Dunshaughlin is named a 2021 ‘Poetry Town’

One of 20 locations which will name 'poet lauretes'

Dunshaughlin has been named as one of 20 'Poetry Towns' by Poetry Ireland, in a new initiative that will see more than 100 free poetry-related activities take place across Ireland between 10th and 18th September next, with activities for the town being organised by Poetry Ireland in partnership with Meath County Council Arts Office.

As part of the initiative, Poetry Ireland, together with its local authority partners, will appoint a Poet Laureate for each participating town. The chosen Poet Laureates, who will either be from the respective local area or have strong connections with it, will be commissioned to write a poem honouring their Poetry Town and its people. The Poet Laureates for each town will be announced next month.

Dunshaughlin was chosen as prior to Covid, it had marked Poetry Day Ireland, celebrating the spoken word in readings by local participants and guests, and last year in response to the pandemic challenge, created an outdoor poetry trail called 'Wander with Words', in which 38 poems on posters large and small were dotted throughout the village for the enjoyment of perusers.

The ambassador for the event is local solictor, Margaret McCann, who was one of the main movers behind the Dunshaughlin poetry events in the past, assisted by Barbara Scally in Dunshaughlin branch library.

There will also be a wide variety of additional activities in the Poetry Towns. These will include a series of poetry events involving local poets; poetry workshops; public poetry displays, including ‘Poetry Underfoot’; and a range of physical activities called ‘Poems that Move You’, which will vary from town to town. Local businesses, including cafés and chemists, will also be participating in the activities to celebrate their towns by distributing ‘pocket poems’ to customers. The full programme for each town will be made available on the Poetry Town website during the last week of August.

Director of Poetry Ireland, Niamh O’Donnell said: "The idea behind Poetry Town is to celebrate the many vibrant towns and communities across the island of Ireland, through poetry, collaboration and communal experiences. Over the past 18 months, many of us have become more aware of what’s around us – from local parks or nature walks, to landmarks and monuments, to the stories held within the collective memory of our communities. There is poetry waiting to be uncovered in our surroundings and our everyday lives.

"We are excited to invite individuals, families and communities to join their Poetry Towns, or the Poetry Towns in their vicinity, in a vibrant celebration of the pride in their locality, the value and importance of our heritage, and the strength and diversity in our towns and rural areas."

For further information, visit poetrytown.ie.