Athlone man named as Bard of Connacht

Connacht has a new Bard! Rory Duffy from Athlone was unveiled as the Bard of Connacht at an event in Creggs on Monday evening.

Ten finalists in the Bard of Connacht poetry competition read their poems to assembled guests before the winner was announced and the Athlone native named as the province’s new bard.

Organisers Kilbegnet Ballinakill Historical Society were delighted with the interest in the event and the level of engagement from poets across Ireland and beyond and now hope to make the poetry competition an annual event.

While Rory took first place with his poem ‘A Silent Carol’, second place went to Mick Beirne, a native of Rooskey, Co. Roscommon, who lives in Kildare for ‘Eibhlin’s Story’, third place went to Anne Byrne, Boyle, Co. Roscommon for ‘The Dying Fields’ and fourth place went to Sean Hallinan, Ballintubber Abbey, Co. Mayo for ‘Fear Gortach’.

Rory Duffy is an established poet, having his poetry published in a number of journals including Southword, Crannog, The Stony Thursday Book, Skylight 47, Boyne Berries, A New Ulster and The Cormorant. In 2018 Rory was selected as the mentee in the inaugural John Broderick Residency under the guidance of poet Anne Marie Ní Churreáin. In 2022 he was runner up in the Trocaire/Poetry Ireland Poetry competition. In 2019 he won first place at the Red Line Book Festival Poetry Competition. In 2020 his poem “A Lake Dwellers Death” was selected to be part of the Chair of Poetry Ireland Anthology in memory of Seamus Heaney’s Nobel Prize.

Last year his poem ‘Bully #6’ was nominated for The Forward Prize. His poems have been commended in the Gregory O'Donoghue Award and the Fool for Poetry Chapbook Award as well as being runner up in the Strokestown Summer Competition 2019.

He is also the author of short stories and plays and was nominated for a ZeBBie Award by the Irish Writers Guild for his radio play ‘Paulo in the Underworld’ as well as being shortlisted in the Seán O'Faolain Prize, the P.J. O'Connor Award and the Francis MacManus Short Story Award. He has also been shortlisted in the Cuirt New Writing Award, The Bath Short Story Award, The Over the Edge New Writer Award and the Wells Litfest New Writer Award.

As winner of the Bard of Connacht, Rory received a cheque for €500 and the Vincent Keaveney Memorial Trophy, which was sponsored by Seamus Coleman. Larry Kilcommins of the Kilbegnet Ballinakill Historical Society this week thanked Michael Ward of Ward & Burke for his generous sponsorship of the prize money of €1,000. He also expressed his delight at the level of interest and enthusiasm generated by the poetry competition and hoped that competitions such as the Bard of Connacht would encourage people of a creative mien to put pen to paper and express their thoughts.

The theme of this year’s Bard of Connacht competition was the Irish Famine of 1847 and the event was explored throughout the Creggs Harvest Festival weekend with a lecture by Willie Gacquin and historical walk by Christy Cunniffe. While those events provided data and information on the subject, the emotions evoked by famine and the attendant hardship and disease were explored throughout the ten poems read on Monday evening in Creggs.

Rory now adds the title ‘Bard of Connacht’ to his list of accolades to date.

Reacting to the win, Rory said: "It was such a lovely surprise to win and to have my poem picked by the judges. The welcome from the people of the community was so warm and inclusive. I will be back.”