Local Notes: Martin Dyar's poem unveiled at Kiltimagh Poetry Trail
Poets Martin Dyar, Ger Reidy, Terry McDonagh, Geraldine Mitchell, Marguerite Quinlan and Paddy Donaghue, at the unveiling of Martin’s poem, ‘The Enemy of Fear’ at the Kiltimagh Poetry Trail.
When people talk of the prosperity of towns the conversation usually centres around economic activity, jobs, number of shops, pubs, derelict buildings etc. But towns need a cultural prosperity, too. And Kiltimagh has a rich cultural identity – much of it stemmed from the famous Raftery – the blind bard of Cill Aodain – that its cultural prosperity cannot be called into question. There’s no doubt that Terry McDonagh, who achieved something Raftery could not – he managed to return from his exile – has been the driving force of the cultural masterpiece – The Kiltimagh Poetry Trail. Last week, another piece was added, when Swinford-native, Martin Dyar, came to the Kiltimagh Emigrant Park, for the unveiling of his poem, ‘The Enemy of Fear.’ In accepting the invitation to attend and read his poem, Martin thanked the organisers for the opportunity to be part of the trail.
‘It was a beautiful cultural experience,’ he said. ‘I am delighted to get under the skin of Kiltimagh town and find that it has such a cultural vibrancy.’ He complimented Terry McDonagh for his influence and said that it was an intriguing challenge to write a commissioned poem.
‘I visualised the space in which the poem would be displayed,’ he said, ‘and I felt the poem would be there to be read as a chance encounter, by people who would frequent the place. It is fitting that a place that was dedicated to commemorate and record and reflect, the experience of emigration and all of the loss and adventure and exile and sense of returning and longing, and it is fitting that the location should also be a place that is also dedicated to nature.’ Martin identified one of the key ingredients of the poetry trail - the chance encounter. His poem brings the total to seven, scattered around the area of the trail. Visitors could find one by accident and then seek out the others, spending more time in the area as a consequence. Anything that brings visitors to towns like Kiltimagh, is a help. A sandwich, a pint, a fill of diesel all add to the economic balance sheet of the town.
Martin said that it was impossible to escape the feeling that there was some sort of element of healing involved and invited, in his piece of writing. He understood it as a poem that should complement the function of the fallow field.
‘‘The Enemy of Fear’ is an idea, and we do live in a troubled world. At times we underestimate how troubled it is and we have to, to keep going. We have to block out some of what we know, some of what we experience, but at the same time, from a poetry perspective, I think we underestimate our resources of these of the alternative to fear. We underestimate those resources at a social level, and underestimate those resources of peace at a personal level. My hope was that by playing with this idea of the enemy of fear, and conscripting the natural world that is honoured, and enshrined in this project, it might be possible to communicate some sense of healing, some sense of hope.’ Martin said it was a great honour to have had the opportunity to write the poem that would have a life in Mayo.
‘A life in Raftery country, in this way, that's a huge honour,’ he said. ‘Raftery is the poet of this place, but he is also a poet of enormous sensitivity to natural world too. I think, ‘Anois Teacht an Earraigh’ is as much an ecological poem as it is a poem about missing Mayo while in exile in Galway. So thank you, thank you all. Thank you Terry (McDonagh) for your encouragement for inspiration. Thank you and indeed also to my compatriots Geraldine Mitchell and Ger Reidy, for your kindness of your friendship and your encouragement and for this honour collectively, of admitting me into this esteemed poetry trail, and absolutely it's an honour to be here with you, and with friends and my family.’ Martin’s wife, Rosie, and his eleven-week-old daughter Gwen, along with his parents and brother Patrick, attended the unveiling, which was performed by Martin Byrne of Kiltimagh Tourism Association. The MC for the event was Terry McDonagh.
Kiltimagh Tourism and Tidy Towns expressed thanks to Creative Ireland and Mayo County Council, for their support of this wonderful project. A big thank you was also extended to the project leader and local poet Terry Mc Donagh and to Martin Byrne from the Kiltimagh Tourism Association.
Martin was joined at the unveiling by Mayo poets Ger Reidy and Gearldine Mitchell, along with Marguerite Quinlan from Sligo and Paddy Donaghue from Donegal. Tributes were also paid to the craftsmanship of local stonemason, Dominic Fannon, who has presented Martin’s poem on a limestone plaque mounted on granite stone.
Martin joins Seán Lysaght, Geraldine Mitchell, Terry McDonagh, Ger Reidy, Daragh Byrne, and Colette NicAodha whose poems comprise the trail. The committee plan to add more poems to more locations in the general area. The one glaring omission is, of course, Raftery himself. Surely one of his poems should be part of the trail, and should be at the top of the list, when the trail is extended.
The Sports Capital Grants were announced last week, bringing great joy to a large number of sporting and leisure organisations across the country. In Mayo, €9,033,312 was allocated in grant funding to support 56 local and community grassroots sports clubs.
Kiltimagh Knock United’s application was successful and the club has been allocated €137,757. This money will be invested in the club's pitch development for sand slit drainage and LED lighting on the new pitch. This significant funding for a major project, is a real boost for the club, as membership continues to grow. The club expresses its deepest appreciation to the public representatives, national and local, and to councillors, for their continued support.
The Kiltimagh Knock United online Christmas shop is now open. The deadline to get your orders in is tomorrow (Wednesday). You'll find the link to buy items from the catalogue on the KK Facebook page, with a great range of merchandise to choose from. The KK shirt and other clothing is smart and modern in appearance and would be an ideal gift at any time of the year.
The winner of last week's Kiltimagh Knock United 50/50 jackpot was Jenny Foliard from Knock who picked up €305.
Adrian Conboy was the winner of the Kiltimagh GAA Club’s 50/50 draw, last week. Adrian won €536.
Three KKU players in Mayo squad Congratulations to KKU trio Micheál Schlingermann, Jack O’Connor and Cormac Caulfield, who are part of the Mayo squad for the Oscar Traynor Cup competition, starting next Sunday, October 6. The cup, which is soccer’s premier inter-county competition, is initially played within Connacht. Mayo face Sligo/Leitrim on Sunday in McSharry Park, Sligo. Mayo play Galway at home (Milebush, Castlebar,) on November 10 and Roscommon away on December 8.
The Poetry Hub continues tomorrow night, Wednesday, October 2, at the Folk Café Kiltimagh at 8pm. Eilish and Mick Griffin, who run the café, invite you to bring along a poem a story or just yourself.
In Round 2 of the Autumn Poker League in Teach O’Hora on Wednesday night last, first and second prizes were shared by Martin Regan and Derry O’Sullivan with Martin going on to take the win. Enda Ruane in third and fourth placed Michael Higgins were the other prize-winners. The other finalists and their finishing positions were, 5 Keith Lydon, 6 AN Other, 7 AN Other, 8 Daniel Kennedy, and 9 Paul Walsh. AN Other is top of the league table on 38 points followed by Gerry Groarke and Enda Ruane on 33. The rest of the top twelve is Pat Boyle 32, Derry O’Sullivan 31, Martin Regan 30, Michael Sheridan 30, Keith Lydon 27, Paul Walsh 24, John Reynolds 24, Aoife Brennan 22, Nicky Cunnane 22.
The league will continue with tournaments in Teach O’Hora every Wednesday night at 8pm for fifteen weeks. Entry each night is €20 with an optional re-entry and late registration available for 90 minutes. €5 from every entry goes towards the league final prize pool with the rest paid out on the night. After fifteen weeks, the top twelve players qualify for the Grand Final to compete for an estimated prize pool of over €2,000. They will be joined by two more players from the play off tournament which is open to all non-qualifiers.
Meanwhile the 2024 Culchie Poker Open will be held in the Cill Aodain Court Hotel on Saturday, October 12, at 4pm. Entry is €100 and it will be a fully dealered tournament. Numbers are capped and pre booking a seat is essential. A satellite for this event will be held in Teach O’Hora on Sunday next, October 5, starting at 4pm and entry is €20. All these tournaments are confined to members only.
This year's Fire Safety Week is from September 30 to October 6. The theme this year is 'We didn't start the fire' but what did? People will be encouraged to identify possible causes of fire in their homes. In conjunction with Fire Safety Week, Kiltimagh Fire Station is planning an open day on Saturday, October 5, from 11am to 3pm. Members of the public can come to the fire station to meet the local fire crew and find out about what is involved in the day to day running of the fire station. All of the Fire Appliance equipment will be on display and also there will be fire demonstrations on the day.
