Poetry Ireland ( ga, Éigse Éireann) is an organisation for poets and poetry, in both Irish and English, in the island of

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

. It is a private nonprofit organisation that receives support from The

Arts Council of Ireland The Arts Council (sometimes called the Arts Council of Ireland; legally ga, An Chomhairle Ealaíon) is the independent "Irish government agency for developing the arts." About It was established in 1951 by the Government of Ireland, to encour ...

and The

Arts Council of Northern Ireland The Arts Council of Northern Ireland (Irish: ''Comhairle Ealaíon Thuaisceart Éireann'', Ulster-Scots: ''Airts Cooncil o Norlin Airlan'') is the lead development agency for the arts in Northern Ireland. It was founded in 1964, as a successor to ...

. It was founded in 1978 by John F. Deane and is based in Parnell Square, Dublin. Its thirtieth anniversary in 2008 was celebrated by events all over Ireland culminating in an event at the Irish College in Paris.

Director

The current director is Niamh O'Donnell. Before her, the Director was Maureen Kennelly, who has since been appointed as Director of the

. Their predecessors have included Joe Woods,

Theo Dorgan Theo Dorgan (born 1953) is an Irish poet, writer and lecturer, translator, librettist and documentary screenwriter. He lives in Dublin. Life Dorgan was born in Cork in 1953 being second child born into a family of 8 boys and 8 girls to pare ...

and

Rory Brennan Rory Brennan (born 1945) is an Irish poet, born in Westport, County Mayo County Mayo (; ga, Contae Mhaigh Eo, meaning "Plain of the yew trees") is a county in Ireland. In the West of Ireland, in the province of Connacht, it is named a ...

Board

* Ciarán Benson (

Chairperson The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...

) Professor Emeritus of Psychology

University College Dublin University College Dublin (commonly referred to as UCD) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile, Baile Átha Cliath) is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a member institution of the National University of Ireland. With 33,284 student ...

* Olwen Dawe, policy analyst and consultant * Peter Fallon, poet, editor and publisher *

Joan McBreen Joan McBreen (born 1944), is an Irish poet. Her work has been translated into many languages and appears in a number of anthologies. Biography Joan McBreen was born in 1944. She qualified as a primary school teacher, and in 1997 was awarded a ...

, poet * Christine Monk, cultural publicist * Joe Moreau, Managing Partner of Byrne Moreau Connell, Chartered Accountants and Registered Auditors *

Alan Moore Alan Moore (born 18 November 1953) is an English author known primarily for his work in comic books including '' Watchmen'', ''V for Vendetta'', '' The Ballad of Halo Jones'', ''Swamp Thing'', ''Batman:'' ''The Killing Joke'', and '' From He ...

, writer and poet *

Paul Muldoon Paul Muldoon (born 20 June 1951) is an Irish poet. He has published more than thirty collections and won a Pulitzer Prize for Poetry and the T. S. Eliot Prize. At Princeton University he is currently both the Howard G. B. Clark '21 University P ...

, poet and winner of the

Pulitzer Prize for Poetry The Pulitzer Prize for Poetry is one of the seven American Pulitzer Prizes awarded annually for Letters, Drama, and Music. It was first presented in 1922, and is given for a distinguished volume of original verse by an American author, published ...

and the

T.S. Eliot Prize The T. S. Eliot Prize for Poetry is a prize that was, for many years, awarded by the Poetry Book Society (UK) to "the best collection of new verse in English first published in the UK or the Republic of Ireland" in any particular year. The Priz ...

* Jean O'Mahony, Head of Policy and Research in AIB's Corporate Affairs and Strategy Division * Tristan Rosenstock, TV and radio presenter and musician *

Bill Shipsey Bill Shipsey (born 22 June 1958) is a human rights activist, barrister (retired), artist event promoter, producer and consultant. He is the founder of Art for Amnesty, Amnesty International's global artist engagement programme, and the co-founder ...

, Barrister and the founder of Art for Amnesty

Publications

Poetry Ireland publishes ''

Poetry Ireland Review ''Poetry Ireland Review'' is a journal of Irish poetry published three times a year by Poetry Ireland, the national Irish poetry organisation. ''Poetry Ireland Review'' publishes the work of both emerging and established Irish and internationa ...

'', a journal of Irish poetry, which is published quarterly and includes the work of both emerging and established Irish and international poets. It appoints a new editor every four issues. Poetry Ireland's bimonthly newsletter ''Poetry Ireland News'' includes information on readings, competitions, festivals, opportunities, articles and essays. Poetry Ireland has recently launched ''Trumpet'', a literary pamphlet intended to be more accessible than the ''Review'' to the casual reader.

Education

Poetry Ireland's Writers in Schools Scheme supports visits by writers to primary and post-primary schools throughout the Republic of Ireland. The program has been running for over thirty years. It has proved to be an enriching and informative scheme for both students and writers. In addition it organises a Poetry Aloud competition for school students speaking (reciting) poetry. Poetry Ireland has cooperated with Schools Across Borders in a creative writing project. Poetry Ireland is also involved in the Poets' Chair, a film archive of contemporary Irish poets who write in both English and Irish. The archive is a record of living Irish poets for future generations as well as an invaluable educational resource bringing poets and their work to life through film. It includes recordings of

Seamus Heaney Seamus Justin Heaney (; 13 April 1939 – 30 August 2013) was an Irish poet, playwright and translator. He received the 1995 Nobel Prize in Literature.

Eavan Boland Eavan Aisling Boland (24 September 1944 – 27 April 2020) was an Irish poet, author, and professor. She was a professor at Stanford University, where she had taught from 1996. Her work deals with the Irish national identity, and the role of w ...

, Moya Cannon, Louis de Paor,

Brendan Kennelly Timothy Brendan Kennelly (17 April 1936 – 17 October 2021), usually known as Brendan Kennelly, was an Irish poet and novelist. He was Professor of Modern Literature at Trinity College Dublin until 2005. Following his retirement he was a P ...

, John Montague,

Eiléan Ní Chuilleanáin Eiléan Ní Chuilleanáin (; born 1942) is an Irish poet and academic. She was the Ireland Professor of Poetry (2016–19). Biography Ní Chuilleanáin was born in Cork in 1942. She is the daughter of Eilís Dillon and Professor Cormac Ó Cuille ...

Ciarán Carson Ciaran Gerard Carson (9 October 1948 – 6 October 2019) was a Northern Ireland-born poet and novelist. Biography Ciaran Carson was born in Belfast into an Irish-speaking family. His father, William, was a postman and his mother, Mary, wo ...

Michael Longley Michael Longley, (born 27 July 1939, Belfast, Northern Ireland), is an Anglo-Irish poet. Life and career One of twin boys, Michael Longley was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, to English parents, Longley was educated at the Royal Belfast A ...

Sinéad Morrissey Sinéad Morrissey (born 24 April 1972 in Portadown, County Armagh) is a Northern Irish poet. In January 2014 she won the T. S. Eliot Prize for her fifth collection ''Parallax'' and in 2017 she won the Forward Prize for Poetry for her sixth coll ...

Cathal Ó Searcaigh Cathal Ó Searcaigh (born 12 July 1956), is a modern Irish language poet. His work has been widely translated, anthologised and studied. "His confident internationalism", according to Theo Dorgan, has channeled "new modes, new possibilities, i ...

Gerald Dawe Gerald Dawe (born 1952) is an Irish poet. Early life Gerald Dawe was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland and grew up with his mother, sister and grandmother. He attended Orangefield High School across the city in East Belfast, a leading progres ...

Máire Mhac an tSaoi Máire Mhac an tSaoi (4 April 1922 – 16 October 2021) was an Irish civil service official, writer of Modernist poetry in the Corca Dhuibhne dialect of Munster Irish, a writer, and highly important figure within Modern literature in Irish. Al ...

and

Dennis O'Driscoll Dennis O'Driscoll (1 January 1954 – 24 December 2012) was an Irish poet, essayist, critic and editor. Regarded as one of the best European poets of his time, Eileen Battersby considered him "the lyric equivalent of William Trevor" and ...

Readings

Poetry Ireland financially supports more than 120 poetry readings annually.

Austin Clarke collection

Poetry Ireland has transferred a collection of books consisting of the library of Austin Clarke and books formerly owned by the poets John Jordan and Tanya Touwen to the Special Collections at the University College Dublin Library . The collection of 5,000 books were once mainly the property of Austin Clarke. Poetry Ireland also transferred a collection of its papers there.

Information and resource service

Poetry Ireland provides information and resources for both new and established poets, as possible. This includes everything from assessments and writers workshops to readings, copyright and general literary advice.

Readings

Poetry Ireland provides support for readings by poets. Its website provides details on readings and events in Ireland.

References

External links

*http://www.poetryireland.ie/index.php {{Irish poetry Irish poetry Poetry organizations All-Ireland organisations 1978 establishments in Ireland Arts organizations established in 1978 Irish writers' organisations