The sea, that blue end of the world…
— Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Welcome!
We are excited to present the programme for Poetry at the Mills – Fingal Poetry Festival 2022.
Now in its third year, the Fingal Poetry Festival weekend will run from the 15-18th September following its launch at the Illumination of Floraville on Thursday, September 1st. The Festival celebrates the light that poetry brings to our lives, and the sea, which is precious to all and in peril.
The full programme is available here.
Expect to find poetry in unexpected places — on shop windows, pavements, benches — and, colourfully illuminated and projected at Floraville, our lovely little park right in the heart of town beside the Library. With over 20 events scheduled for the weekend, there will be something for everyone — an aerial dance spectacle to poetry walks through the High Woods of Ardgillan Castle and on Red Island, lunchtime poetry readings, glittering evenings filled with poetry and live music and an especially commissioned film poem by Pat Boran.
We hope to welcome the next generation of poets through exhibitions of local pupils’ poems in Fingal Libraries, a visit by Laureate na nÓg Áine Ní Ghlinn, a Family Poetry Fest, and other fun family-friendly events.
If you would prefer to participate online, come along to our virtual ‘Night Sky’ or ‘An Dán ar Ardán’ poetry workshops!
In a unique event on Saturday, the Deaf Poets’ Society will share their work, voiced by an interpreter — have a look at our website programme for a full list of Irish Sign Language interpreted event, here.
As ever, the Irish language is a pillar of the Festival. We would love to see you at our bilingual poetry readings, Comhrá & Craic, the Clinic Leabhair (Book Clinic), or the Seomra/ Salon reading and Open Mic on Sunday. See the full list of our Irish / bilingual events here.
We look forward to the Fingal Poetry Slam, some participants of which are winners of monthly Slams held in Libraries all over Fingal earlier in the year.
Reaching out into the wider Fingal community, we will also have three workshops in Fingal schools.
Enda Coyle-Greene, Artistic Director, said:
At our previous ‘live’ events, I’ve loved the reactions of our audiences, especially perhaps those people who mightn’t normally have considered poetry to be ‘their thing‘ (or could just be nursing a hangover from school and exams!) Our programme this year features a broad range of poets from Ireland and elsewhere, including Leontia Flynn, Michael O’Loughlin, Aifric Mac Aodha, Kate Miller, Dermot Bolger, and many more, so there should be a reading to suit everyone.
Fingal Poetry Festival is supported by the Arts Council Ireland, Foras na Gaeilge, Fingal County Council, Fingal Libraries, Leabhair Pháistí Éireann, Laureate na nÓg, Poetry Ireland, and RTÉ Supporting the Arts. Our international poetry competitions, The Fingal Poetry Prize and An Fiach Dubh – the Irish language prize, are sponsored by DHL International Forwarding and Progressive Credit Union, respectively.
If you would like to volunteer at the Festival, send us an email at fingalpoetryfestival@gmail.com!
The Fingal Poetry Prize is sponsored by DHL.
An Fiach Dubh, the Irish language poetry prize, is sponsored by Progressive Credit Union.
Fingal Poetry Festival 