Pegasus - The Travelling People - Liam Clancy

Loaded by machree01 and with thanks. A poem by Patrick Kavanagh and read by Liam Clancy. So you think you can write poetry or read it. There have been many fine Irish poets and performers but only a few great ones. The above. The poem is followed by Ewan MacColl's great ballad 'The Travelling People' though I've seen Peggy Seeger credited here also. Just about everyone has recorded this song but most people around these parts will remember 'The Johnstons' version, which was very popular in the sixties and good it was too. They were from Slane in County Meath. Happy Sunday morning!

Athboy ~ Poetry Trail !

 Circle of Pens ~ Poetry Trail!

Athboy Fair Green is one of the hidden gems of the county, though perhaps a little off the beaten track but if you happen to be passing through, well worth a visit. The Circle of Pens Writing group that is based in Athboy had a number of poems posted around the Green for the Bank Holiday weekend and two of them can be seen in the photograph above. Presented to the people of Athboy by Lord Darnley in 1910 it would make a wonderful venue for a poetry or musical festival though given the times we're living in that may be a while coming. I was there on Saturday afternoon last and there was very little activity about which was strange given that it was a beautiful day. Also the roads are very badly signposted so your guesswork better be good but I suppose we now live in the Sat Nav age and I should keep up with the times.  

Circle of Pens ~ Poetry Trail/ Athboy!

Circle Of Pens ~ Poetry Trail/ Athboy!

There will be a poetry trail in Athboy on the Fair Green on the June Bank Holiday weekend from noon on Saturday the 5th of June until Monday the7th so if you have some time to spare why not wander around and have a read. Organized by the Athboy Writers' Forum.

The contact link is athboywritersforum@gmail.com or Mary Flood. With thanks to Sean Reilly, Bohermeen for the info. There is a poster to go with the above link but for some reason it would not load. 

 

Murder Most Foul - With Lyrics!

Bob Dylan ~ Murder Most Foul!

This video was loaded by Javier Ferreyros and with thanks because it must have taken both time and a lot of effort to put the images and lyrics together. Today is Bob Dylan's 80th birthday and something suitable to mark the occasion left a lot of options open, given the Dylan catalogue of songs. But I went for the one above because he was brave enough to write it and it's one of those conspiracies that won't go away. If you look at the singer songwriters that came up through the sixties and the plastic pop culture of today you have to wonder what's happened to this generation. I heard an old style journalist being interviewed on local radio and he described them as a generation that's bred to compliance. Anyway what do you think? 

The Last Gunfighter Ballad - Guy Clark and Waylon Jennings

The Last Gunfighter Ballad - Guy Clark and Waylon Jennings

Yesterday marked the anniversary of the death of one of America's great singer songwriters Guy Clark ( November 6th 1941 - May17th 2021). Poet and storyteller, many Irish people will be familiar with Dolores Keane's recording of, Immigrant Eyes or his much recorded and played classic hit, Desperados Waiting for a Train. But there were many more as well. I see from a wikipedia comment that he was known as the Fifth Highway Man and well deserved. One of my favourite tracks would be the 'Girsa' version of Immigrant Eyes but I picked the one above for a certain reason. Loaded by katson6 and with thanks. Visit the youtube site for the lyrics and comments. 

Dunshaughlin Poetry Trail!

 Dunshaughlin Poetry Trail!

Meant to give this a mention much earlier. The poetry trail is a project organized by a Dunshaughlin community group as part of the 'Keeping Well Initiative' and still a day or two left of it maybe. It began on the 29th of April and  runs for a three week period when the posters will be taken down and presented to the Library Service where they will go on display in any of the branches large enough to accommodate them The spirit of the poetry trail is similar to that of a treasure hunt where you discover the items as you explore the trail.

The trail runs from the RC church at one end of the village to the James Fox memorial at the other end and there are 38 poems in all with smaller sizes in shop windows of various establishments on both sides of the main street. Larger outdoor posters are located in prominent positions along the route. You need a little time on your hands but it should be an enjoyable experience. Indeed a poetry trail for the county or other towns - not a bad idea! With thanks to Barbara Scally of the Dunshaughlin Library for the above information.

Professor Joe Cleary and Professor Maud Ellmann discuss 'Small World: Ir...

One of Ireland's best known writers died during the week and I was searching through youtube for something appropriate to load and selected the above, so with thanks to 'Cambridge University Press - Academic'. Many tributes to him out there and the 'Arena' programme on RTE had some interesting content. Hope you enjoy. Seamus Deane (9th February 1940 - 12th May 2021). From Derry in Northern Ireland but late of Dublin.