Poetry

Traditions, folklore, history and more. If it's Irish, it's here. Or will be!

Poetry Ireland/Éigse Éireann is the national organisation for poetry in Ireland. We serve all 32 counties and receive support from The Arts Council of Ireland/An Chomhairle Ealaíon and The Arts Council of Northern Ireland.

Free resource for Irish ancestry, genealogy and family history information. Tens of thousands of free available records online.

Stories and articles about Irish history, genealogy, literature, mythology, folklore and poetry.

Francis MacNamara was born in 1811 in Cashel, Ireland. He was transported to Botany Bay in 1832, then to Van Diemen's Land arriving 29 October 1842, by which time he was widely known as Frank the Poet. He left Launceston 23 August 1850 "Free by servitude".

A website dedicated to one of the most successful playwrights of the late Victorian era - Oscar Wilde. Offers easy access to the extensive collection of his works, biography, and more.

The Study Ireland poetry TV series is presented by Belfast novelist, Glenn Patterson. It features a wide range of contemporary poetic voices that explore five themes to give students a clear idea of how and why poems are written. This website contains audio and video clips from the programmes and teacher's notes. You can learn about the authors and read their poems online. So discover more about some of the world-famous poets from Northern Ireland.

"The Medieval Irish Poetry website belongs to Maureen S. O'Brien. My translations are copy-permitted for educational purposes, if I am given credit. Let me know about it, though; it's good for my ego!"

Lyra Celtica is an extensive anthology of Celtic poetry originally published in 1896, and updated in 1932. Mary Ann Dobratz has made it available online works range from Saint Columba through Douglas Hyde and Padraic Colum.

"Most of the sonnets here are from little known 19th century poets, and while some show the influence of Wordsworth or Tennyson, most have a distinctively Irish diction and engagement with nature. I've had difficulties locating the birth/death dates for some of these authors, so the order here is alphabetical for now. Readers may be interested in an essay about William Butler Yeats and the sonnet."

"The farther he goes the more good it does me. I don’t want philosophies, tracts, dogmas, creeds, ways out, truths, answers, nothing from the bargain basement. He is the most courageous, remorseless writer going and the more he grinds my nose in the shit the more I am grateful to him. He’s not f---ing me about, he’s not leading me up any garden path, he’s not slipping me a wink, he’s not flogging me a remedy or a path or a revelation or a basinful of breadcrumbs, he’s not selling me anything I don’t want to buy — he doesn’t give a bollock whether I buy or not — he hasn’t got his hand over his heart. Well, I’ll buy his goods, hook, line and sinker, because he leaves no stone unturned and no maggot lonely. He brings forth a body of beauty."

"Eavan Boland was born in Dublin, Ireland, in 1944. Her father was a diplomat and her mother was an expressionist painter. At the age of six, Boland and her family relocated to London, where she first encountered anti-Irish sentiment. She later returned to Dublin for school, and she received her B.A. from Trinity College in 1966. She was also educated in London and New York."

Seanus Heaney Centre For Poetry at Queen's University, Belfast.

Irish poet Dennis O'Driscoll talks with Seamus Heaney to the Guardian.

"Heaney was born in County Derry, Northern Ireland, the eldest of 9 children and son of a Catholic farmer. Educated at Queen's College, Belfast, he became a lecturer in English literature at the university in 1966, when he also published his first collection of poems, Death of a Naturalist. The opening lines of the first poem of this acclaimed collection, Digging, prefigure the tension that energises so much of Heaney's work: a tension between art and life, past and present, violent action and peaceful contemplation."

Senior correspondent Elizabeth Farnsworth interviews author Seamus Heaney about his new translation of the epic poem, Beowulf.

The Patrick Kavanagh Web site is dedicated to the Irish poet Patrick Kavanagh. This site provides information on the poet, his birth place of Inniskeen Co. Monaghan, the area today, the Patrick Kavanagh Centre, and there is an online book shop where you can buy Patrick Kavanagh's poetry and prose.

Oscar Wilde's rich and dramatic portrayals of the human condition came during the height of the Victorian Era that swept through London in the late 19th century. At a time when all citizens of Britain were finally able to embrace literature the wealthy and educated could only once afford, Wilde wrote many short stories, plays and poems that continue to inspire millions around the world.

The government agency for funding and developing the arts in Ireland.

RTÉ Libraries and Archives look back at the life of one of Ireland's best-loved poets, as told by the poet himself and those who knew him. Patrick Kavanagh was born in Mucker, Inniskeen, County Monaghan, 21 October 1904. Having attended the local national school, Kavanagh worked as an apprentice shoemaker to his father and then on the small family farm. His first collection of poetry was published while he was still working on the farm. In 1939, Kavanagh moved to Dublin, where he became a full-time writer, contributing articles and poems to a number of publications and writing as a film critic for the Catholic journal 'The Standard'.

Old Bailey, the main courthouse in London, had never presented a show quite like the three trials that captivated England and much of the literary world in the spring of 1895. Celebrity, sex, witty dialogue, political intrique, surprising twists, and important issues of art and morality--is it any surprise that the trials of Oscar Wilde continue to fascinate one hundred years after the death of one of Ireland's greatest authors and playrights?

This is a growing collection of Irish poets. It includes the most famous Irish poets, James Joyce, Seamus Heaney and W. B. Yeats. We hope to add less well known Irish poets soon.

The James Joyce Centre, Dublin is dedicated to promoting an understanding of the life and works of James Joyce. We are also the home of Bloomsday in Dublin, and organise events throughout the year to celebrate, discuss and promote the works of Ireland's greatest Modern writer.

The Yeats Society was founded in Sligo in 1958 in order to commemorate and honour the memory of W.B. Yeats, and to promote appreciation of his poetry and other writings, and an awareness of the other members of this talented family.

This Web site is dedicated to the Irish poet Francis Ledwidge. This site gives information on the poet, his birth place Slane, the area today, the Francis Ledwidge Museum and an on-line book shop where you can buy Ledwidge's poetry through Paypal.

Gerard Manley Hopkins, S.J. (28 July 1844 – 8 June 1889) was an English poet, Roman Catholic convert, and Jesuit priest, whose posthumous 20th-century fame established him among the leading Victorian poets. His experimental explorations in prosody (especially sprung rhythm) and his use of imagery established him as a daring innovator in a period of largely traditional verse.

This site is dedicated to the work of the Irish poet Patrick Kavanagh, 1904-1967, and contains information about Kavanagh's work in print. The site also makes his uncollected poetry available to readers and students.

Bound volume of manuscripts and letters by Oscar Wilde, digitized by the Morgan Library in New York City.

Stories and articles about Irish history, genealogy, literature, mythology, folklore and poetry.

Watch this page for news and updates as we get our 25th Hopkins Festival in shape. This is will be a unique celebration of poet Gerard Manley Hopkins and his interest in all the Arts.

The Abbey Theatre was founded in 1903 by W. B. Yeats and Lady Augusta Gregory. Its precursors were the Irish Literary Theatre and Frank and Willie Fay’s National Dramatic Society. With patronage from Miss Annie Horniman, premises were purchased on Old Abbey Street and on December 27th 1904, the Abbey Theatre opened its doors for the first time.

The Arts Council was established in 1951 to stimulate public interest in and promote the knowledge, appreciation and practice of the arts.

The Arts Council of Northern Ireland is the primary public supporter of arts in the north of Ireland.

You're looking to publish your book. Original Writing are here to make that as simple as possible.

"The Curse of Doneraile" written 1808, was occasioned by the poet's losing his watch in the town. When, afterwards, Lady Doneraile gave O'Kelly "a watch and seal" in lieu of the one he lost in Doneraile, he wrote the Palinode.

General resource page for Mayo.

John Gibbons of Hazelrock, Killawalla Parish Co. Mayo Ireland. Gibbons wrote many poems about the people and villages of Killawalla.

"I know that I shall meet my fate, somewhere among the clouds above."

Gravestone records, Gravestone photographs, 1901 Census records, 1911 Census records, 1931 Trade Directory records, Birth records, Marriage records, Death records, Lewis' Topographical records, Griffith's Valuation records, and much more.

Gravestone records, Gravestone photographs, 1901 Census records, 1911 Census records, 1931 Trade Directory records, Birth records, Marriage records, Death records, Lewis' Topographical records, Griffith's Valuation records, and much more.

William Allingham, 1824-1889: Adieu to Belashanny! where I was bred and born; Go where I may, I'll think of you, as sure as night and morn.

I know that I shall meet my fate / Somewhere among the clouds above; / Those that I fight I do not hate, / Those that I guard I do not love; / My country is Kiltartan Cross, / My countrymen Kiltartan’s poor, / No likely end could bring them loss / Or leave them happier than before.