Kilbixy poems and prose blend melancholy and merriment

Extra chairs had to be carted in to cater for the larger than expected crowd at the eighth annual Kilbixy Poetry Night last Friday at which some 30 contributors recited poems and prose, blending melancholy and merriment.

First up was master of recall Matty Coffey with his moving rendition of ‘The Face on the Barroom Floor’. Matty has enthralled audiences with his recitations every year since the poetry night started in 2014. His gift of recall was matched by that of another regular Tom McGahan, whose ‘The Burial of King Cormac’ by Samuel Ferguson was delivered with a cadence that bounced off the ancient walls of St Bigseach’s Church.

Violet Medford recited an extract from ‘Sir John Piers’ by John Betjeman, in memory of the late Watson Mills, who instigated the poetry night and always contributed a Betjeman poem, and in homage to her beloved Tristernagh. She followed with ‘This Native Land of Mine’ by Thomas Davis, which she recalled was popular with the ICA years ago and, judging by the reaction of the audience, its popularity extended beyond the country women.

Dan Scally, a man who has been to the fore in community and business life in Kilbeggan for many years, read poems he penned about canal walks and dreams. His beautiful blend of adjectives, alliteration and assonance made his poems flow and ebb.

Raymond McCague from Monaghan, now living in Mullingar, delivered his own poem ‘The Station’ with great diction, deliberation and measure, the pulse of the poem replicating the rhythm of a moving train. He also recited a poem he wrote in memory of all children buried in undocumented graves, entitled ‘Alice and Alice’ in memory of stillborn twin girls – ‘snowdrop among the bluebells of my mind’.

The loudest laughs were generated by the indomitable Brian McLoughlin, who warned the audience to ‘fasten your seatbelts’ as he embarked on his poetic account of the movie blockbuster Barbie, signing off with ‘my next poem is Oppenheimer, next year’.

Now in his 90s, former public service vehicle inspector with An Garda Síochána, Brendon Colvert, paid tribute to the 89 gardaí who have been murdered on duty since the state was founded. He recited a poem by an unknown poet entitled ‘Off Duty’.

Jacqui Wiley recited ‘Blackbird in Dun Laoghaire’ by Joseph O’Connor, and her own poem about the emotional darkness and loneliness of winter with the memorable lines – ‘The pen will kill the demon within, / The ink will sedate it’.

Patsy Jordan recited her own ‘26th Lock’, about growing up at Coolnahay Harbour on the Royal Canal, while Kevin O’Brien from The Rectory, close to Kilbixy, read a poem by Kate Lardey from Michigan, who stayed with them in 1996. It described the dawn winter view from the rectory window.

A prose piece by Pat ‘Mo’ Heduan described school days and delivering the Far East and African Missions magazines. His descriptions of life and injustice in those times were evocative and amusing in equal measure. Chelle Crawley read ‘a piece of flash fiction’ about quitting smoking. ‘Each puff was like wrapping myself around in a soft blanket,’ she wrote.

Rita Tynan recited ‘Common Things’ by Anne Hawkshaw and ‘Not’ by Erin Hanson. Sheila Cusack recited ‘The Meeting’ by Rachel Field and ‘Do Not Stand By My Grave and Weep’, by Elizabeth Fry. Derek Walsh from Milltown contributed two of his own works about sustainability, life balance and ‘why green is so great’.

Pat Murtagh recited a poem about the lot of a country priest; Richard O’Kane read his own composition ‘Inklings’, and Laura Gahan read poems she wrote about the importance of family support, home, and nature.

Trish Raleigh recited works she penned about ‘The Bogland’ and robbing an orchard. Douglas Raeside recited two of his own works – ‘Armageddon’ about the battle between good and evil, and a lighter ditty entitled ‘Death of an Avocado’, both accompanied by illustrations.

Jimmy O’Connell recited poems he wrote - ‘Harbour Street, Tullamore’, about childhood summers spent in that town with his grandparents, and ‘The Fleadh Cheoil Harp Competition’, in which he compared the skill of playing the harp to skills on the football field.

Patricia Bruton received rousing applause after her recital of ‘The Tinker from Co Mayo’ by Teresa Brayton. Louise Ryan recited ‘One’ and ‘My Philosophy’, which she said she was inspired to write by the Mullingar culture and writers groups of which she is a member. ‘The Guesthouse’ was read by Josephine Purcell, followed by extracts from ‘The Fellowship of the Ring’ by Tolkien.

Dr Brendan Mahon delivered three of his own poems, about early morning rain, families visiting the graves of loved ones in Delvin where he lives, and an ode to the ‘Buried Angels (Tuam and Letterfrack)’, dealing with buried secrets, sins of the past and ‘a time we’d like to forget about’.

Lorraine Murphy read a poem about her 96-year-old grandmother’s final days, the gems of wisdom she bestowed on her descendants, the values and memories she gave them. Tom Reilly recited Noel Coward’s ‘Mad Dogs and Englishmen’, applying it to Irishmen holidaying in sunny climes and coming home ‘red’. Oliver Higgins recited two of his pithy ditties about picking up loose change and losing one’s chain of thought. That was followed by an erudite poem by Niall Sheridan.

There was an international flavour to this year’s event when a young Frenchman who introduced himself as Thomas recited a poem in French about the Franco-German war of 1870.

The evening was organised by Betty Murtagh and Eleanor Murtagh of Westmeath Rural Arts, who have been at the helm, along with the late Watson, from the start. Proceeds go to the North Westmeath Hospice, represented by Margaret Claffey and Agnes Weafer. Margaret thanked all for their donations and asked them to support Hospice coffee morning on September 21.

Betty Murtagh thanked all who helped organise and run the evening, all who had contributed and attended, and Miriam Walsh who entertained the guests on the keyboard. ‘See you all next year!’, she declared.