Bród Na Gaeltachta poetry workshop and reading

The award winning poet Annemarie Ní Churreáin will host a poetry workshop as part of the new Bród Festival in Falcarragh. 

The poetry workshop will take place on July 19, 2023. Using the work of Michael Hartnett as a springboard, who believed that the act of poetry is a rebel act, this workshop will provide a space for poets writing across a broad range of themes including, but not limited to, landscape, history, family autobiography, folklore and the otherworld. 

The workshop will support participants to identify resonant poetic themes, to engage deeply with language, and to gain insights into the dynamics at play in the making of a poem. Activities will include creative writing prompts, close reading of poetry in English and Irish, and group discussion in a supportive and fun environment. 

No previous experience of poetry or the Irish language is required, translations will be provided and poets at all levels of experience are welcome. The workshop is followed, later that same evening, by a festival open mic. Any poets wishing to read work are welcome to sign up to read.

The Bród na Gaeltachta Festival July 16-23 in Cloich Cheann Fhaola is a history-making week of bilingual events to celebrate LGBTQI+ culture. The aim of the festival is to engage the entire community of all ages, genders and orientations, to participate and celebrate our beautiful Gaeilge language and our rich diversity in the Gaeltacht. 

The festival director, Pól Penrose is from Falcarragh and is a native Gaeilge speaker. He has brought together a committee of local queer artists, writers, and allies to create a whole new experience for the locality and to give visibility to the local LGBTQI+ community. 

Annemarie Ní Churreáin is originally from Doire Chonaire. Her books include Bloodroot (Doire Press, 2017) and Town (The Salvage Press 2018). Her most recent book, The Poison Glen (The Gallery Press, 2021), was listed as Book of The Year 2021 in the Times Literary Supplement (UK) and The Irish Independent. 

She has written on various Irish care institutions including mother and baby homes, state industrial schools, orphanages and hospitals. Of her work The Yale Review reports that she “often captures a whole world of cultural and historical implications in a single, simple, but metaphorically rich image.” 

Ní Churreáin is a recipient of the Arts Council’s Next Generation Artist Award and a co-recipient of The Markievicz Award. She is the current 2023 Guest Editor of Poetry Ireland Review Issue 140. 

‘Act of Poetry Is A Rebel Act’ will run from 10am - 4.30pm at a cost of €40 (/€45 with a copy of Bloodroot) to participants (accommodation is available on request at an additional cost). Places are limited. Early booking advised.