Over the past year, artist-poet Aoife Casby has been holding a series of bilingual evenings in Carraroe, Co. Galway.

Earlier this month and with the support of Údarás na Gaeltachta, Aoife hosted readings by Trish Casey and Micheál Ó Cuaig, who also sang sean nós. In a cheerful Gaeltacht style, Ceara Conway creatively eMCeed the proceedings which later included an open-mic session featuring Maire Uí Eidhin, Pádraic Harvey, Aoife Casby (reading a poem by Dan O Flatharta), Annette Lohan, Caroline Lynch and Biddy Jenkinson.

A spirited Connemara crowd filled the venue and after a most pleasurable few hours the evening ended with an impromptu sing-along. I think one enjoys poetry that much more in an inspiring setting, and gently rolling, luminescent Carraroe with its panoramic views of the Aran Islands and the cliffs of coastal Clare, proves ideal.

To see the videos from the evening, click here.

A lively crowd of Galwegian (and beyond) poetry enthusiasts ventured out last Friday to Sheridan’s Wine Bar, to enjoy readings by eight of Galway’s most active contemporary poets. They represented over ten from the area who brought out collections in 2007.

Kevin Higgins, who organises the ongoing Over the Edge reading series compèred a cheerful, refreshing event and at the halfway mark Mayor Tom Costello came out in full regalia to declare well-deserved words of praise for the ongoing success in the Galway poetry scene. The audience were in great spirits (partially thanks to the world of cheesy odours wafting up the stairs), and filled this very elegant venue comfortably.

With fine poetry from Elaine Feeney, Jarlath Fahy, Moya Cannon, Mags Treanor, Knute Skinner, Sheila Phelan, John Walsh and Neil McCarthy, no-one was left athirst, and as Kevin says, ‘a little from a lot’ is far more delectable than the contrary.

This is an annual event well worth the journey. Long may it last.

For videos of the readings, click here.

The first successful All Island Touring Circuit for Poetry and Spoken Word took place in December, showcasing the I am a Lagan collective of Buddy Wakefield, Katie Wirsing and Andrea Gibson. These world class performers who almost hold more slam championships between them than there are slam poets in Ireland, thrilled audiences in Derry, Belfast, Dublin, Cork, Galway and Limerick before jetting off the next day to continue in Frankfurt. Aside from the performances, they also held four workshops and hosted two slams during their high-energy tour, and they managed it all in a single week.

This is mainly thanks to all the supporting venues of the newly formed circuit, which now promises to open the way for top class performers from across the globe to bring their poetry to the entire island with rhythmic ease.

Videos from Dublin Slam Poetry‘s MC Gerry McNamara, who hosted the Dublin leg at the Bankers pub are here, including the slam which was judged by the guest poets.

Videos from the main performances at Ó Bhéal are here.

The Patrick Kavanagh Celebration at the Palace Bar just gets better every year. Organiser PJ Brady from the Phoenix Dawn began the evening with his life-long learned stories about (and poems by) Kavanagh before giving the floor over to eMCee Desmond Swords. The best of Dublin’s performance poets and open-mic enthusiasts turned up and gave their all, to a packed house.

The night pushed on as late as it could possibly go, and with tight emceeing almost 50 poems by over 15 poets were recited in Kavanagh’s own, old haunt. Sleepy Rise and Sean Óg filled the breaks with cheerful trad music and this annual event is turning out to be one of Irish poetry’s not to be missed.

For videos of the Performances, come this way.

The Derry Féile Poetry Slam attracted poets from all corners of the island. With the Belfast Poets Touring Group hosting this inaugural event, a typically Irish-style laid-back slam ensued, being enjoyed thoroughly by all. Dave Lordan, The Belfast Poets and myself gave additional performances and ended up judging the slam which was won jointly by Rosemary Cutliffe-Quinn and James King.

The atmosphere was fantastic and all were made at home and comfortable by our talented hosts. I hope it’s the first of many.

Some videos from the night are here.

Now in its eleventh year, the Cork International Poetry Festival was held mostly at the Firkin Crane, the old seat of Tudor power in Ireland, where over thirty scribe-performers including Cai Tianxin, Maggie O’Sullivan, Keith Tuma, Anamaría Crowe Serrano, Gerry Loose and Mairead Byrne carried their audiences into universes of widely unexplored adventures.

Thanks to the dedication of Trevor Joyce and Fergal Gaynor, this phenomenon is one of the country’s best expositions, crafted from a fine eclectic balance of the world’s best avant-garde poets. Though well-attended, gross underfunding caused a lack of advertising for a major event which should have drawn massive crowds. I hope the funding bodies pay more attention to this project in the future – it’s a true benchmark of the highest quality in art and in my opinion should be regarded as one of the top poetry festivals in the world.

To see the full line-up and history of the event visit the SoundEye website here. Free admission to five days of ambrosia from some of the best ‘alternative’ poets in the world should just simply not be missed.

See you there next year.

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Tara Solstice Freefest, 20-24 June

Although the 5 days were mainly rained out, the festival brought together all the various interest groups under one big tent, and the evenings merged into a fine display of high quality music and poetry from across Europe. The scene was both relaxed and charged at the same time. A strange excitement softened by the constant sound of soft rain on tent rooves, which was the precise lullaby needed for a well-earned rest by all.

Dawn at the solstice was overcast for the first 20 minutes or so, and as I read the Dindsenchas (Place-lore / Praise poetry for Tara) to the magical harp of Laoise Kelly, the sun burst out through the clouds and let us know that it would never be closer to Tara than on that day. I’m not sure what changed inside me, but it was like my feet became the prongs of a giant electric plug. I’m surprised my hair still has any curls, it was probably the single foremost highlight of my entire life.

The hour-long performance was in the Halls of Tara, or rather within where the halls used to stand, leading up towards the Rath of the Synods, though my imagination was fully charged and I had no problem imagining poeting for a high king, millenia ago. The true beauty of Tara for me, is the sense that when I’m up on the hill, I can solve any personal mystery just by focussing on it for long enough (and that’s not long). Tara really has a magnetic draw that makes one never want to leave, in fact a friend of mine who came along with us is still there, a full five weeks later. Those ancients were onto something big alright. I’d recommend visiting Tara to anyone as a must-do at least once in your lifetime.

The Friday night saw a great mix of musicians and poets voice their praises for Tara and their response to the ongoing threat to the Gabhra Valley. All had a great time, building a well-needed sense of hope for a rerouting of the M3. Yours truly ended up not performing that night as I took the place of MC, underneath Tony’s massive Shell-to-Sea tent.

Many special thanks and appreciation go out to Heather Adams (the organiser), and to TaraWatch for making it all possible. To see a full list of the Artists and some comments on the event click here.

To catch up on what’s happening at Tara, click here or visit TaraWatch’s myspace site. Tara and the Gabhra valley need any help they can get right now. She is the very heart of our entire culture.

There will be a number of (simultaneous) countrywide benefit/awareness concerts for Tara on the 29th of September. If anyone would like to perform for these important events, please contact me here.

Click here for pictures and videos.

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The spirit of Raftery alive and well in Kiltimagh

The ‘In Sight of Raftery’ festival in Kiltimagh this weekend drew poets from all around the country, and further afield. Local poet Terry Mcdonagh presented the intimate event, now in its third year, with a fine array of readings and performances throughout three venues, Lil Fordes, Kitty McGreals and The Electric Mouse. Being there for only two nights of the five days, I managed to catch the main events and thoroughly enjoyed listening to the poetry of Louis de Paor, Collette nic Aodha, Ger Reidy, Rab Wilson and of course Terry himself, to mention but a few. The Kiltimagh crowd made everyone feel more than at home, and even treated poets to complimentary accommodation when no space was left available in the hotels or B&Bs. I’d recommend next year’s event to anyone who has a weekend free to visit Mayo in early June.

The highlight of the event was the late Saturday night slam at the Electric Mouse which drew 14 performers from every corner of the island. The five who made it through to the final round were Chelley McLear (Belfast) and Gordon Hewitt (Derry) who shared first prize, Rab Wilson (Scotland) who came third, as well as Denise Heneghan and Mags Traenor (both from Galway) who were joint fourth.

A big thanks to Terry for a really entertaining weekend and to the Kiltimagh natives for their cosy welcome. With more plans for expansion, the ‘In Sight of Raftery’ festival promises to grow into an even more popular poetry event and I’ve made plans to be back next year.

Videos of performances at the Electric Mouse are here.

First All-Ireland Poetry Slam team announced

On Friday the 11th of May 2007, history was made as 2 regional winners from each province sized up their compositions at McHugh’s pub in Belfast, the oldest building in the city. The eight poets had only 2 minutes and 15 seconds to perform each of their pieces in rounds one and two. Then four went through to the final round; Gerard McKeown (Ulster), Colin McKeown (Ulster – unrelated), Noel Sweeney (Leinster) and Brendan Murphy (Connaught).

The excellent organising from Mark Madden (Creative Writer’s Network) and dazzling MC work from Chloe Poems made this a truly great event, and benchmarks the beginning of many to come. The intention is for the annual event to alternate throughout the four provinces.

First and second places went to Brendan Murphy and Gerard McKeown, who now represent the Irish team. They’ll be up against the Welsh, English and Scottish at the BBC Radio Four Slam Championships in July.

Videos of the performances can be viewed here

Last week I received a call from Gordon Hewitt, spokesperson and performance member of the Belfast Poets Tour Group. Having recently completed successful tours of Australia and Ireland, he found that organising a tour of the open mic venues here was by far the more difficult. There are less than a dozen countrywide and only a handful who run every week.

His concern has led him to initiate an open-mic tour circuit of Ireland, so that any ambling poets may visit or perform at all of the six major venues (held in Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Galway, Derry and Belfast) within a week or two. Not only will this boost poetic diversity and exposure, furthering the appreciation of Irish talent locally, but will also encourage International poets visiting Ireland access to these venues with an attractive ease and immediacy. Ó Bhéal has given its complete support to the venture and will be involved in the project’s first meeting in June. Post will be updated.