Quiet Nights and Eamonn Lynskey

So to tell you something of the past and something else of the future. Last Saturday I found my way through the Westlife concert goers to a little laneway in the North inner city with a door marked Seomra Spraoi.

Behind this doorway was a converted garage decorated with fairy lights and jam packed with an eclectic bunch of revellers and friendly faces. The place is run by Owensy and Sinead Corcoran, and the evening was opened by a band called Traz - they are a scarily talented bunch of ambitious, experimental musos who played four lovely songs, one of which was only invented in the past week (and they're only in Transition year yet). Watch out for them, they were spell-binding.

Another highlight was the great Sonia Maria, who wowed the crowd with her beautiful singing and exciting mix of instruments - she too had the idea of composing something especially for the evening - hers was actually cool, in very sharp contrast to my super geeky effort.
When she finished up the guy sitting next to me said, "that'd be a hard act to follow". I was on next. I still read the purpose built poem... without the pesky extra 's' - sadly also without another line or two - which threw the rhyming scheme in the earlier part of the poem out the door... anyway, it could only get better from there.. and it went alright. There were people shusshing each other in the doorway trying to listen, my fan(s) mobbed me afterwards... I gave away a couple of poems on paper, (the three I didn't know off) and redirected everyone else here... (I mean to this blog - in case you think that here was meant to be clickable and I just forgot to link it, oh ye of little faith)

Now to the Future.....
If you'd like to see a really wonderful poet in action - come to see Eamonn Lynskey's launch of
"And Suddenly the Sun Again"
tomorrow evening in Lucan Library - ie Wednesday at 6pm. He has given me the huge priviledge of being the introducer of him to the crowd, and I'm a little terrified (what with not being as regular a book launch goer as I probably should be and not being sure what's required and knowing that leg one of his launch went fabulously well introduced by the great Karl Parkinson)
So if you'd like to see me try to look all knowing about poetry, you can find me there and then... Eamonn's new book is brilliant by the way... and if you haven't already heard his show you'll find it in the scrapbook archives.... do check him out.