I’m Alan. Welcome to my Blog. I’m 25, a writer, comedian, journalist and I have a passion for discovering all things new in life. This summer, over 6 weeks I travelled by bus from the very top to the very bottom and to all sides and middles of this lovely green patch of land.
With the help of my followers, I discovered great places, met interesting people, attended some great events, gigs and festivals. This blog is a record of this amazing experience, I hope it gives you inspiration.
Sligo Yeats Competition
Bus Eireann will be running their day tours to Yeats Country starting in July and to get ready I've travelled to Sligo to the Yeats Society! Tell me another famous Irish poet and you could win €50 One4All voucher! Enter competition in comments section below, winner will be chosen at random. Best of luck!
Comments (33)
I love Brendan Kennelly!
Patrick Kavanagh
Patrick Kavanagh :D
Patrick Kavanagh
Patrick Kavanagh.
Seamus Heaney
I love Padraic Colum. He was born in Longford in 1881
I learned this poem by him in first class and still love it and know it word for word
An old woman of the roads.
O, to have a little house!
To own the hearth and stool and all!
The heaped up sods against the fire,
The pile of turf against the wall!
To have a clock with weights and chains
And pendulum swinging up and down!
A dresser filled with shining delph,
Speckled and white and blue and brown!
I could be busy all the day
Clearing and sweeping hearth and floor,
And fixing on their shelf again
My white and blue and speckled store!
I could be quiet there at night
Beside the fire and by myself,
Sure of a bed and loth to leave
The ticking clock and the shining delph!
Och! but I'm weary of mist and dark,
And roads where there's never a house nor bush,
And tired I am of bog and road,
And the crying wind and the lonesome hush!
And I am praying to God on high,
And I am praying Him night and day,
For a little house - a house of my own
Out of the wind's and rain's way
Seamus Heaney
Seamus Heaney :)
Oscar Wilde!
the wonderful seamus heaney, even though he brings back so many terrible memories of exams lol, love his poems
Gerald Griffin 1803 - 1840. He has a street named after him in Linerick and also one in Cork.
James Joyce
Seamus heaney! Patrick kavanagh!
Tom Kettle 9/2/80 9/9/1916
Bond,from the toil of hate we may not cease;
Free,we are free to be your friend;
And when you make your banquet and we come,
Soldier with equal soldier must we sit,
Closing a battle, not forgetting it.
With not a name to hide,
This mate and mother of valiant 'rebels' dead
Must come with all her history on her head.
We keep the past for pride:
No deepest peace shall strike our poets dumb:
No rawest squad of all Death's volunteers,
No rudest man who died
To tear your flag down in the bitter years,
But shall have praise, and three times thrice again,
When at the table men shall drink with men.
Spike Milligan! Although not born in Ireland he did become an Irish citizen in 1962 so technically he is an Irish poet amongst many other things! He may not be what you would call a traditional poet, he is what is termed a nonsense poet although he has written some serious poetry too, whatever he is, he makes me laugh!
On the Ning Nang Nong
Where the Cows go Bong!
and the monkeys all say BOO!
There's a Nong Nang Ning
Where the trees go Ping!
And the tea pots jibber jabber joo.
On the Nong Ning Nang
All the mice go Clang
And you just can't catch 'em when they do!
So its Ning Nang Nong
Cows go Bong!
Nong Nang Ning
Trees go ping
Nong Ning Nang
The mice go Clang
What a noisy place to belong
is the Ning Nang Ning Nang Nong!!
Brendan Behan
eavan boland!
Seamus Heaney. I had the absolute pleasure to attend a reading by him in the Project Theatre about five years ago. Having always loved his poems to see and hear the man in person was a treat to behold!
Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill
Irish language reprezzen'! :)
Patrick kavanagh
anthony rafferty
id say you all remember this one
Is Mise Raifteirí an file,
Lán dúchais is grádh,
Le súile gan solas,
Le ciúnas gan crá.
Ag dul síar ar m'aistear
Le solas mo chroí
Fann agus tuirseach
Go deireadh mo shlí
Féach anois mé
Is mo chúl le bhfalla
Ag seinm ceoil
Do phócaí folamh
My favourite would have to be Eavan Boland. I studied her poetry for my Leaving cert in 2008.Child of our time is one of my favourites.
Antoine Ó Raifteiri: yes he was from the 18th century but his poetry still rings true today, written so beautifully in the Irish language- like you, he traveled Ireland from village to village offering to write poetry or make music in return for bed and board. Sadly he was blind so he couldn't take in all the sights along the way! In this verse, my favorite, he talks about raising his sails and moving on when the days begin to stretch...
Anois teacht an earraigh
beidh an lá ag dul chun síneadh,
Is tar éis na féil Bríde
ardóidh mé mo sheol.
Pádraig Pearse
Thanks everyone for taking part in today's competition! The winner of the €50 One4All voucher is.......Lorraine! I'll be holding a few more competitions this week so keep an eye out! Thanks again!
Yay \o/ thanks Alan :-)
patrick kavanagh.. legend
Eavan Boland, she's still going strong.
Patrick kavanagh
Samuel beckett and James Joyce
http://youtu.be/kbF5hDU_F-U
eavan boland
Thomas Moore how could we forget!!