John Boyle O'Reilly: Voice of Boston's Irish!

John Boyle O' Reilly ~ Voice of Boston's Irish!

28th June 1844 - August 10th 1890.

Very much one of Meath's forgotten poets, but if you go back to December 11 2010, on this Blog, there's a small article giving some info on his background and history. I remember looking for some videos back then but there were only a few, though I notice there are a number of others posted now and I'll have a look through and maybe post another one. This one was loaded by 'Boston History' and with thanks. Enjoy!  

James Linnane R.I.P.

James Linnane  R.I.P. ~ 1962 - 21st August 2024.

Security at Scurlogstown Olympiad

James Linnane was a writer, poet and storyteller from Ballivor in County Meath, although he was originally from Kinvara in the west of Ireland. A member of both The Meath Writers' Circle and the Boyne Writers he was also involved with the Scurlogstown Olympiad and The Royal Meath Show as well as many other groups. A community and social activist he was a go to man if you wanted an alternative view and allowing for such was friendly with everyone he met. The author of five books of both poetry and prose, his first, published in New York in 1988 (Never take an Irishman seriously unless he's armed) gives you some insight into the humour of the man and if you type his name into the search box for this blog you'll get an idea of the other adventures that occupied his life. The link to his own site is to the right, where he was never afraid to air his views and much of the content there is no longer available. Men like James Linnane are invaluable to any community in that they present you with information that will not make it onto the Nine O' Clock News and while you can judge for yourself, if allowed to, it is something that takes more than a little courage. James you will be missed.  

 

Motherland ~ Natalie Merchant (with lyrics)

Motherland ~ Natalie Merchant

To indulge myself on a day when I should be outside doing something, here's a wonderful piece of both poetry and music from the American singer - songwriter Natalie Merchant. A visit to Wikipedia to check out her background is a must. When you compare the quality of this to some of what passes for popular music now you just give up. Posted by India and with thanks. Enjoy!

* To YouTube for the comments.

A Turn at Tara 2024!

 

Feis Teamhra/A Turn at Tara, which features readings and performances by internationally recognized Irish writers and musicians, will be held from 3pm on Sunday August 18 2024 in the Visitors' Centre on the Hill of Tara, County Meath.

Good afternoon folks.

Carol Owens has kindly brought this notice for our attention. 

In September the poetry group is back  on Tuesday 24th Sept at 7.30.pm.

Theme poetry of Leonard Cohen.

His 90th birthday is around this time.

Hallelujah. 

Slán go fóill 

Jim.

Troubadour International Poetry Prize 2024!

 

troubadour international poetry prize 2024   judged by jane yeh & glyn maxwell first prize £2,000 second prize £1,000 third prize £500 plus 20 commendeds plus — winners read with judges at 2024 online international prize-night celebration on mon 9 dec   poems on any subject  submit via email & pay online by mon 23 sep 2024 results announced mon 9 dec 2024 full details on coffee-house poetry website   judges Jane Yeh was born in New Jersey, educated at Harvard & University of Iowa, now lives in London, & has degrees from Manchester Metropolitan, & London’s Royal Holloway Universities. She lectures in Creative Writing at the Open University, writes on books, theatre, & fashion for, among others, Poetry Review & Village Voice, & has published (with Sally O’Reilly) Creative Writing: A Workbook with Readings (Routledge, 2022). Her first collection, Marabou, was shortlisted for Whitbread, Forward, & Aldeburgh prizes, she was named as a Poetry Book Society Next Generation Poet for The Ninjas & her latest, a Poetry Book Society Recommendation & one of the Guardian’s best books of 2019, is The Discipline (Carcanet).   Glyn Maxwell, poet, playwright, novelist, librettist & critic, born in Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, has studied at Oxford & Boston, & taught in Amherst, New York & London. His poetry collections include The Nerve, which won the Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize, & The Breakage, Hide Now, Pluto, & his latest, How the Hell Are You (Picador, 2020), all of which were shortlisted for either Forward or TS Eliot prizes. His plays have been staged in London & New York, & his opera libretti at Glyndebourne, Royal Opera House, & on tour. He has edited Derek Walcott’s collected poems, & published (with Oberon) On Poetry, a guidebook for the general reader, & Drinks with Dead Poets, a uniquely inventive novel encounter with poetry’s greats.    judges read all poems submitted   Check out winners, winning poems & judges’ reports, 2023 & prior, on our previous-winners’-poems page.

­ Click here for  Troubadour International Poetry Prize 2024 submission rules & online payment options ­

The Meath Writers' Circle ~ August Meeting 2024!

The Meath Writers' Circle ~ August Meeting 2024!

The next meeting of our group is believe it or not 'tonight' and I'll have to reprimand myself for not putting the notification up sooner. So if you happen to be in the Trim area of County Meath, or even close then why not drop in to Trim Library between 6.15 pm to 8.15 pm for an evening of poetry and prose. All are welcome to attend and there is no cost. Feel free to bring a piece you've written yourself or something by a favourite writer or if you just want to sit in and listen; no problem . The theme or prompt from last month's gathering was on the subject of healing so it will be very interesting to hear the contributions. Hope to see you there. FM.