In ancient Ireland poets underwent a rigorous training, an apprenticeship. The severity of the process reflected the high status and recognised power of the poets, the bards. In this reading I have attempted a meditation upon these ancestral poets of mine. The images are all my own and taken variously in the foothills of Na Staighre Dubha, the Blackstairs Mountains and Rinn an Dubhain, The Hook Peninsula, The dolmen is Brownstown Dolmen, Co. Carlow with reputedly the largest capstone of all the dolmens.
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Author: connellykevin
Writer, poet and photographer.
Lover of all musical genres, from acoustic to zydeco.
Born in Ireland of Scottish descent and proud of both.
"I sought a theme and sought for it in vain,
I sought it daily for six weeks or so"
WB YEATS
Many of the themes here presented and to be presented have taken me a lifetime rather than six weeks. Some have taken mere moments to arrive. All are offered freely and it is my hope that you, dear reader, will gain something by browsing here and that I in turn will gain something by presenting these works to you.
View all posts by connellykevin
Sensitive portrait painted with words. Bravo.
Lovely and quite haunting at the end.
Beautiful pics too, Kevin.
driven by a love of words…. brushed and polished… and carefully assembled…smiles.. there’s magic in the making of a poem… smiles….and those past poets left a beautiful heritage you know….
Dia duit Kevin. The ancestral poets of Ireland have gifted us with that which is beyond measure.
Mile buiochas, for remembering them in your beautiful meditation. As ever, Beannaichte’!
A beautiful reading, Kevin….and a fine tribute to Irish poets!
“seeking the perfect rhyme” – a quest as old as the written word, it seems. I had no idea ancient Irish poets underwent such rigorous training.
A beautiful poem and you read just beautifully–it may be nice to post the poem separately – though I think others would lose if they bypassed your beautiful reading. k.
How wonderfully creative! The voice, the images and the words. Not to forget the handwriting [?].
Brilliantly entertaining. thank you.
So much to think upon– and your presentation is so refreshing, as though hearing it rather than reading it freed me to wander (and wonder…) ~thank you for sharing ~peace, Jason
What a beutiful poem Kevin.. and the read made it all soo much better… yes I see myself as an apprentiece … so happy for this school we are attending.
Oh.. yes I remember this one Kevin.. thanks for the reminder. Making me humble.. 🙂
Thank you for the reminder..
Such a beautiful poem – a perfect homage to the ancestors. It couldn’t have been better. I lived in Belfast for some time – though hadn’t known about the ritual, but reading makes me close to it.
You made such a great video for the poem. It gives me ideas too.
silent tears… this was touching, creative, and informative… good job!
The hardships resulted in good poets
What a lovely reading and poem! Thank you for sharing this….especially I like “spilling silent tears” and “sing like the very birds”
brilliantly written piece. those great poets… we celebrate them..
For our Present Poets. Mile bhuioch. Eithne
Kevin, this just takes my breath away. Your (our) ancestors would be so proud of you. Your work is on par with their expectations and beautifully presented in word and video. I’ve always “blamed” my Irish grandmother for my love of words. We lived with her during the war (WWII) and after as my father didn’t return. She read to me for hours on end every day. Thank you for this.
Victoria, thank so much for your kind words. I don’t always understand how we Irish have such a love of words, we have a poet president, the country practically stopped when Seamus Heaney died, twice in the last few years re-issued school poetry text books have been in the top ten selling books at Christmas, I don’t have to understand it, just love it! Thanks again, Kevin
Well and aren’t we glad you do love it, Kevin. But then, you’re more than a poet too, aren’t you. I recognized some of the photos from my trip to Ireland – back to my roots on three sides of my family. My paternal grandmother from County Kerry, my maternal great grandmother from Derry. I went in ’92 at the height of the troubles – and laughed as I carried them within me. Times were dour then, but I heard the poetry from Joyce’s pub to Galway, from Connemara to Limerick. It wasn’t like Texas but it did feel like going home. You certainly have the gift without or without the stone in Blarney Castle! This was beautiful and all the more so for hearing you read it.
That sounds like a great trip you had to Ireland, I adore Connemara and the offshore Islands and of course Kerry is beautiful beyond belief, glad you got to make that trip, I look forward to visiting the US soon, I hope, great to hear from you and thank for your words, Kevin
this is a wonderful creation…a befitting tribute to the poetic ancestry who for their love of words endured hardship to achieve perfection…
That stirred me so. Beautiful reading, beautiful pictures, a gorgeous tapestry of words. Thank you for putting it in a video -just perfect.