She used a blue biro pen and had numbered the pages on small, plain, lined notepaper…I was pleased to see, sometimes, the smudged ring of a teacup or saucer imprinted on the page. I ould see her in the kichen getting a cup of tea as she wrote to me on a Sunday night. Continue reading
I grew up in County Monaghan, in Ulster and I have been profoundly influenced also by Patrick Kavanagh and Seamus Heaney and the love of landscape and placename. Continue reading
Childhood memories, family, grief, the beauty of nature, climate change and war are my main themes. I write to make sense of life and to shape my memories and feelings. I have a lyrical style of writing. Continue reading
Who can forget the smell of the Ulster fry of bacon, eggs and fadges completely soaked in gravy? Continue reading
We heard you read local poets
McNiece, Larkin, Rodgers. Told us of
Hewitt’s ox and goat metaphor
for Northern Ireland. Continue reading
He tells us that Patrick was a powerful, diligent, and determined man. After reading the Lives of Brigid, you could espouse this forceful but patient woman with the same attributes and above all piety and humility. Continue reading
Poetry anthologies are always a favourite of mine, particularly those that don’t focus on a particular theme and allow all styles and colours to flow freely. Something new and exciting on every page, a book that can be dipped in and out of as you sit down for a cuppa, varied voices and styles that … Continue reading
So, landscape and place and sense of identity or the word in Irish is ‘dúchas’ or heritage are huge influences on what motivates me to write. Continue reading
A little snippet, a snapshot, insights that convey so much. A sentence that describes one man’s grief ‘Chris, his poor heart smashed…’ is an example of how much emotion is expressed in so few words. Continue reading
Put on the spot, the one piece of advice I would feel comfortable to impart on other writers would be to look upon the act of writing not merely as self-expression, but rather as communication. Continue reading
Tinteán 