David Mc Williams - Days of pearly spencer ( Rare Original Footage Proba...

Here's one from the sixties and probably the best tune to come out of Ireland at that time. And damn fine poem too! Loaded by Exclusivevids1000 and with thanks to youtube. Always meant to put this one up. I read somewhere "once upon a time" that he phoned the talk-in from a public phone. But probably just a myth. Enjoy!

The Caterpillar Short Story Prize 2015!

Inaugural Short Story Prize for Children!

The above are inviting submissions of maximum 2000 words for their short story prize for 2015. The entry fee is €12 and you can enter online or by post. This is a story written by an adult for children and the age range is 7-11. The closing date for the above is Wednesday the 30th of September and you are advised to read the rules before submitting. The prize is €1000 for the winner and you can download an entry form at here. Postal order made payable to "The Moth Magazine Ltd". Send your postal entries to---

The Caterpillar Short Prize 2015

C/O The Moth

Ardan Grange

Milltown

Belturbet

Co. Cavan

Ireland.

Be sure to check out the site and rules!!

Jonathan Swift Creative Writing Awards 2015!

Saggart Heritage and Arts Centre!

The above awards are inviting submissions for their annual competitions in poetry and prose and have a cover charge of €4 per poem, or 3 poems for €10, with a max of 6 poems. €5 for prose entry made payable to Jonathan Swift Creative Writing Awards. Ms Maria Wallace, Award Winning Catalan/Tallagh Author and Poet will judge the competition. Winners will be notified seven days in advance and must be prepared to read their work if possible on the awards night at the Heritage Centre in Saggart Co. Dublin at the end of November 2015. 

A closing date for entries of Friday the 30th of October, so a bit of time there to get your entries in. The work should be the author's original work and not have been published or broadcast previously. Poems not to exceed 45 lines and typed in plain font Times Roman point 12 single spacing on plain white A4 sheet, without decoration or illustration. Entries may be in Irish or English and entrants name must not appear on the typescript but only on the entry form.

Send your entries to: Margaret Ennis "Teach Giuise" Boherboy, Saggart, Co. Dublin, and I would say the same address to obtain an entry form. And good luck!

Maria Wallace and Mervyn Ennis.

The Ballymaloe International Poetry Prize 2015!

The Ballymaloe International Poetry Prize 2015!

The closing date for the above is the 31st of December 2015 and while that is a while away I'd imagine you'd need a pretty good poem to win it as the prize is sure to attract a number of entries from the four corners. Not a requirement as they say but they strongly advise you purchase of a copy of the above magazine before submitting your entries. The prize is open to anyone and is no less than €10,000 for the winner with 3 runner up prizes of €1000 and you can enter as many poems as you like, though the entry fee is €12 per poem. Shortlisted winners will be notified by the end of February 2016 and their poems published in the March 2016 issue of The Moth. You can enter online or by the postal route but check out the details on their site at Here and good luck! Plenty of time for inspiration to strike, or the muse return!

Popular Irish Poetry/Louis Bell

Popular Irish Poetry/Louis Bell

What to write about on a Sunday? The above came as a gift and I'm sure there are many fine anthologies of Irish poetry but this book  is a selection of some of the most popular. From the traditional ballads of Thomas Moore and Aubrey de Vere through no less that W.B Yeats to Seamus Heaney, just about everyone is here. One I hadn't come across before and worth a read was Austin Clarke's "Burial of an Irish President", while Louis MacNeice gets a page for "The Sunlight on the Garden" and you could argue for a great poem like "Dublin" which doesn't. Published by Gill & Macmillan, a small book and one for the car maybe and dipping into. 

The Saskia Trilogy!

Eden Forest!

Eden Forest is the first in a series of novels by Meath Writer, Aoife Marie Sheridan, a parallel world where everyone has magical abilities or affinities and is the story of a girl who is the only person who can save it. The above novel taking first place in "Writers Got Talent" in 2013. A writer of poetry she won first place for two of her poems and had them published when she was just nineteen. She studied accountancy and worked in that field for many years until her passion for reading returned when she discovered Maria V Synder. Not too familiar with fantasy or magical stories although in truth we're surrounded by them and there was a time when almost every fireside gathering had  more than its fair share of stories of other worlds. This trilogy I'm sure adds to that and the Meath landscape has hardly a turn in the road without a story or ghostly tale.  I remember reading some of Lord Dunsany's a while back, of another world you could almost touch. Aoife Marie Sheridan has a number of other books published including parts two and three of the above and you can find out more about them at Here , or contact her at aoifesheridan101@gmail.com .

The Meath Writers' Circle August Meeting 2015!

The Meath Writers' Circle August Meeting 2015!

About sixteen turned out for the above and what was a lively meeting, with one new member and a few returns! We're hoping to get a magazine out for the Christmas period so material needed for that the next meeting.

. Also a big thank you for those who brought in material for the 1916 book. "Only" a few left now to come in and it should be ready to roll but never there till it's there. Poems were read and stories were told and if you've got something you'd like to contribute to either; better get it in now guys!

The Allingham Festival!

Flash Fiction/Poetry Competition!

The closing date for the above competitions is September the 15th with a flash fiction limit of 800 words and your poetry entries not to exceed 40 lines. Winners and runners up will be invited to read their work at the Festival on Saturday the the 7th of November and will be informed of the Judges' decision by October the 23rd. All details at www.allinghamfestival.com and there is a songwriting contest as well. Visit site for further info on events. You can enter by post or online with entry fees set at €5 for one poem or story, €8 for two and increasing to €12 and €16 etc. Download an entry form and mail to:
Allingham Festival, C/O A Novel Idea, Main Street, Ballyshannon, Co. Donegal

From Google Images

                                              

                                           

                                     

                                                                     

                                                                     

MATT LEAVY HE STOPPED LOVING HER TODAY-NASHVILLE TN

Matt Leavy was in great form on Friday night in Teach Na Teamhrach in Navan for the fundraising night. This one was recorded in Nashville I believe and is an old George Gones classic. But Matt's take is as good as it gets.