Online Festival Stage
& Via Facebook
(facebook.com/winter.warmer)
& Via YouTube
(www.youtube.com/OBheal)
Ó Bhéal’s 12th Winter Warmer (and 4th hybrid) festival presents over 50 poets, most of whom will read/perform in-person at Nano Nagle Place, with some appearing virtually. All events are free at the venue or via our online Festival Stage and social media channels. In-person audience capacity is 100.
The festival includes a haiku workshop with Anton Floyd, a poetry-film workshop with Colm Scully, a launch of Southword issue 47, two music/poetry fusions from Séamus Barra Ó Súilleabháin, an experimental theatre performance from Strive Theatre and MacBóchra, an Open-Mic Showcase featuring fifteen poets from five Cork-based regular open-mic events, plus a Closed-Mic set, for ten poets from Ó Bhéal’s regular open-mic sessions during 2024.
Guests include Paula Meehan, Maw Shein Win, Pedro Serrano (w/ Anna Crowe), Maria Lado, Louis de Paor, Emma McKervey, Theo Dorgan, Jennifer Horgan, Lorenzo Mari, John Wedgewood Clarke, Sébastien Revon, Afric McGlinchey, Anton Floyd, Bernadette Gallagher and David McLoghlin.
The shortlist and prize-giving for Ó Bhéal’s 12th International Poetry-Film Competition will be screened and simulcast, as will an additional, special selection of poetry-films made in Ireland.
The festival poster is available HERE.
(€5 suggested donation)
6pm – 8.30pm
Poetry Film Workshop with Colm Scully
SPACES AVAILABLE
To book a place, please email info@obheal.ie
Poetry film is the synthesis of poem and film to create a new poetic experience. It’s the chance to add another layer of imagery onto your words. Learn more and take the first steps in making your own poetry film; what equipment you need, what software to use, how to source visual material. Bring a smartphone or a laptop and plenty of ideas.
Colm Scully is a Cork poet and poetryfilm maker, His poems have been published in Poetry Ireland Review, Cyphers, Orbis and elsewhere. His films have been screened at Cork International Film Festival, Fastnet Film Festival and Indie Cork. He has completed workshops in Poetry film at festivals and events throughout Ireland, and at the Scottish Poetry Library in Edinburgh. Learn more at colmscully.com
10.30am – 12.30pm
The Haiku Way with Anton Floyd
SPACES AVAILABLE
To book a place, please email info@obheal.ie
The workshop will help engage with haiku as readers, using examples to critique and expand an understanding of what these simple, single-breath poems can achieve. The session will provide detailed guidelines into the various and evolving haiku forms and will seek to heighten a sense of observation, and help to identify moments that inspire a contemporary, haiku poem.
This workshop is suitable for anyone interested in short form poetry and creative writing. It offers an introduction to haiku but equally it can serve to stimulate practiced writers to experiment or ease participants into a more serious study of the form. The haiku way may well help quieten or reset the mind in a complex and fast moving world:
|
lighting one candle with another candle an evening of spring (Buson) |
Anton Floyd was born in Cairo, Egypt. He studied English at Trinity College, Dublin and University College Cork. Now settled in West Cork, he has worked in the Eastern Mediterranean. He has poems published and forthcoming in Ireland and elsewhere. His poetry films have been selected for the Cadence Poetry Film Festival (Seattle, 2023); Bloomsday Film Festival (James Joyce Centre, 2023) and Atticus Review (2024). Another, Woman Life Freedom, is dedicated to the women of Iran, (IUAES, 2023).
Floyd is a several times prize-winner with work highly commended in International Haiku Competitions. He was awarded the DS Arts Foundation Prize for Poetry (Scotland 2019). His poetry collections are Falling into Place (Revival Press, 2018) & Depositions (Doire Press, 2022); a special edition of Depositions was translated into Irish, Scots Gaelic, Welsh, and Scots (Gloír, Gaelic Books Council, 2024). His new collections in preparation are On the Edge of Invisibility and Singed to Blue. He is a newly appointed UNESCO – RILA affiliate artist at the University of Glasgow.
2.00pm – 4.00pm
Southword Launch
Join us for the launch of issue 47 of Southword, a literary journal published twice a year by the Munster Literature Centre, featuring new writing from around the globe. This event will feature fourteen Cork poets reading from this winter issue as well as the summer issue (46).
Eoin Cahill is from Cork. His poems have recently appeared in HOWL New Irish Writing, Southword and The Storms Journal. In July 2023 he was a participant in The Stinging Fly Summer School. Find him @eoinspoems.
Mona Lynch has worked with Travellers in Cork prison school, using stories developed with them in the English reader being used in Traveller’s literacy classes throughout Irish prisons. She’s published in Quarryman, Swerve, Howl, Examiner, Poetry in the park, Voices from the Land, Southword and The Waxed Lemon.
Bernadette McCarthy’s work has appeared in Acumen, Agenda, The London Magazine, Poetry Ireland Review, Southword and elsewhere. Her chapbook Bog Arabic was published by Southword Editions in 2018. She has received various awards including an Arts Council of Ireland literature bursary.
Afric McGlinchey’s hybrid memoir of her Irish/African upbringing, Tied to the Wind (Broken Sleep Books), received an Arts Council Literature Bursary. Extracts were serialised on RTE Radio’s The Book on One. Afric’s newest chapbook titled The Throat-Bird, will be launched at this festival.
From Belfast, Paul McMahon’s chapbook Bourdon was published by Southword Editions. His awards include The Keats-Shelley, Moth, Fingal, Plaza, Westival, Nottingham, and the Listowel Writers’ Week Poetry Collection Prize. For more visit www.paul-mcmahon.com.
Stephen Beechinor is a translator from Cork, working mainly from Spanish and French. His poems have appeared in The Dublin Review, Propel and the anthology Local Wonders (Dedalus). His translation of Juan Rulfo’s short story collection, El Llano en llamas, is published by Structo Press.
Ben Donnellan is a poet from Cork, currently studying for their master’s in creative writing at UCC. Their work explores the myths we construct to navigate modern life and its challenges.
Daragh Fleming (author of Lonely Boy) is a writer from Cork. He was shortlisted for the Alpine Fellowship Poetry Prize, and highly commended for the Patrick Kavanagh Award and the Fool for Poetry Prize.
Lauren O’Donovan has won the Patrick Kavanagh Award, the Cúirt New Writing Prize and the Southword Subscriber’s Poetry Prize. She is a grateful recipient of Cork County Council Arts and Arts Council funding, and is fortunate to have her work sometimes published in journals and anthologies.
Martin Mc Carthy lives in Cork City. He is a contributing editor to the American poetry website, The HyperTexts. He was shortlisted for the Red Line Poetry Prize, and was a nominee for the 2023 Pushcart Prize. He has published three collections: Lockdown Diary, Lockdown, and The Perfect Voice.
Jennifer Horgan is a Cork poet, teacher and columnist. Her work has appeared in HOWL, Crannóg, and The Honest Ulsterman. In 2023 she was awarded a mentorship with Thomas McCarthy through the Munster Literature Centre. Her debut collection Care is due in April 2025 with Doire Press.
John Mee won the Patrick Kavanagh Award in 2015 and the Fool for Poetry International Chapbook Competition in 2016. His collection, The Blue in the Blue Marble (Templar Poetry, 2024), won the Straid Collection Award. A pamphlet, From the Extinct, was published by Southword Editions in 2017.
Niamh O’Connell’s poetry has appeared in various places, including The Stinging Fly, Banshee, and a Dedalus Press Anthology. She holds an MA in Writing Poetry from Newcastle University. She facilitates creative writing workshops for both children and adults.
Kerri Sonnenberg is author of the poetry collection The Mudra (Litmus Press, USA). Her work has recently appeared in the journals VOLT, Berlin Lit, and Magma. She has been awarded bursaries from the Arts Council and Cork City Council. Originally from Illinois, she now lives in Cork.
Fiona Tracey is an Appalachian poet living in Cork. A finalist for the 2024 Redline Book Festival Prize, Fiona has also been a featured poet at Ó Bhéal. Her poems explore womanhood and identity and can be found in Ragaire, Southword, HOWL, Orchards Poetry Journal, and The Stonecoast Review.
4.30pm – 6.00pm
Bernadette Gallagher | Anton Floyd
Photo by Con Kelleher
Bernadette Gallagher is the author of The Risen Tree (Revival Press, 2024), her debut poetry collection. Her work has been published in Crannóg, Agenda, The Stinging Fly, The North, Stony Thursday, Southword, The Frogmore Papers, Ó Bhéal Five Words and in various online journals including: HeadStuff.org, Live Encounters, Backstory, Other Terrain, Shot Glass Journal, The Poetry Shed, Bealtaine, Drawn to the Light Press, UCD Poetry Archive and Words Lightly Spoken podcast. She enjoys reading to live audiences from Cork to New Delhi to New York.
An essay by Bernadette on Dorothea Herbert (1767-1829) is published by Cork University Press in Irish Women Poets Rediscovered: Readings in poetry from the eighteenth–twentieth century, edited by Maria Johnston and Conor Linnie. She has received awards from the Arts Council of Ireland and Cork County Council. For more about Bernadette visit bernadettegallagher.blogspot.ie.
Anton Floyd was born in Cairo, Egypt. He studied English at Trinity College, Dublin and University College Cork. Now settled in West Cork, he has worked in the Eastern Mediterranean. He has poems published and forthcoming in Ireland and elsewhere. His poetry films have been selected for the Cadence Poetry Film Festival (Seattle, 2023); Bloomsday Film Festival (James Joyce Centre, 2023) and Atticus Review (2024). Another, Woman Life Freedom, is dedicated to the women of Iran, (IUAES, 2023).
Floyd is a several times prize-winner with work highly commended in International Haiku Competitions. He was awarded the DS Arts Foundation Prize for Poetry (Scotland 2019). His poetry collections are Falling into Place (Revival Press, 2018) & Depositions (Doire Press, 2022); a special edition of Depositions was translated into Irish, Scots Gaelic, Welsh, and Scots (Gloír, Gaelic Books Council, 2024). His new collections in preparation are On the Edge of Invisibility and Singed to Blue. He is a newly appointed UNESCO – RILA affiliate artist at the University of Glasgow.
7.00pm – 9.00pm
Séamus Barra Ó Súilleabháin (1/2) | María Lado | Theo Dorgan
Séamus Barra Ó Súilleabháin is a poet from Listowel Co. Kerry. He won the All-Ireland poetry slam in 2011 with the poem entitled ‘Sin Cultúr’. His first book of poems Beatha Dhónaill Dhuibh was published in 2016 by Cló Iar-Chonnacht. He releases music under the name ‘Súil Amháin’ and his first album ‘athPhORT’ (2024) was produced by Cork based producer Bantum.
Is file as Lios Tuathail, Co. Chiarraí é Séamus Barra Ó Súilleabháin. Bhuaigh sé an slam filíochta Uile-Éireann in 2011 leis an dán ‘Sin Cultúr’. Foilsíodh a chéad leabhar dánta Beatha Dhónaill Dhuibh in 2016 ag Cló Iar-Chonnacht.
Photo by Santos Díez
As a poet, María Lado has published A primeira visión (1997), casa atlántica, casa cabaret (2002), berlín (2005), Nove (2008), Amantes (2011), oso, mamá, si? (2015), which was chosen Best Poetry Book at the I Galician Books Gala, Gramo Stendhal (2020) and Uralita (2020) with Iria Pinheiro. Her poetry appears in numerous anthologies published in Galicia, Spain, Ireland, Venezuela and Croatia. She is author of the children’s stories Porque Cuqui non quere ir á lavadora (2014) and Cinco Minutos (2017), as well as the YA novel Entre os dous hai un río (2016).
She has also written scripts and several theater texts, among which are Anatomía dunha serea – in collaboration with Iria Pinheiro, and she won the María Casares Award for best original theatre script for Anatomy of a Mermaid. Some of her children’s theater shows, written and premiered for Pontevedra Children Books Show, are still on tour today. Her interest in interpretation and orality led her to experiment with scenic poetry through different projects. She was founder of the collective “Poetas da Hostia” and, since 2005 to 2024 she performs in the popular duo Aldaolado. As Aldaolado, María Lado and Lucía Aldao published the book Ninguen morreu de ler poesía (2020).
Theo Dorgan is a poet with ten collections published, the most recent being ONCE WAS A BOY, the One City One Book choice for Cork City Libraries 2024. He is also a novelist, documentary screenwriter, non-fiction author, translator, essayist and editor. In 2022 he devised the script for ANU’s production of STAGING THE TREATY (now also a film available from IFI, both directed by Louise Lowe), and he scripted and presented the multi-award-winning Alan Gilsenan documentary AN BUACHAILL GEALGHÁIREACH/THE LAUGHING BOY, also in 2022.
Among his awards are The Irish Times Poetry Now prize and the O’Shaughnessy Award for Irish Poetry (USA). Translations of his work have been published in Greek, Italian, Spanish and French, with a further volume in Spanish due in 2025. Also due in 2025, from Mercier Press, is a new novel. He is a member of Aosdána.
9.30pm – 11.00pm
Emma McKervey | Lorenzo Mari
Emma McKervey is an award winning poet from County Down. Her first collection The Rag Tree Speaks was published by Doire Press, and Highland Boundary Fault was published by Turas Press in May 2024. She has been published widely throughout the British Isles and has recently taken part in literature festivals in Northern Ireland and Scotland. Her recent appearance at Faclan Festival in the Outer Hebrides was supported by Culture Ireland.
For more about Emma visit emmamckerveypoet.wordpress.com.
Lorenzo Mari was born in Mantua and currently lives in Bologna, where he teaches English in secondary schools. He has published seven poetry collections so far; the most recent ones are: Ornitorinco in cinque passi (2016), Querencia (2019) and Soggetti a cancellazione (2022). A selection of poems from the latter book was translated into English by Paul Vangelisti for the chapbook Cancellations (2023).
Mari has also published a collection of short stories, In ordine sparso (2023), and two book-length essays about Nuruddin Farah (2018) and John Berger (2020), and he co-edited an anthology of essays about Gramsci’s reception in contemporary literary criticism (2018). Out of passion, he translates from Spanish (Pablo López Carballo, César Vallejo, Leónidas Lamborghini, Ana Gorría) and from English (Afric McGlinchey, Billy Ramsell, Raphael d’Abdon, Joshua Clover, Fred Moten). He has collaborated with some Italian musicians – Marco Colonna, Modotti and molpho – and he is working on a forthcoming book collecting and reworking traditional/oral poetry from Northern Italy, Sardinia and Andalusia together with fellow poets Alberto Masala, David Eloy Rodríguez and José María Gómez Valero.
11.00am – 12.00pm
(A single screening of 16 films)
Selected from Ó Bhéal’s 12th International Poetry-Film Competition entries
Year upon year we are witnessing a sharp increase in the volume of poetry films being made in Ireland. We are delighted to present these 16 specially selected, Irish poetry-films chosen from entries to the 12th Ó Bhéal International Poetry Film Competition.
The screening will be viewed by a live audience at Nano Nagle Place in Cork and streamed via our website festival stage and Facebook & YouTube channels.
You can view details of the selection at this link. The films were chosen from 174 submissions received from 144 filmmakers in 29 countries. For the competition shortlist please follow this link.
12.30pm – 1.30pm
Ó Bhéal’s annual Closed Mic showcases ten poets who have contributed to Ó Bhéal’s open-mic sessions on Monday nights, over the past year. This year’s line-up includes May Jeanette Fast, Roger Gregg, Adrienne Brock, Fionn Rogan, Rosalin Blue, Imasha Costa, Antonio Di Mare, Patricia Walsh, Angelique Everitt and Holly Darragh-Hickey.
2pm – 4pm
Sébastien Revon | Jennifer Horgan | John Wedgewood Clarke
Sébastien Revon lives in Ireland. He is a pharmacist, lover of jazz, photography and short poetry. Haiku in particular is his preferred form of writing. He has been published in Seashores, Failed Haiku, Cold Moon, Wales Haiku Journal, Gong (the journal of the Association Francophone de Haiku), Fireflies Light, Poetry Pea and The Haibun Journal.
His first haiku chapbook, Plan d’évasion (éditions Via Domitia) and a book of photo-poems, Résonances (éditions l’Harmattan) with his father the photographer Jacques Revon, were both published in 2022. He published a bilingual collaborative collection of short poetry with Françoise Maurice and Keith Evetts entitled Year in , year out / D’une année à l’autre in 2024. He was included in the European Top 100 Haiku Authors in 2023.
Jennifer Horgan has creative work published in various journals including Crannóg, Southword and Howl. In 2023, she was awarded a mentorship with Thomas McCarthy through the Munster Literature Centre. Her poetry film JOY, a collaboration with composer Pierre O ‘Reilly, was screened for Ó Bhéal’s International Poetry Film competition and was also selected as part of Irish Film Festival London St. Patrick’s Day, 2022.
A secondary English teacher by profession, Jennifer wrote for some years as The Irish Examiner‘s Secret Teacher. In 2021, she released her non-fiction book O Captain My Captain: One Teacher’s Hope for Change in the Irish Education System, with Orpen Press. She has written on education for The Irish Times and The Guardian also. A regular contributor to local and national radio, she also writes local features for the Echo and a weekly column for The Irish Examiner. Her debut poetry collection Care will launch in April 2025 with Doire Press.
John Wedgwood Clarke is professor in poetry at the University of Exeter. He has published three collections of poems, Ghost Pot (Valley Press, 2013), Landfill (Valley Press, 2017) and Boy Thing (Arc Publications, 2023).
He regularly leads and collaborates on interdisciplinary projects funded by AHRC, NERC, ACE, Leverhulme, Natural England and others. You can find out more about a recently completed project exploring legacy toxicity at www.redriverpoerty.com. His latest work focuses on the cultural significance of bogs and their ecological complexity. His work has appeared in Poetry Review, New Statesman, Poetry Ireland, The Guardian, PN Review, Poetry London, and other places.
7.00pm – 9.00pm
Séamus Barra Ó Súilleabháin (2/2) | Maw Shein Win | Paula Meehan
(via zoom)
Séamus Barra Ó Súilleabháin is a poet from Listowel Co. Kerry. He won the All-Ireland poetry slam in 2011 with the poem entitled ‘Sin Cultúr’. His first book of poems Beatha Dhónaill Dhuibh was published in 2016 by Cló Iar-Chonnacht. He releases music under the name ‘Súil Amháin’ and his first album ‘athPhORT’ (2024) was produced by Cork based producer Bantum.
Is file as Lios Tuathail, Co. Chiarraí é Séamus Barra Ó Súilleabháin. Bhuaigh sé an slam filíochta Uile-Éireann in 2011 leis an dán ‘Sin Cultúr’. Foilsíodh a chéad leabhar dánta Beatha Dhónaill Dhuibh in 2016 ag Cló Iar-Chonnacht.
Maw Shein Win‘s third full-length collection Percussing the Thinking Jar (Omnidawn) is forthcoming in Fall 2024. Her most recent poetry collection is Storage Unit for the Spirit House (Omnidawn, 2020) which was nominated for the Northern California Book Award in Poetry, longlisted for the PEN America Open Book Award, and shortlisted for CALIBA’s Golden Poppy Award for Poetry.
She is the inaugural poet laureate of El Cerrito, CA. Win’s previous collections include Invisible Gifts and two chapbooks, Ruins of a glittering palace and Score and Bone. She teaches poetry in the MFA Program at the University of San Francisco. For more visit mawsheinwin.com
Photo by Paula T. Nolan
Paula Meehan was born and raised in Dublin’s north inner city. Her award-winning poetry has garnered widespread popular and critical acclaim. She has been translated into many languages; recently Japanese & Dutch with collections forthcoming in Spanish, Polish, Greek. Meehan’s poetry has been scored for choirs, for solo voice, has been made into songs by artists from divers traditions — the folk, including the legendary Christy Moore, and the avant garde; has been made into wee films; has been danced; has been inflicted on the youth of the country in school & university; has been 8/1 to come up on the Leaving Cert.
She was Ireland Professor of Poetry, 2013–2016 and Imaginary Bonnets with Real Bees in Them, her public lectures from the Chair, are published by UCD Press. Recent publications are As If By Magic: Selected Poems (Dedalus Press, 2020) and The Solace of Artemis (Dedalus, 2023) which received the Pigott Prize for Poetry, 2024.
9.30pm – 11.00pm
Louis de Paor | Pedro Serrano (with Anna Crowe)
(via zoom)
Photo by Amanda Gentile
Louis de Paor has been involved with the contemporary renaissance of poetry in Irish since 1980 when he first published in the poetry journal Innti – which he subsequently edited for a time.
His most recent works are Cé a Mharaigh Emma Mhic Mhathúna? (Éabhlóid, 2024), Obair Bhaile (LeabhairComhar, 2021) and Grá fiar/Crooked love (Bloodaxe, 2022) which includes a recording of his collaboration with Dana Lyn, One day/Lá dá raibh, a bilingual performance using poetry and music to present a day in the life of an imagined village in the West of Ireland. The recording was broadcast by Lyricfm and Raidió na Gaeltachta in 2021 and awarded a Gold Medal at the New York Festivals Radio Awards in 2022.
Tá naoi gcinn de chnuasaigh filíochta foilsithe as Gaeilge ag Louis de Paor. Ina meascsan, tá 30 Dán (1992), Seo. Siúd. Agus Uile (1996), Rogha Dánta (2012), Grá Fiar (2016) agus Cé a mharaigh Emma Mhic Mhathúna? (2024).
Foilsíodh Obair Bhaile (LeabhairComhar), sraith dánta ar chúrsaí teaghlaigh agus caidrimh, sa bhliain 2021 agus an cnuasach dhátheangach Grá fiar/Crooked love (Bloodaxe) sa bhliain 2022. Sa leabhar áirithe sin, tá teacht ar thaifeadadh raidió den dán fada One day/Lá dá raibh le ceol nua-chumtha ó Dana Lyn a ainmníodh ar an ngearrliosta dosna New York Festivals Radio Awards 2022.
Pedro Serrano was awarded a Guggenheim Poetry Fellowship in 2007. He teaches in the Faculty of Philosophy and Letters at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) in Mexico City and is the editor of UNAM’s highly regarded poetry website, Periódico de Poesía.
Serrano has published numerous collections of poems including El miedo (Fear, México El Tucán de Virginia, 1986); Ignorancia (Ignorance, México El Equilibrista, 1994); Tres poemas (Three Poems, Caracas Pequeña Venecia, 2000); Turba (Peat, Ediciones sin Nombre, Mexico, 2005); Desplazamientos (Displacements, Editorial Candaya – Candaya Poesia 5, 2007); and Nueces (2009).
The Conjurer (2024) is his second book from Arc Publications, and includes work drawn from three published collections in Mexico as well as unpublished work. These are powerful poems which explore the natural world in all its wonder with a close and meticulous attention that transforms the ordinary into the extraordinary. Serrano’s rich and complex lexicon and his mastery of poetic form, metaphor and diction are perfectly captured in Anna Crowe’s sensitive and compelling translation – for those who have not encountered Serrano’s poetry before, this is an unmissable introduction to the work of one of Mexico’s leading contemporary poets.
Many of his poems have been translated into English and have been published in Modern Poetry in Translation, Verse, Sirena, The Rialto, The Red Wheelbarrow and Nimrod Internacional Journal. He has been also included in the anthologies Reversible Monuments (Copper Canyon, 2002) and Connecting Lines (Sarabande Books, 2006).
Anna Crowe poet and translator, was born in Plymouth, England, in 1945, and moved to France when she was ten. She read French and Spanish at the University of St Andrews, and has lived in Fife with her partner, Dr Julian Crowe since 1986. She has run a poetry workshop, initially for the University, for over twenty years, and in 1998, with Brian Johnstone and Dr Gavin Bowd, she founded StAnza, Scotland’s International Poetry Festival.
For Arc she has translated an anthology of Catalan poetry, Six Catalan Poets, and collections by Josep Luís Aguiló and Manuel Forcano, whose Maps of Desire was a PBS Recommended Translation. The first collection of her translations of Pedro Serrano’s work, Peatlands, was published by Arc in 2014. She is presently working on translations of the work of Antonio Machado and of Luis García Montero.
Crowe is also the author of four full poetry collections and three chapbooks. Figure in a Landscape (Mariscat 2006), written in memory of her sister, and inspired by the fig trees of the Mallorcan artist, Andreu Maimó, received the Callum MacDonald Memorial Award, was a Poetry Book Society Choice, and brought her a residency at the Harvard Summer School in Greece in 2011.
11.00am – 1.30pm
(Two Screenings: 11.00am-12.00pm and 12.30pm-1.30pm)
This year’s shortlist of 30 films was chosen from 174 submissions received from 144 filmmakers in 29 countries. The shortlist represents 15 countries: Australia, Austria, Bulgaria, Canada, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Japan, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Spain, UK and the USA. Judges Colm Scully and Paul Casey, will select one winner to receive the Ó Bhéal award for best poetry-film, designed by glass artist Michael Ray.
The screenings will be viewed by a live audience at Nano Nagle Place, Cork & streamed via our website festival stage and Facebook & YouTube channels.
2.00pm – 3.00pm
David McLoghlin | Afric McGlinchey
David McLoghlin is the author of Crash Centre (May 2024), Waiting for Saint Brendan and Other Poems and Santiago Sketches, all with Salmon Poetry. His work has appeared widely in journals of note in Ireland and the USA and been broadcast on WNYC’s Radiolab. A Patrick and Katherine Kavanagh Fellowship Recipient in 2023, he was awarded second prize in the Patrick Kavanagh Awards (2008), won the Open category in the 2018 Voices of War International Poetry Competition and received a major Literature Bursary from The Arts Council for memoir.
He has read at West Cork Literature Festival, The Sunken Garden Poetry Festival, and Cork International Poetry Festival, and taught literature and creative writing at UCD, the American College, Dublin and NYU, where he was a Teaching Fellow, as well as via The Irish Writers Centre, The Heritage Council, Poetry Ireland’s Writers in Schools, and The Center for Fiction (New York).
Afric McGlinchey’s poetry collections, The lucky star of hidden things and Ghost of the Fisher Cat, were published by Salmon Press and in Italian translation by Casa Editrice L’Arcolaio. Her prose poetry memoir, Tied to the Wind, was published by Broken Sleep Books in 2021, and excerpts were broadcast over five nights on RTE’s The Book on One. A surrealist pamphlet, Invisible Insane (SurVision) appeared in 2019.
Afric has twice been awarded a Literature Bursary by The Arts Council of Ireland and she was a recipient of the Kavanagh Fellowship in 2023. The Throat-Bird (2024) is her second SurVision pamphlet. For more visit www.africmcglinchey.com
3.30pm – 4.30pm
GOLL
Experimental Theatre including Drama, Music, Poetry and Dance.
devised by: The Ensemble
written by: Brendan Duffin
music by: MacBóchra
Strive Theatre and new Cork band MacBóchra present a work in progress performance of their bilingual theatrical collaboration Goll. An experimental theatre work fusing music, poetry, film, dance and storytelling, Goll explores the stories and seanchas associated with the salmon of knowledge and Goll Essa Ruadh, the oldest seanchaí and shapeshifter known also as Fintan macBóchra.
Throughout medieval literature Fintan appears as Ireland’s oldest breitheamh and file … a repository of Ireland’s most ancient traditions and stories. Medieval literature depicts him as the sole survivor of the Biblical flood, living on in different forms as sole witness to the various migrations (Partholónian, Nemedian, Fir Bolg, Tuatha Dé Danann, Gael) to Ireland throughout the millennia. Join us as we explore 4 major narratives associated with Fintan using an experimental, contemporary discourse.
Is saothar turgnamhach drámaíochta é Goll, ag sní ceoil, filíochta, scannánaíochta, rince agus scéalaíochta le chéile chun scéalta agus seanchas faoin mBradán Feasa agus ‘Goll Essa Ruadh’ a léiriú. Is ionann Goll Essa Ruadh agus an seanchaí is sine, an t-ilchruthach, Fintan Mac Bóchra.
Lyrics, Vocals, Bodhrán
Brendan Duffin is a writer, photographer and musician. His poetry has been widely published and has placed in several international competitions. His photography book Cork Camera has been exhibited in the Glucksman Gallery, Cork City. As a musician he has performed in festivals throughout Ireland and in England over the past 15 years. His songs have appeared alongside Frances Black, Kila, Liam Ó Maonlaí, Jinx lennon and Rita Ann Higgins as part of the compilations ‘Glór na h-Aoise’ and ‘The Mighty Gather In’ (Changing Worlds records).
Creative Producer, Maker, LX Design
Ciarán MacArtain is a theatre artist, producer and poet from Glasheen in Cork City. He is Artistic Director of Strive Theatre, creator and manager of The Crossover, a member of The Choke Collective and a board member of Ó Bhéal. Strive Theatre has produced 9 original plays and embarked on 3 national and an international tour under his direction. He has been mentored by Judy Hegarty Lovett of Gare St. Lazare Ireland and Erma Duricko of Blue Roses Theatre Co. New York. His practice as a theatre artist encompasses directing, lighting design, acting, writing, producing and facilitation.
Performer, Choreography, Dancer
Caoimhe Feehily is an actor, theatre maker & drama facilitator from Sligo. Her recent credits as a performer include ‘Is Mise Fintan’, ‘Hear Me Speak’ and ‘Crow Coma’. Caoimhe studied Drama & Theatre Studies and spent a year in France where she trained in clowning with French Clown Philippe Rousseaux. She spent a year in New York as a company member of Theatre 68 and studied Meisner acting and movement with Terry Knicker Bocker. She studied film and screen acting at Bow Street Academy and recently completed training at The Lir Academy as part of the Actors’ Ensemble.
Performer, Musician, Dancer
Gormfhlaith Ní Shíocháin Ní Bheoláin is a poet, sean-nós singer, tin whistle player, set-dancer and pianist. She is the reigning senior champion at Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann Sean-nós singing Mná. She won the senior piano solo competition at Feis Maitiú, Cork, (Tilly Fleischmann Memorial Competition 2023). She regularly performs onstage, and gives workshops and classes. Her writing and poetry has won many awards, and her work is published in Taking Back the House (Poetry Ireland Introductions, 2023), Washing Windows Too (Arlen, 2022) and in the serials Feasta and Comhar.
Musician, Musical Arrangement
Brian Sheehan is a musician and music teacher based in Cork City. A guitarist, bodhrán player and singer, he has experience across the genres of pop, rock, folk, experimental music and Irish traditional music. Since 2020 he has written, recorded and performed with MacBóchra, creating songs based on Irish folklore. In 2022 Brian was awarded an MA in Irish Music Studies from the Irish World Academy of Music and Dance at the University of Limerick, where he performed an arts practice research project on the embodied creative processes of bodhrán playing.
Musician, Musical Arrangement
Brian Leach is a multi-instrumentalist and composer based in Cork. This year he appeared on the Tiny Desk Concerts series with Lisa O’Neill playing Hammered Dulcimer. In 2021/22 he composed music at The Guesthouse Project where (with Arts Council funding), he invented a new musical instrument: the Electro-mechanical Gong. He designs and builds unique experimental acoustic & electronic instruments, and works as a technician at Cork Guitars. He is inspired by ancient music and instruments, and is researching the work of Aloys Fleischman with the group Gleann a’ Phúca.
Sound, Audio Visual Design
Benjamin Burns is a sound designer, film-maker and poet from Sligo, based in Cork City. He has worked as a sound-designer and audio-visual artist on numerous theatre pieces, including: ‘Wishful Thinking’ (2019), ‘The Crossover’ (2019), ‘Gull’ (2022) and ‘Tempestries’ (2023). Benjamin’s short films include: ‘Poppy Star’ (2020), ‘Pied Wagtail’ (2021), ‘The Black Umbrella’ (2023) and ‘The Portal’ (2023). He works as a technician at the Granary Theatre, UCC and is co-founder with Maximilian Le Cain of CineSalon, a quarterly experimental film evening at The Guesthouse Project, Cork City.
Scenic Design, Programme Artwork
Joanne Hackett has almost 10 years experience of making artwork, including a BA in Fine Art from Crawford College of Art and Design, Cork City in 2023. Her paintings are in the collections of Cork County Council, Munster Technological University, as well as Eli Lilly medical company. She has collaborated with many different organisations, and worked with a broad variety of mediums including paint, book-making, costume and set design, photography, poetry, illustration and performance and frame-making.
Performer, Dancer
Angelique Everitt was born in Drogheda co.Louth and has been based in Cork since 2007. She has a strong background in the arts, languages, heritage and tourism. Previous career roles include tour guide, archaeologist and interpreter. Since 2020, Angelique has been an active participant of the Cork Academy of Music. She participates in multiple ensemble projects and has studied Vocals for Musical Theatre and has also gained a working knowledge of stage craft. She has a background in traditional music and dance composition. She has undertaken various roles, actor, musician, character development and stage management.Costume & Mask Designer
Debbie Reilly is an artist living in Galway working in Greenwood sculpture, plaster casting, video, photography, drawing, mask/costume making and community theatre. She is a founding member of the Merlin Woods Art Collective and member of Earth Spirit Crew. Inspired by the history and natural beauty of her native Co. Meath, she has an interest archeology, ecology and traditional crafts. Debbie’s work has featured on RTE’s Nationwide and she keeps an Artists’ Diary under the Facebook profile Hazel Forest.
Performer, Dancer
Aisling McDonough is a Dancer and Circus performer from Kilkenny. She has recently performed at Electric Picnic as part of Jerry Fish’s circus troupe, in Coldplay’s ‘Music of the Spheres’ tour and as part of the entertainment team in Peaky Blinders bar, Manchester. Aisling studied Dance and Musical Theatre in the Northern Ballet School in Manchester. Upon graduating she continued to live in Manchester and furthered her skills as a dancer through performances and teaching others but also learned the art of stilt walking, fire dancing, body burning and fire breathing. She has recently moved back to Ireland.
Strive Theatre was founded in 2012 by Andy Weston and Ciarán MacArtain due to a mutual understanding that new scripts are not written for them to remain on the page. Strive’s mission statement is to “develop plays from the seeds of ideas to full works of value for the stage, offering an artistic outlet to theatre artists in the community to produce theatre in keeping with the ideals upon which the art was founded”. Since their own founding they have produced eight original plays and have embarked on one international & three national tours.
DeBarra’s | Underground Loft | Ubuntu | Litreacha | Sling Slang
5.00pm – 7.45pm
Cork Open-Mic Showcase 1: DeBarra’s Spoken Word
DeBarra’s Spoken Word, now in its 11th year, first saw the light of day during the Organic Festival in Clonakilty. It grew out of the Clonakilty Writers’ Group (which still meets every fortnight in the library and seems to be thriving) but was taken in many different directions over the years. Ó Bhéal was its role model and continues to be a source of inspiration. DeBarra’s Spoken Word meets monthly at the back of the iconic DeBarra’s Folk Club and has received modest support by the Cork County Arts Office from the start. Mostly, the session culminates in an Open Mic. For any questions email debarrasspokenword@gmail.com or visit www.facebook.com/psoken.wrod
Kemi George Simpson’s work can be found in The Four Faced Liar, Swerve (2 and 3), Good Day Cork and in Cork City Libraries’ Poetry in the Park Collection. She was a runner-up for the 2023 Munster Poetry Slam and was the 2024 winner. She has performed poetry for Cork Africa Day, Africans Connect, Swerve Lit Lounge and Ireland Reads. Kemi organised and curated the Black History Works literary event at University College Cork. Her work explores urban nature, race and family. The intertwining of mundane activities, trauma, creativity and neurodiversity are obsessions, producing moving humorous and hopeful writing.
Eimear Tierney grew up in West Cork, performing in her mother’s pub from a very young age – sometimes with well-known visiting artists from the Irish singer/songwriter scene. Eimear has a keen interest in song-writing and poetry, and since returning to West Cork, Eimear and her husband Sean have regularly contributed to music events, including arts festivals, scoraíochts, songwriting circles and the West Cork Feel Good Festival. Eimear has often trod the boards at the All Ireland Drama Festival Circuit and is currently rehearsing for Spongebob the Musical with Baltimore Musical Society. She has written comedy scripts for a number of North Cork Festivals.
Hugh Bradley thinks a lot and sometimes writes stuff down, including poetry. He has performed comedy improvisations at De Barra’s Spoken Word in Clonakilty and at The Comedy Club at the Roundy in Cork. His forthcoming book, containing two Novellas – Glasgow Celtic Twitcher’s Society and Love Street Division (set in 2140) – is to be published by Menma Publishing. It will be presented on the 4th of December 2024 at DeBarra’s Spoken Word. He is originally from the town of Paisley in Scotland but somehow now finds himself living in a very tidy village in West Cork.
The Underground Loft is a poetry and storytelling open mic event that takes place on Tuesday (every 2 weeks) in The Liberty Bar on South Main Street. The Loft has created a vibrant welcoming atmosphere thanks to its diverse and ever growing community, the ever-evolving nature of the Loft, especially with its incorporation of participatory activities, while maintaining its original loved format. Follow the Loft on instagram @the.undergroundloft.
Cian Walsh (he/him), is an original and gifted poet/playwright from the Rebel County. Cian’s words transform pain and laughter into a sensation of awe. Currently studying history and politics in UCC, he involves himself deeply in various creative pursuits such as the ‘No Source Needed’ podcast and is currently the features and opinions editor for Motley magazine. Cian is a regular performer and is a strong foundation and staple of the Loft. Cian explores themes of existentialism and love inspired by elements of daily life.
Rebecca Jane Parke is an evocative and inspiring poet from Dublin via Wicklow. Rebecca shares deeply personal poems that instil deep reflection in the audience. Currently in UCC studying an MA in film, Rebecca also writes regular film reviews as co-editor of UCC film writing blog. This contemplative aspect can be seen throughout Rebecca’s poetry as it explores the past in a sometimes confessional mode, while occasionally seeking broader social critique. Rebecca has flourished as a performer since joining the Underground Loft.
Ciaran Shanahan is a multidisciplinary artist from Tipperary. Everything that Ciaran creates contains a strong element of poetry. He examines mental health and relationships with use of vivid imagery, especially with reference to nature and religion. Ciaran has been running the Underground Loft since he established it March 2023. He has evolved from starting to write during the pandemic, to taking on personas to perform poetry in a confrontational expression of pain and frustration.
Ubuntu Sessions is run by Sauti Studio crew, a group of musicians and creatives from a wide range of backgrounds, ages, and nationalities. They run a weekly open mic session at The Haven Cafe in Cork City Centre, every Friday from 6-8pm. The sessions offer a friendly and encouraging space for artists and creatives at all levels to express themselves. They do not limit the session to music and poetry, allowing acting, dancing, storytelling and any form of expression, within reason. Anyone can sign up upon arrival and they often offer free snacks and refreshers, courtesy of Cork Migrant Centre (CMC) and The Haven Cafe.
Raphael Olympio, known professionally as Olympio, is an Irish rapper, spoken word artist, singer and songwriter. Olympio is a proud Cork native with Togolese heritage. He first encountered music in church, where he developed a taste for live gospel music and also began writing poetry and fictional stories whilst in direct provision.
In his early teenage years, he started composing songs, poems, and spoken word as he found it easier to speak up about the struggles of his life through music.
Outsider Yp is a musician, photographer, and poet whose work is primarily inspired by manga, comics, literature, and a tumultuous life.
Born in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Outsider Yp had to escape the 1990’s civil war to Angola as a refugee, which eventually led to his arrival in Ireland in 2003. Ireland is where he discovered his love for music and all things art.
Cliff Masheti began his journey when he became part of The Impressionists at the age of 16 with a group of friends who focused on creating a blend of fresh funk, rock and jazz mixed with true hip-hop using live instruments – guitar, drums, bass, trumpet, turntables and a live MC. He has gone on to become a solo artist, making HipHop, writing poetry and DJing throughout Ireland. He’s part of the Sauti Studio group, involved in running open mic sessions every Friday in the Haven cafe and giving workshops. As a result of this work, they were invited to perform at the Electric Picnic festival which was “an amazing experience”.
Litreacha is a new monthly open mic for Queer writers and musicians to share their work and socialise. It is run by two queer writers, Em Egan Reeve and Louis Egan McCutcheon (no relation), who are passionate about encouraging creativity and connecting the Queer community. Hosted monthly at Nudes, Lavitt’s Quay – we welcome all kinds of work. Queerness is creative, creativity is queer. Keep updated through instagram @_litreacha
Otto Goodwin is a Cork-based poet. Their writing is their attempt to translate the living world around them into language. Their work has been published in Cyphers magazine, the Irish Independent, Motley magazine, and the UCC Express. They were the recipient of the 2023 Eavan Boland Emerging Poet Award, and have performed at the Cúirt new writers showcase and at the Small Trans Library writers showcase at Dublin Pride. They also perform frequently at the Litreacha open mic event.
Em Egan Reeve is a poet and writer originally from West Cork, now living in the city. They have been published in SWERVE, Smashing Times Newsletter, Good Day Cork, among others. A frequent performer at local open mic nights, for the past five months they have been the co-host/creator/parent/ringmaster of @_litreacha.
Louis Egan McCutcheon is a young queer poet and writer from Bandon living in Cork City. He is the co-host of Cork’s newest queer open mic LITREACHA since June 2024. He also regularly reads at other open mics like The Underground Loft and Ó Bhéal. Louis’ work explores the boundaries of language, youth and the inner child, and his identity as a queer man. He has been published in UCC Quarryman and Chaos and Flowers and is working on his debut full length poetry collection. Find Louis on instagram at @louisilly3 and poetry account @blue_hme.
Founded in 2017 at The Friary, Sling Slang made its return two years ago after a hiatus during covid, now happening every third Wednesday of the month in the cosy setting of Maureen’s bar. Hosted by the lovely resident MC Shaunna Lee Lynch—taking up from the brilliant Risteard Ní Piaras—the evening brings together an eclectic mix of voices, featuring two guest poets, an open mic for poetry, storytelling, and song, plus a collaborative poem created line-by-line by attendees. It’s a warm, inviting space for creativity & connection. Arrive by 7:30 to secure a spot; the night starts at 8pm.
Local artist & songwriter Leah Sohotra is completing her MA in Creative Writing at UCC. She is excited to share pieces from her recent portfolios, X, Knots, and Rose, which explore the themes of decolonization, personal growth, trauma, and grief through a deep connection to nature. Her work examines the power of mythologizing from a distinctly female perspective, weaving a narrative of resilience and agency. Through poetic reflections, Leah captures both the pain and beauty of transformation, inviting audiences to journey through landscapes of personal and collective memory intertwined with the natural world.
Elisa Sabbadin has published her poems in the anthologies Quarryman, A Journey Called Home and Chaos and Flowers, as well as in various magazines. Recently completing her PhD in English, she is now expanding her creative work to include a children’s book and a collection of short stories. Her poetry is known for its emotional depth and heartfelt resonance, often delving into themes of memory, identity, and transformation. Elisa’s writing invites readers into a reflective, layered experience, balancing complexity with accessible warmth, making her work meaningful to a wide audience.
Shaunna Lee Lynch is a writer and performer from Cork, Ireland. From Electric Picnic, to an EU Commission event in Brussels, to the World Poetry Slam Championship in Rio De Janeiro, Shaunna has performed her poetry at many events around Ireland and abroad. A past All-Ireland Poetry Slam Champion, she also writes for theatre and film and is currently working on her first novel. Her play ‘Wishful Thinking’ ran as part of the Dublin Fringe Festival, 2019. Her work explores eco-anxiety, gender, mental health, consumerism, and mysticism, through the lens of her own lived experience.Arts Council of Ireland, Cork City Council, Foras na Gaeilge, Dunnes Stores,
Forum Publications, Colmcille, Arc Publications, Cork City Libraries, Poetry Ireland, MLC
Paradiso, The Long Valley and the UCC School of English and Digital Humanities.
