival of Samhain, or Halloween, was started. The old year’s fires were extinguished and, after sunset, the ceremonial New Year Samhain fire was lit here. Torches were lit from this sacred fire and carried to seven other hills around the county including Tara and Loughcrew, and then on to light up the whole countryside.

The full programmes is here.

Kill Your Television - Episode One

The Viaduct Bards invites you to the launch of Kill Your Television - Episode One: Poems by Emer Davis at Droichead Arts Centre café/bar, Drogheda on Thursday 14 October 2010 at 8pm.

Emer will read several poems from her book with an introduction by poet John O’Rourke and music from Kevin Brannigan.


Kill your Television is a collection of poems exploring love, passion, innocence, friendship, family history, betrayal, sorrow and loss in a changing landscape, from the jagged coastline of Achill Island, Co Mayo where Emer spent her childhood to the urban decay of London and Dublin where she lived until moving to Drogheda five years ago.

Issues concerning women in a changing society are examined with vivid descriptions capturing snatches of human life.

Dromineer Literary Festival 2

Yesterday morning I attended the Dromineer poetry workshop with Dave Lordan (above). I've attended a number of workshops by poets and they've all be different and all very useful. This was great. A small number, five enthusiastic, skilled, energetic, frank poets took part. The prose workshop next door seemed to have an enormous number of participants - poetry really is a minority interest - all the better for that!

I'm not going to describe the workshop blow by blow - too tired and too busy writing - but just give a flavour. Dave stressed reading poetry and asked us at various stages to read poems our own and others. He started with Rita Ann Higgins, Rumi and Charles Bukowski stressing their use of plain language and direct speech. We read, Dave questioned, we commented.

He stressed that in the present economic climate, as they say, there may be fewer poetry books published but there is a growth in the number of open mics and slam events for poets and he encouraged us to take advantage of these and develop our reading styles. We read poems of our own and the others commented on our readings.

He encouraged participation in writers groups, small publications - chapbooks, magazines - and open mic sessions.

Random Thoughts from the workshop:

Avoid at all costs the neat epiphany or message at the end of a poem. The poet has no answers, nobody has any answers. If the last two lines contain the answer or the moral why bother with the rest of the poem?

Be careful of the dictatorship of the 40 line one page lyric. Attempt longer poems and sequences. What about a verse novel? See Nessa O'Mahony's In Sight of Home.

Avoid introductions to poems; get straight to the heart of the matter.

It might be useful to look on a poem as a musical score for a voice. A test of a good poem - Does it sound right?

A poem should be allowed find its own organic form.

Other poets mentioned during the workshop: John Ashbury, Tomas Tranströmer, Ron Silliman; Rae Armantrout; Barry MacSweeney; William Blake; John Milton.

PennSound is the best online source of readings of poetry.

Below: Group photo: prizewinners, judges, organisers etc at the Dromineer official opening.

Dromineer Literary Festival 1.

Drove to Dromineer yesterday to collect my highly commended certificate, two actually. Well worth going for the great welcome, I was remembered from two years ago when I took second prize, met old and new friends and heard and talked much about writing and poetry.

I met both the first and second poetry prizewinners earlier this year, Connie Roberts at the Poetry Ireland Introductions and Richard Halperin at the Goldsmith Festival and the iYeats Competition. Richard has just had his first volume of poetry published by Salmon. Connie won second prize in the Patrick Kavanagh Competition in 2007 and Geraldine Mitchell won the Patrick Kavanagh in 2008 and has had a book published. Tough competition indeed. Fellow Boyne Writer Evan Costigan was also Highly Commended.

Opening ceremony and prizegiving in Dromineer last evening. The usual capacity crowd in the impressive venue, the yacht club. Interesting speeches stressing the difficult times for the arts as regards funding but also being positive as regards the importance of the arts in these times.

There were prizes for under age poetry competitions and the winning entries were read by the judge Mary Arrigan. Then the senior prizewinners were announced by judges David Rice (prose) and Dave Lordan (poetry). Both judges spoke of the process.

Dave Lordan spoke of the need for poets to speak that which is not otherwise heard and that which is not expected to be said. He was generous in his praise of the highly commended poems saying it was important that good entries be noticed and that these poets be encouraged to continue to write.

He commented on each of the prizewinners saying of Richard Halperin's something like My head didn't understand it but my heart/soul did. He praised Connie Roberts winning poem for dealing with a difficult subject in a direct way, full of righteous anger.

The highly commended each got a copy of Dave Lordan's most recent book of poetry - nice touch!

Photos: First and second prize winners being presented with their prizes by John Kennedy, Mayor of North Tipperary.

Results:
Short Story
1. The Birthday Invitation by Sharon Black, Sandymount, Dublin.
2. Whatever Happens by Frances Browner, Greystones, Wicklow.
3. The Train by Mike Roycroft, Nenagh, Tipperary.

Poem.
1. Litany by Connie Roberts, New York.
2. Blue Day by Richard W Halperin, Paris.
3. Typewritten by Geraldine Mitchell, Louisburgh, Mayo.

Highly Commended Poets:
David McLoughlin, Castleconnell, Limerick. (2)
Richard W Halperin, Paris (2)
Michael Farry, Trim, Meath. (2)
Marie Coveney, Monkstown, Cork.
John Walsh, Inverin, Galway.
Patrick Maddock, New Ross, Wexford.
Nichola Griffin, Caher, Clare.
Evan Costigan, Moyvalley, Kildare.
Mae Newman, Rathfarnham, Dublin.

All Ireland Poetry Day - Meath and Cavan

A hectic delightful day, full of little surprises. Three pm reading in the By the Book bookshop in Virginia. Myself and Honor Duff of LitLab (above) were joined by James Fitzsimons and by Evan Costigan of Boyne Writers and we read and recited a number of poems to the shoppers and browsers.


Then back to Kells where Eamon Cooke (reading above) and Kells Arts club had organised tea, coffee, sandwiches and a reading in the Resource Centre. A good appreciative audience many of whom read their own work or favourite poems.


And finally to Chapter 1 Cafe in Cavan where our LitLab group read as part of the Cafe Sessions series. Our support act was Country blues singer Kevin Sweeney who put on a great show. Irene O'Dea (above) started off with a poem specially written for the event and six members of the group read a wide variety of material. Members of the audience and special guests contributed as well. A good crowd, quiet, attentive and a very enjoyable end to a very busy day.

All Ireland Poetry Day - Meath 1

Cathedral reading for all Ireland Poetry Day went very well. A spectacular venue and a bigger group than last year with Boyne Writers Group and Meath Writers circle well represented. A great variety of poems and poets - the well-known, the just written, the serious, the funny, the satirical.
Above myself, below Jenny Andersson reading.

Thanks to Dean Robert Jones and all involved.


One event down, three to go. Now where do I have to go next?

All Ireland Poetry Day

A busy day tomorrow - All Ireland Poetry Day.

Boyne Writers have two readings St Patrick's Cathedral, Trim at noon and The Resource Centre, Kells at 5pm. LitLab Cavan/Meath group also have two, 3pm in the Buy a Book bookshop, Virginia Shopping Centre and 8pm in Chapter 1 Cafe, Cavan town.

What to read in the Cathedral. A special venue deserves some special thought. Last year the Dean Rev Robert Jones started the proceedings by reading Diary of a Church Mouse by John Betjeman - a great choice. I'll bring a copy this year and read it if he doesn't.

And as a contrast I'll also read the wonderful Church Going by Philip Larkin.

I also have those three poems of mine about serving Mass and the one about the Christ and the Ass carving in the Victoria and Albert Museum. They should suit.

The 8pm in the cafe needs a bit of thought. Those new ones about coffee and scones might just be the thing - a bit lighthearted, a chuckle factor even!

Crannog Poetry Magazine says No

Boyne Berries 8 published, material selected for Boyne Berries 9 so what about issue 10? We have been discussing how to mark this milestone and have a few ideas. More later.

Crannog poetry magazine, Galway, have reached a milestone, issue 25 will be published in October and they aim to make this one a special celebratory issue. It would be nice to have a poem in it but alas I got a very nice rejection email at the week-end. Very similar to the ones I sent out a little while ago actually.

So when you get a rejection what do you do? Submit to another magazine or enter another competition straight away of course. Entries for the Troubadour International Poetry Prize close soon. I've never entered this one so I'll give it a go. One of the judges is Irish though that probably makes no difference. You can email the entry and post the fee. They accept euro cheques which many UK competitions don't.

Also closing soon are the Francis Ledwidge competition and the Plough Prize (UK). I've been commended in the Ledwidge twice so maybe this will be the year and I've been shortlisted in the Plough once or twice so I'll think about entering that also.

Boyne Berries 8 Cover

This is the cover of Boyne Berries 8 once again by Greg Hastings based this time on his photograph from Glendalough, Co Wicklow - a striking cover as usual.



Boyne Writers member Orla Fay has photographs from the launch on her blog.

Boyne Berries 8 Launched

Launch went very well - picture above. Crowd of about 50 there, writers, friends, relations, interested onlookers, potential Writers Group members etc. We had about seventeen contributors who read a great variety of work, poetry, story, comment, satire, all very well received by the audience.

Noel French ( pictured below with me at the launch) of Meath Heritage Centre officially launched the issue and spoke of the importance of the magazine and the Writers Group to the town and to individuals. He said that gatherings like this were vital to practitioners of what is a minority interest. He complimented the group on the variety of material in the issue and the geographical spread of the contributors.

Envelopes addressed to those who couldn't attend and copies of our little magazine will be on their way to India, Canada, USA, Italy and many parts of the UK and Ireland tomorrow. A good number of magazines sold - important to recoup outlay. The magazine section on the website has been updated and some material from the issue included.

You can buy a copy by using the PayPal button on the website.

Boyne Berries Launch Tonight

Everything is organised isn't it?
Oh course it is.
That's unusual.
Well I still have to collect the magazine from the printer.
What! But the launch is in a few hours.
No problem. I just have to drive up to Blanchardstown and collect them.
Have you made out the readers' list?
Well, sort of.
Sort of!
I'm not quite sure who's coming.
Oh dear. And you have an introduction ready for Noel French who is launching the issue.
No our chairman does that.
Your chairman is gone to San Francisco.
San Francisco! That's a bit drastic. It's not that difficult to introduce Noel French.
We'll see how well you can do it so.
Ok, Ok, Make me a cup of coffee, yes another one, going to be a busy day. I'll do everything in plenty of time for the next issue.
Yea right.

September Poetry in Motion in Drogheda

Poetry in Motion in Drogheda - September

The Viaduct Bards presents readings from local poets and writers on the last Wednesday of each month.
This months special guests are poets John O'Rourke and Nuala Leonard.
Venue: Droichead Arts Centre - Stockwell St, Drogheda, Co Louth
Date: Wednesday 29 September.
Time: 7.30pm-9.30pm
Email: emerdavis@hotmail.com

Boyne Berries 8 Launch

The eight issue of Boyne Berries, the magazine published by Boyne Writers will be launched on Thursday 30 September at 8pm in the Castle Arch Hotel, Trim by Noel French of the Meath Heritage Centre.

This issue of the magazine continues the pattern established by the previous issues and includes prose and poetry from local and international writers. Members of the Boyne Writers are included, Anne Crinion has two poems on aspects of Trim as it once was, Caroline Finn contributes a fictitious newsletter from a mysterious character called Hank, Jenny Andersson writes about her garden, Bill Comerford about primroses in a window box and Barbara Flood has thoughts about the summer just gone by and how Irish people react to the weather. Rory O’Sullivan of the Boyne Writers Group has one of his typically dark mysterious poems included with his own evocative illustrations.

This issue has poems and prose from writers in the UK, the USA, Canada, Italy and India. There are pieces about love lost and found, about life and death, about the past and the future. It is full of pieces which have unexpected twists and turns. A poem by Canadian resident Changming Yuan called On the Recycling Day lists contents of bins which are not what might be expected! On the other hand a poem called “Visa Photo” by Marian O’Rourke has a first line we might all empathise with as we look at a passport photo taken some years ago: The face in the photo is not mine.

A sample of some of the titles gives a hint of the variety of reading which is contained in the magazine: I Lied about Being the Indoor Type, A Love Affair with Horse Racing, and I Don’t Buy Marmalade Anymore.

At the launch many of the contributors will read their work. Admission is free and all are welcome. Previous launches have been very enjoyable occasions and have been very well attended. No matter how interesting it is to read work in a magazine, hearing the author read is a special pleasure. You can chat to the writers over a tea or coffee afterwards.

Boyne Berries 8 costs €7 and will be on sale in Antonia’s Bookshop, Trim and other local outlets or can be purchased through the website.