Circling the Square - paying tribute to the late Dennis O'Driscoll

What a memorable day we had yesterday, honouring Dennis O'Driscoll at 'Circling the Square', the inaugural Thurles Poetry Festival. It is 10 years since we lost this great poet and Thurles native and credit is due to local poet, Larry Doherty for his vision and tireless efforts to curate such a special day of readings and music with a staggering line up of participants.(Pictured below: Emily Cullen, Eleanor Hooker, John Noonan & Declan O'Driscoll)

Dennis O'Driscoll (1954-2012) was an Irish poet, essayist, critic and editor. Regarded as one of the best European poets of his time, Dennis left a legacy of nine poetry collections, three chapbooks and two books of essays and reviews. Among his awards were a Lannan Literary Award in 1999, the 2005 E.M. Forster Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters and the 2006 O’Shaughnessy Award for Poetry from the Center for Irish Studies (Minnesota). A member of Aosdána, the Irish academy of artists, he worked for almost forty years in Ireland’s Revenue and Customs service. He died suddenly on Christmas Eve, 2012, aged 58. Lovingly referred to as “the Irish Larkin,” the majority of his poems were characterised by the use of economic language and the recurring motifs of mortality and the fragility of everyday life. Read his striking poem "Someone" here. His was truly a singular voice, full of 'forgiving humanity' and it was an honour to be part of this exciting new festival and to hear such an array of esteemed poets and musicians, including Eleanor Hooker, Michael Coady, Anne Haverty, Michael Durack, John Noonan, Ger Duffy, Breda Joyce and many more. We each shared 2 poems from Dennis's oeuvre which reminded us of his distinct, timeless vision. A special highlight for me was hearing the poet's brother, Declan O’Driscoll share anecdotes about Dennis and read his well-known poem about his hometown, simply entitled “Thurles”. If you're not already familiar with this poem, I urge you to seek it out for its subtle power, unsentimental tone and its fresh lines such as ‘…but I know where the colander is kept…’ which evoke those minute, idiosyncratic details of home. Indeed, why not immerse yourself in the world of Dennis O'Driscoll and treat yourself to his Collected Poems, published by Carcanet Press in 2017.