All Ireland Poetry Day Meath 2010.

All Ireland Poetry Day

There are a number of events on around the county to celebrate All Ireland Poetry Day this year, starting off at St Partrick's Cathedral in Trim at 12 Noon, an event organised by The Boyne Writers' Group followed on by another one at 5pm at the Resource Centre in Kells. I haven't been to Kells for a while but St Partrick's Cathedral in Trim is worth a visit any time. The evening finishes off at the County Library in Navan at 7pm where Tommy Murray of The Meath Writers' Circle and Tom French of The Meath Library Services host an event. So there's no excuse, bring your favourite poem, bring your own, or just come to enjoy! Rumour has it that LMFM will be in attendance!

* St Partrick's Cathedral Trim: Boyne Writers' Group 12 Noon.

* The Resource Centre Kells: Boyne Writers' Group 5pm.

* The Meath County Library: The Meath Writers Circle 7pm.

* All Ireland Events: www.poetryireland.ie/poetryday/

* Note: Boyne Berries 8, the literary magazine of the Boyne Writers' Group will be launched at The Castle Arch Hotel in Trim this thursday night (30th September) at 8pm by Noel French. Priced at €7 Euro and available from their site or local bookshops. This is one for your collection!

Photo: Colm Toibin reading at Tara on Heritage Sunday.

F. R. Higgins.

F. R. Higgins.

Went out to Laracor churchyard a number of years ago with Tommy Murray and other members of The Meath Writers' Circle to do a poetry reading at the grave of F. R. Higgins. Another of Meath's almost forgotten writers, though maybe being rescued a little bit by the internet these days. Held in very high regard by his peers if his obituary in the Irish Times was anything to go by, he was born in Foxford Co. Mayo in April 1896 and died on the 8th of January in 1941 in Jervis Street Hospital in Dublin. He was the eldest son of Joseph Higgins and Mrs. Annie Higgins of Higginsbrook Co. Meath, and Meath was said to be the place most dearest to his heart. Hunting around on the internet I came across three readings of his poems and I've added them below. With thanks to youtube! I notice from one of the comments that Ted Hughes suggested that "Song For The Clatter-Bones" is one that should be learned off by heart. So there!

(1) Song For The Clatter-Bones: by Spoken Verse.

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(2) Father and Son: by Pierce Brosnan.
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(3) Father and Son: by irelandpoetess.
Click Here

Photo: Headstone/Laracor churchyard Co. Meath. Courtesy: Michael Farry.

A Few Songs of War.

A few songs of war.

For those who have an interest in the everyday the above may hold little attraction, but some of the best poems ever written touch on the subject of war. They tend to stay in the memory long after the media reports have been consigned to the dustbin and indeed most people get their history or a version of such from this kind. This is especially true of the songs, they hang around for a long time. The anti-war movement of the sixties and the songs of Dylan and others are a case in point and just the most recent one, though you may well ask where are the ballad singers now? Nothing to aim for, perhaps, when the only lines are the ones you add and subtract! Poor enough! The songs that follow all have a certain quality, or seem to capture something, and for different reasons, some are great stories, some are very sad, some are good entertainment, some are dangerous, and all are worth a listen. And if I was to select another six, maybe I'd pick different ones, but I'm not so sure!

(1) Billy Joel: Goodnight Saigon.

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(2) Jamie O' Hara: 50,000 Names.
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(3) Steve Earle: Dixieland.
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(4) Marlene Dietrich: Lili Marleen.
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(5) Phil Coulter: Dear Sarah/Sullivan Ballou.
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(6) Phil Coulter: The Man From God Knows Where.
Click Here

Summer Solstice

Summer Solstice.

Kieran (Kiery) Murray, a native of Kilmessan and member of "The Small Impact Creative Group" in Navan, has a second book of poems out following on from his first (Vigil) which dealt mainly with the issues concerning the routing of the M3 motorway through the Tara Skryne valley. This one though spreads its wings much further afield and focuses in on issues as diverse as religious belief to stories of political intrigue and civil rights. Not afraid to put a tooth in it, and as it says on the cover" He writes with a passion for justice, equality and rights for all". Published by http://www.theauthorsfriend.com/ it is available in Easons for €10 euro.

Photo: Kiery reading from his book "Summer Solstice" on Tara/Heritage Sunday.

The Meath Writers' Circle (4) september 2010.

Tommy Murray.

Tommy reading "Lottery" winning poem "Poet of Fingal" 2010. Again sorry about quality of video. Will get right!

The Meath Writers' Circle (3) September 2010.

Paul Martin.

A walk on the wild side! More of these poems by Paul Martin over on the Writing4All website. Check it out!

The Meath Writers' Circle (2) September 2010.

Mark Doyle.

Again folks sorry about the video quality but the sound is good. Hope you enjoy!

The Meath Writers' Circle September 2010.

The Meath Writers' Circle.

The Meath Writers' Circle held their monthly meeting at the Castle Hotel in Trim tonight with about twelve in attendance. The above is a video of Willie reading "What Matters Most" and is hopefully the first in a series of poems on video. Favourite poems as it were! Sorry about the picture quality!

Poet of Fingal Award.

Poet of Fingal Award.

Tommy Murray of The Meath Writers' Circle was the winner of The Poet of Fingal Award for the third time last night at The Carnegie Court in Swords North Dublin. An event I almost made it to and would have done but for a sign that said "Road Closed: Local Access Only" and that was true, and another one that said "Detour" whose meaning could only be found in the dictionary, and with my only compass the Sun and a bewildering mix of back roads and bad drivers and the same Sun setting in an orange glow in the western sky, I went home and walked the dog. Maybe next year! Check out at Meath Books, link opposite.

Photo: Tommy Murray with The McDonagh Perpetual Trophy. Photo by Michael Farry.