Nick Drake - Riverman

A song for a Sunday!. With thanks to youtube and the guy who loaded (Bus drie)! Beautiful song.

The Caterpillar Poetry Prize 2017!

The Caterpillar Poetry Prize 2017!

As it says, stories, poems & arts for kids and a competition now open with a €1000 prize for the best poem for kids. The judge for this year's competition is John Hegley and the winning poem will feature in the summer 2017 issue of The Caterpillar. Commended poems may also be published in the same magazine. You need to check out the details on their site and you can enter online or send your poems with a cheque or postal order made payable to "The Moth Magazine Ltd". Entry form, rules etc. There are a number of other prizes there as well including, "The Moth Art Prize, The Moth Retreat and The Moth Short Story Prize. Different closing dates for these. The Caterpillar Poetry Prize is open to anyone over 18 as long as the work is original and previously unpublished and you can enter as many poems as you like. The fee is €12 per poem. Link: www.thecaterpillarmagazine.com

Listowel Writers' Week 2017!

Listowel Writers' Week 2017!

There are any number of competitions here, some with a closing date that is fast approaching (The 3rd of February) and others where the closing date for receipt of entries is on the 3rd of March. Some great prizes and sure to be something to suit your interest. Entries may be in Irish or English and you must identify  the specific competition for which you are entering. You can enter online or by post and all details are available on their website. If by post please submit your name and contact details on a separate sheet and include the appropriate fee. But be sure to check out the website. Perhaps the biggest festival of its kind in Ireland and where better to spend a few days in summer than Listowel.

Check Out!

www.writersweek.ie

"Poetry for Pleasure Group"/An Tobar.

"Poetry for Pleasure Group"

Jim Owens and Danny Cusack

The Poetry for Pleasure Group will meet on the third Tuesday of every month in An Tobar, Ardbraccan, County Meath and people are welcome to come along and read a poem or just listen to the choice of the other participants. Last night was the initial get together and about sixteen turned out for what was an interesting mix with poetry from Kavanagh to Montague to Kennelly and pieces where the author is unknown. It was a thought-provoking evening or get together with everything from recitation to modern prose in what are very comfortable surrounds. The group organizers are Stephanie O' Brien, Danny Cusack and Jim Owens and the next meeting is on Tuesday the 21st of February at 7.30pm. For further information contact Jim Owens at 087 967 6728 or Jackie Smyth (An Tobar) at 046 907 8973. 

Molly Keane Creative Writing Award 2017!

Molly Keane Creative Writing Award 2017!

Waterford City and County Council's Arts office is currently accepting entries for the above competition with a closing date of Tuesday the 14th of March at 12 noon. Held annually since 1998 it celebrates the life of an author whose writing was short listed for the prestigious Booker Prize and whose novel "Good Behaviour" (1981) became a publishing sensation. There is no entry fee for this competition and no restriction on subject matter, also no age limit. A prize of €500 will be awarded to the winner at a special ceremony during the IMMRAMA Literary festival in Lismore, Co. Waterford in June 2017. 

Full details and entry form can be downloaded from: www.waterfordcouncil.ie
Go to Documents - Appplications - Arts & Culture - Arts, Archives & Culture Forms.

Or by contacting the Arts Office on 058-41416

From azquotes.com/google images

Prole Laureate Poetry Competition!

Prole Laureate Poetry Competition!

Here's a competition that is nice and reasonable if you've overspent over the Christmas with an entry fee that is only £3 for the first entry and £2 for each subsequent poem. You can enter via the website and e-mail, which they prefer, or by post and cheque made payable to P. Robertson. Send your entries to: Brett Evans 15 Maes-y-Dre, Abergele, Conwy, LL227HW. The closing date is January the 31st and the winners will be announced in issue 22 of Prole in April coming and on their website by April the 20th. Open regarding style, content and length and quality is all. The first prize is £200 with publication in Prole 22 in April 2017 and on their website with 2 x runner up prizes of £50 and publication same as above. All work must be the original of the writer and unpublished. The judge is Macdara Woods. Came across this on the Emerging Writer website, link to the right. 

www.prolebooks.co.uk      Check out for full details.

Jonathan Swift Conference 2017!

Jonathan Swift Conference 2017!

There will be a conference to mark the 350th anniversary of the birth of Jonathan Swift in Trinity College Dublin this year between the dates of 7-9 of June and I wonder if there will be anything of equal importance in this county given his connections to Laracor and Trim. Saggart in Dublin have their own very successful writing competition every year named in his honour and the Trim festival ran for a number of years with the Boyne Writers going off with the Battle of the Books trophy in the end though I always maintained it should have strictly adhered to the ancient and modern and where does knowledge reside anyway... who knows? I'm satired out, whimsy is a poor substitute for truth and the ways of the world. Anyway I'd say revive it and let the universities of Dublin or the local secondary schools debate the issues. The talent is certainly out there but let it be satire and it would make for an interesting event. The judges from the literary line..... go for it.

Maria Edgeworth Literary Poetry Competition 2017!

Maria Edgeworth Literary Poetry Competition 2017!

www.quotesprite.com
Google Images

One to start the year with. The closing date for this one is the 24th of February and the judge for the competition is Professor Iggy McGovern,  Entries cost €5 with cheques made payable to: Edgeworth Literary Society or payment can be made online through Paypal. Usual rules apply but check them out on the website. Some very interesting material there on different members of the family with video and audio compilations from a number of sources. If my memory serves me well I think there's some connection between the family and the town of Navan in County Meath. Anyway the address to send your entries to is : Competition Secretary, Edgeworth Literary Society, Old School House, Ballymahon Road, Edgeworthstown, Co. Longford. Tel: 043 6671801.

Further info at Poetry Ireland Website: Link right.

Also: www.edgeworthstown.net 

 

Hill of Tara Fly Report

Maybe just the mood I'm in. I came across this video on youtube and thought I'd load it for the New Year although it was recorded back in 2008. Michael Slavin runs a bookshop on The Hill of Tara and has written a number of books on the history of the place and if you haven't paid it a visit it is well worth the effort. The routing of the M3 motorway through the place was perhaps one of the great mistakes of the Celtic Tiger era as the complex itself extends far beyond its present boundaries and much of it has already been destroyed. With thanks to livestream who loaded (Bernard Evans) and youtube. How it is that Tara is not a world heritage site is beyond me but perhaps it would upset too many interests. Anyway happy New Year!