Photo: Patrick Redmond of Fishamble’s Underneath
(2014 City of Culture)
AUTHOR and broadcaster Joseph O’Connor launched Éigse Michael Hartnett on Thursday 16, the festival celebrating the life and work of County Limerick poet Michael Hartnett (1940-1999).
Hundreds of literary enthusiasts from all over Ireland are in Newcastle West to attend the weekend event, “in the very streets which shaped Hartnett’s poetry,” reports PRO Mark Dunphy. “This year’s festival, which is an initiative of Limerick Arts Office and supported by The Arts Council, runs until Saturday 18 night, a mix of poetry and music, literature and drama, visual arts and dance”.
Participants include writer Kevin Barry, poets Peter Fallon, Doireann Ní Ghríofa, John W Sexton, Mike MacDomhnaill, and Micheal Rowsome, musicians Martin Hayes and David Power, as well as Paul Dunworth and the Brad Pitt Light Orchestra, actor Pat Kinevane, and visual artists Niall Hartnett and Eric Tobin.
The programme also includes a schools programme, a walking tour of the town, an Open Mic competition and the Michael Hartnett Poetry Award, which was this year won by Marcus Mac Conghail for his first collection Ceol Baile and Caitríona ní Chléirchín for her second collection An Bhrídeach Sí.
“In Michael’s work you can see a pride and passion for place. Hartnett without Limerick is impossible to envisage,” said Prof O’Connor (UL) in his address. “It’s Joyce without Dublin, Van Morrison without Belfast, Bob Marley without Jamaica. How he was able to mix the strict formal elegance he loved in poetry to the zest and power of everyday speech is truly an amazing thing. He was a remarkable poet of this remarkable part of our country, and I am honoured and privileged to launch this year’s festival”.
Speaking at last night’s opening of Éigse, Mayor of Limerick City and County Kevin Sheahan said: “Michael Hartnett’s name is etched in Irish literary history and in the story of Newcastle West and all of County Limerick. Éigse allows us to honour his memory and in doing so, provide a platform for others to showcase their literary works and talents.”
The festival draws to a close on a high note, with award-winning Kevin Barry (former Limerick Post), who will be joined on stage by the Brad Pitt Light Orchestra.
Many of the Éigse Michael Hartnett events are free and the festival is part of the Council’s Arts Office arts programme. More from www.eigsemichaelhartnett.ie
