The Meath Writers' Circle ~ June Meeting!

The Meath Writers' Circle ~ June Meeting! 

The next meeting of the group will be on Thursday the 1st of June at 7 pm in Navan Library. No theme or suggestions as I was not at the last meeting so whatever you bring will be fine. Hope to see you there and all are welcome so why not drop in if you happen to be passing. Read something of your own or a favourite from schooldays or just relax from the everyday, or even a song perhaps. See you on the night.  

Flying Column - Boolavogue!

Flying Column ~ Boolavogue / Requiem for the Croppies

There are so many fascinating back stories here about both pieces that you would need pages to go in to them. Boolavogue was written by Patrick Joseph McCall in 1898, the one hundredth anniversary of the 1798 Rebellion and Requiem for the Croppies was written in 1966 the fiftieth anniversary of the 1916 Rising. The recording here is by the Flying Column a Belfast folk group and was also the name given to the Active Service Units during the Irish War of Independence. Most of the fighting of 1798 was in Wexford and eastern Ulster but also in County Meath. The last stand perhaps of the Wexford army was at Knightstown Bog in County Meath on the 14th of July and their story is told in Eamon Doyle's book 'The March Into Meath' published in 2011 and well worth the read. The French landing in Killala in north Mayo in August by one thousand French troops would be too late but their engagement with General Lake at Castlebar is forever known as 'The Races'. The French and their Irish contingents were defeated at Ballinamuck in Longford on the 8th of September with the French taken as prisoners of war and the Irish massacred. There would be something of a strange coincidence at New Orleans in 1815 but that's another story. But if you're ever driving through Killucan ...    

Seamus Heaney - Desert Island Discs - Sun 19 Nov 1989.

Seamus Heaney ~ Desert Island Discs ~ Sunday 19 Nov 1989.

I got a photograph of him one Sunday up on Tara when it used to attract large crowds. That is before the 'officials' took over and moved the event into the Church where it attracted almost nobody. Working on the principle of if it works break it or something like that. Maybe it's a success today I don't know, haven't been back in a while. The above was loaded by 'calumisdead' and with thanks. Will go back into the Blog to find the photo but it's not on this computer or I would load it above. Out there on Google images somewhere. Give it a look.

The Blog date for the Tara event was Sunday, August 29th 2010. Have a look, you won't believe the poets and writers who showed up and performed for nothing and the quality of the photos taken on an old Kodak are wish you were there. 

An Tobar ~ Seamus Heaney Centre!

An Tobar ~ Trip to Seamus Heaney Centre!

Good morning folks,
Two reminders.

1. Our next poetry session is on Tuesday 23rd May at the usual time of 7.30pm in An Tobar. The theme agreed is the poetry of Seamus Heaney.                          
2.  As you know our outing to the new 'Home Place Centre' of Seamus Heaney, based in Bellaghy, Magherfelt, Co Derry takes place on Saturday 24th June. 6 people have confirmed they are interested in travelling by the 16 seater bus. Carol Owens who is liaising with the bus company wishes to confirm the arrangment as soon as possible.  If you are interested in going by hired bus can you contact Carol at  carol.peacefulhaven@gmail.com asap.  It would be helpful if you cc your email to me also. The bus will depart from An Tobar.  I presume to get the most from the day we need to leave about 9am. Both Carol and I look forward to hearing from you. We appreciate the cost of the bus is not cheap @ €41 per person if we get 16 passengers. But with the price of fuel and it is a full day for the driver it all adds up.

Best wishes and thanks.

Jim Owens

087 9676728 

About Seamus Heaney Home Place Centre

This is a special place. A moving place. An inspirational place.
Seamus Heaney HomePlace takes you on an inspiring journey through the life and work of one of Ireland’s greatest writers.
Situated between Seamus Heaney’s two childhood homes at Mossbawn and The Wood, and only a few hundred yards from St Mary’s Church, Bellaghy, which he chose as his final resting place, HomePlace is at the heart of the area that inspired so much of the poet’s work.
It’s a place where you can sense the warmth of Heaney’s relationships with local people and landscapes; where you can immerse yourself in the Nobel Laureate’s literature.
Seamus Heaney’s distinctive voice guides you through the exhibition as you get to know the people and places that inspired him. Atmospheric video projections and touchscreen displays sit alongside precious items donated by the Heaney family.
Seamus Heaney’s ink-stained wooden desk from Anahorish Primary School, a recreation of his study in Dublin and the fax machine that delivered the news when he won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1995, are among the artefacts that transport you to each momentous moment in time.
Open Ground 
Explore locations linking the landscape and the literature of Seamus Heaney. Venture out to Open Ground, a series of five locations which held great significance for Seamus Heaney.
Discover places that shaped Seamus Heaney’s life and literature  — Toomebridge, Magherafelt, Moyola River, Lough Beg and Bellaghy Bawn  — and discover the smells, sights and sounds that make his poetry so uniquely of this place.
Seamus Heaney’s roots were in the Bellaghy area and many of his poems are equally rooted in these places. Throughout his career, he regularly drew upon the loughs, rivers and bogs he visited in his formative years.
Many of these places are unchanged and unspoilt since the time Heaney wrote about them, allowing you to see them for yourself through the poet’s eyes. Read Heaney’s work in the context in which it was inspired and see how the places of Open Ground are reflected in his writing. Winner of NI’s Most Innovative Business (Large) at Tourism Northern Ireland's Giant Spirit Awards 2022.

Broken Pieces ~ Hospital Experiences.

 Broken Pieces ~  The poetry of Carolyne Van der Meer and Michael Farry. 

Almost forensic in its detail if I might misuse the term, the poems of Carolyne Van Der Meer of Montreal and Michael Farry of Trim reflect upon their hospital experiences in ways that are both serious and even deadpan. If not directly then suggested at least. Finely crafted and more small book than booklet the scarring both physical and metaphysical  that is referred to in the cover intro and surely common to all who have shared the same experience could perhaps be explored in a present in how it has impacted upon who and where they are now, but that is another collection. From the safety of hindsight the material presented here covers a range of different emotions and observations and is often brutal in its honesty. More than the ordinary. Priced at €5/$7 I picked up a copy in the local bookstore. Links to Michael's sites to the right and I'm sure both authors can be contacted directly. 

Launch of Crannóg 58 spring 2023 issue, full video.

Launch of Crannóg 58!

The launch of Crannóg 58 - 31st of March 2023 at the Crane Bar in Galway with four fiction stories and six poems. Some really interesting material here and well worth watching. Enjoy!

MCd by Tony O' Dwyer. 

https//crannogmagazine.com

The Meath Writers' Circle ~ May 2023!

 The Meath Writers' Circle ~ May 2023!

The next meeting of the group is on this Thursday night coming in Navan Library at 7 pm. The writers group have now been around for over thirty years and it would be nice to keep it going for another few. All are welcome and whether you want to read your poetry, short stories or just sit in for a while please join in. The Covid years were not too friendly and it would be nice to get things back up and running again. So if you're a past member or perhaps have just a little time on your hands and an interest in the literary, please drop in.