Devised and developed by the acclaimed Irish poet Paul Muldoon, the show is hosted by Muldoon and house band Rogue Oliphant – a collective of musicians and composers including Chris Harford (Three Colors, Band of Changes), Cáit O’Riordan (The Pogues), David Mansfield (Bob Dylan, The Alpha Band), Ray Kubian (Electric Six, Chris Forsyth) and Warren Zanes (Del Fuegos).
The title Muldoon’s Picnic refers to a popular 19th-century New York vaudeville act, which inspired the New York based Paul Muldoon to begin hosting these carefully blended evenings of literature and music back in 2014. Paul Muldoon describes Muldoon’s Picnic as a direct response to that ancient impulse to perform, to share, to make one’s own amusement:
“It’s one of our most basic instincts; to listen to a song, listen to a poem. Even in this era when people have their noses stuck in their tablets, it still works.”
Produced by Poetry Ireland and supported by an Arts Council / An Chomhairle Ealaíon and Arts Council of Northern Ireland Touring Grant.
This summer, Olivia O’Leary, acclaimed journalist and presenter of RTÉ Radio 1’s Poetry Programme, will host The Heart of Summer, a feast of poetry and music in some of Ireland’s great historic houses.
Produced by Poetry Ireland in partnership with the OPW, guests joining Olivia will include some of Ireland’s finest poets and musicians, including Paula Meehan, Tom French, Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh and Bernard O’Donoghue.
Performances will take place in four of the OPW’s iconic historic properties: Doneraile Court in Co. Cork, Derrynane House in Co. Kerry, Glebe House and Gallery in Co. Donegal, and Emo Court in Co. Laois. Several of the concerts will be recorded for later broadcast on RTÉ Radio 1’s The Poetry Programme.
Ailbhe Ní Ghearbhuigh
On Saturday 6th July at 8pm, Olivia will be joined by celebrated Irish poets Ailbhe Ní Ghearbhuigh and Bernard O’Donoghue, as well as visual artist and singer Ceara Conway, at Doneraile Court in Co. Cork. Originally built in the 1700s, Doneraile Court is the centrepiece of a four hundred acre estate in North Cork. This great Irish house is opening to visitors for the first time in summer 2019 following an extensive restoration programme.
Irish Times Poetry Now Award winner Paddy Bushe, poet and children’s author Enda Wyley, and acclaimed traditional singer and musician Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh will be Olivia’s guests in Derrynane House in Caherdaniel, Co. Kerry on Saturday 13th July at 8pm. Standing at the very tip of the stunning Iveragh Peninsula, Derrynane House is the ancestral home of Daniel O’Connell, one of the great figures in modern Irish history. Derrynane was one of the great influences on O’Connell’s life, and now displays many relics of his life and career.
Paula Meehan
Olivia is joined by poets Paula Meehan and Martin Dyar, as well as singer-songwriter Farah Elle in Glebe House and Gallery in Letterkenny, Co. Donegal on Saturday 20th July at 8pm. Set alongside gorgeous Glenveagh National Park, Glebe was once the home of the renowned artist Derek Hill, and now displays collections of Islamic and Japanese art, as well as 300 works by leading twentieth-century artists including Picasso.
On Saturday 27th July at 8pm, Kilkenny-born poet Tom French, bilingual writer Deirdre Brennan and Dublin-based woodwind instrumentalist, composer and music producer Seán Mac Erlaine will join Olivia at Emo Court in Portarlington, Co. Laois. Emo Court House is one of architect James Gandon’s neo-classical masterpieces. Set in lush parklands, the house is surrounded by beautiful gardens, a lake, woodland walks and many fine trees and shrubs.
Tickets to each event cost €10 (€8 concessions), and can be booked online here.
Here is a link to the podcast Words Lightly Spoken which was posted on the RTÉ website yesterday. With thanks to the producer, Claire Cunningham.
In this episode of the new Arts Council-funded podcast Words Lightly Spoken, Ailbhe Ní Ghearbhuigh reads her poem Filleadh ón Antartach, and the English translation, Return from Antarctica, by Billy Ramsell, from her collection The Coast Road, published by The Gallery Press.
Wednesday 21st November at 7pm in Poetry Ireland, 11 Parnell Square East, Dublin 1.
The Gallery Press and Poetry Ireland present the lauch of Calling Cards, an anthology of ten younger Irish poets with translations into English.
In a novel partnership between Poetry Ireland and The Gallery Press Calling Cards introduces a new generation of Irish-language poets to a wider audience. This vibrant anthology includes prize-winning authors of several collections as well as three who have yet to publish a book. The translators include some of Ireland’s finest poets. Edited by Peter Fallon and Aifric Mac Aodha.
Poems in Irish
Máirtín Coilféir • Proinsias Mac a’ Bhaird • Aifric Mac Aodha • Marcus Mac Conghail • Caitríona Ní Chléirchín • Ailbhe Ní Ghearbhuigh • Doireann Ní Ghríofa • Caitlín Nic Íomhair • Simon Ó Faoláin • Stiofán Ó hIfearnáin
Translations
Colette Bryce • Ciaran Carson • Peter Fallon • Alan Gillis • Medbh McGuckian • Paul Muldoon • Eiléan Ní Chuilleanáin • Peter Sirr • David Wheatley
Looking forward to reading with the legendary Rita Ann Higgins at the Irish World Heritage Centre in Manchester on Monday, 19th November at 7pm. Tickets are free and you can reserve your place here. This event is organised by the Centre for New Writing, University of Manchester and is supported by Poetry Ireland, and Culture Ireland’s GB18 programme.
Ailbhe Ní Ghearbhuigh was recently presented with Parnell’s Walking Stick. Cut by Charles Stewart Parnell himself in Avondale Wood in 1889 or 1890, this stick has a rich literary history. It came into the possession of Brinsley MacNamara, who, in turn, gave it to the poet W.R. Rodgers. It was later passed on to Conor Cruise O’Brien, who conferred it on Séamus Heaney. In 1998 Heaney entrusted it to Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill, and it was she who decided to bestow it on Ailbhe Ní Ghearbhuigh. The presentation occurred in Poetry Ireland on Parnell Square at a reading of Ní Ghearbhuigh’s new collection, The Coast Road (The Gallery Press, 2016).
The Dublin International Literature Festival kicks off on Saturday – lots of great events in the programme. Delighted to be reading in Poetry Ireland HQ in Parnell Square with Peter Fallon, Tom French and Michelle O’Sullivan on Saturday at 4pm. More about the event here
Ailbhe Ní Ghearbhuigh 
You must be logged in to post a comment.