Poetry to return to Limerick pub for the first time in seven years
POETRY in Limerick will return to its spiritual home this Wednesday evening after an absence of seven years.
The Limerick Writers Centre and Lime Square Poets have teamed up for a new monthly poetry reading and open-mic session at the White House at Glentworth Street in the city centre.
It all gets under way downstairs in the pub at 7.30pm, with Eamon Carr, co-founder of Celtic rock group Horslips reading from his new book.
Then, as is tradition, the public will then be invited to read their material to the audience gathered. The evening is expected to wind up around 9.30pm.
The poetry nights will take place on the first Wednesday of each month.
Between 2003 and July 2016, the White House played host to a weekly poetry session.
But the sudden closure of the city centre bar as it changed ownership in 2016 meant the event stopped abruptly after 640 weeks.
Poetry continued, however, with the readers relocating first to the former Tom and Jerry's pub in Lower Glentworth Street then to O'Brien's Bar at Roches Street.
The onset of Covid-19 brought an end to the weekly readings in early 2020.
Co-organiser of this Wednesday's event Dominic Taylor, of the Limerick Writers Centre said: "It's a return to the roots for us. I'm delighted to be co-organising with D'or Seifer from Lime Square Poets. I think the two groups can work together really well. The White House is the spiritual home of poetry in Limerick. It always has been, back to when Desmond O'Grady first started the poetry circle in 1954. We are continuing on that tradition. It's important for Limerick and important for poetry in Limerick."
He said he hopes it can be successful as the poetry revival began by the late Barney Sheehan in 2003.
"So far, the reaction has been fantastic. People have signed up for the open mic and we've guest poets lined up for the next three months as well," he said.
All are welcome!