Writers | Marita Conlon-McKenna

The Irish PEN Dinner and Award 2018

Great to meet so many of my friends from Irish PEN at this year’s dinner and presentation of the Irish PEN Award at The Royal St George Yacht Club in Dun Laoghaire.

It is always a very special night to have so many writers gather to enjoy dinner and drinks and to honour a fellow writer in this beautiful old club.

This years’ very worthy winner of ‘The Irish PEN Award for Contribution to Literature’ is Anne Enright. As a writer Anne has achieved so much in terms of her work which includes , ‘The Green Road, The Portable Virgin’ and her Man Booker award winning novel ’The Gathering’. Anne has just finished up her term as the inaugural Laureate of Irish fiction.

The chairperson of Irish Pen Vanessa O’Loughlin presented Anne with the award.

June Considine of WORDS Ireland in her speech reminded all of us present of the imprisoned writers, an empty chair was positioned at the dinner to remember all of those, whose writing and words had led to their loss of freedom.

patrick kavanagh

It is hard to believe that it is 50 years since Monaghan born poet Patrick Kavanagh died. He was remembered and honoured at a very special Memorial Lecture held in The Institute of Education in Leeson Street, with Poet Paul Durcan providing a wonderful insight in the life and work of this very special Irish poet in a night of words and music.

As a young new poet, Durcan met Patrick Kavanagh who, though he seemed very gruff welcomed him in to his circle and encouraged him to keep writing. Kavanaghs poetry of his rural childhood in Inniskeen and his life in Dublin are reflective of the huge change that so many Irish people experienced leaving their home place and moving to the city.

Kavanagh often struggled to fit in, living in Dublin of the 1940’, 50’s and 60’s. His poems echoed this and had an honesty and intensity unlike any other poetry of the time.

Most of us were first introduced to his ‘Stony Grey Soil of Monaghan’ while we were in school but have come over time to know and appreciate his work.

‘On Raglan Road’ is perhaps one of his most popular and enduring poems and John Coll’s statue of Patrick Kavanagh sitting in one of his favourite spots overlooking Dublin’s Grand Canal is a fitting tribute to this special poet.

On Thursday 30^th November there was a special tribute and ceremony with readings of his work by a number of poets at his graveside in Inniskeen, Co Monaghan.