What we Do

As Cork’s weekly poetry event, featuring guest poets and an open-mic, Ó Bhéal has become a prominent, thriving feature in the cultural landscape of Cork arts. We have been active for fifty successive Mondays per year since April 2007 and begin each evening with a poetry challenge known as The Five Word McNamara Slam. This is followed by a guest poet reading and an open-mic session ends the proceedings. The 12th of April 2010 marked the 3rd Anniversary and 151st event.

Ó Bhéal (Irish for by word of mouth) creates an original platform for established and non-established poets alike, allowing the public access to contemporary, living poetry. Many as a result have engaged with the art form for the first time, and a number of these have remained actively writing. The event is held upstairs in The Hayloft bar, above The Long Valley, one of Cork’s favourite and most established poetry venues. It is inclusive of all poetry styles and adult demographics. Guest poets offer workshops from time to time.

Audiences

The venue rarely sees less than 35 in the audience or among participating members, and often we have in excess of 40 or 50. About half the crowd are regulars, and on average we meet between five and twenty new visitors each week. The highest recorded audience has been just below 70. on average, about 50% – 60% of the attendees are poetically active and participate during the event, many of whom are often from overseas. The age group ranges evenly from young adults and university students to mature adults in their 50s, 60s and way beyond. Many have a good grasp of Irish, and often travel from across Munster to attend.

Filíocht as Gaeilge

Ó Bhéal strongly promotes use of the Irish language wherever possible and presents eight bi-lingual evenings in each year, showcasing the best of today’s gaelic-speaking poets (gallic too), which is funded by Foras na Gaeilge.

Beyond the Microphone

Any city benefits from a consistent poetry event (as indeed does any country) and the entire arts sector benefits from its presence, encouraging creativity across disciplines. Local poets not only avoid stagnation, but a platform for poetic expression contributes immensely to the mental well-being of the greater community, not to mention its choices.

Poets from Ó Bhéal often perform as collectives at festivals and events around Cork, Munster and beyond. We integrate annually with the Cork Jazz Festival where we present a jazz ensemble playing with a poet. We also facilitate the annual Cork Twinning programme with Coventry which involves a tour each year exchanging three poets. We provide a certain amount of workshops within disadvantaged areas of the community and in 2009 we hosted the Munster Slam Championships.

Since October 2008, with the assistance of the Munster Literature Centre and The Cork Film Centre, Ó Bhéal has been promoting the art of the Poetry-Film and has been working in collaboration with the Goethe Institute and Literaturwerkstatt Berlin to encourage this art-form in Ireland. We are also in the process of producing poetry-films for entrance into the Zebra International Poetry-Film Festival, and further afield.

Who we Are

With founder and director Paul Casey, Ó Bhéal’s board of management includes Irish Professor and Writer Alan Titley; Publisher and Poet Billy Ramsell; eMCee and Events organizer Gerry McNamara; Arts Facilitator and poet Jennifer Matthews; Actress, Clown and Poet Rosie O’Regan; Poet and Accountant Tommy Livingstone; Arts Facilitator Leslie Ryan and Poet and Musician Alan Coakley. As well as these, any of a larger number of regular attendees are involved in alternating the compèring responsibilities.

The website acts as the main organisational hub, attracting between 30000 and 45000 hits per month. It offers podcasts from most Ó Bhéal nights and over 500 videos of individual poems performed at a variety of festivals across Ireland. Most communication is made via the Internet and we are regularly advertised via Poetry Ireland, The Irish Times, Lyric FM, WhazOn? Cork and a number of online literary hubs. Guest poets can also leave their works at Ó Bhéal for sale on their behalf, for which Ó Bhéal seeks no profit.

Funding

On an ongoing (non-for-profit) basis, Ó Bhéal seeks funding assistance, primarily to provide adequate artists’ fees, accommodation and administrative expenses. Funding acquired thus far is indeed limited to these expenses, and is provided by four main sources, Poetry Ireland, Foras na Gaeilge, Cork City Council and The Arts Council. In 2009 The Munster Literature Centre provided Ó Bhéal with a once-off grant of 1000 euro. A non-obligational donation jar is circulated each week which serves to defray additional expenses incurred throughout the year. There is also a donation button on the lower right-hand side of each Ó Bhéal webpage for online contributions.

 

 

Guest poets

Each year on average, Ó Bhéal aims to present approximately 12 ‘major’ poets and 38 ‘minor’, referring to poets or poetry collectives who are unknown in the mainstream, though have usually published to some extent (although this is not a prerequisite). We try to host about 70% Irish and 30% ‘foreign’ poets. Fortunately there are enough excellent Irish poets to keep us going at this rate indefinitely … what did Kavanagh say about a standing army of ten thousand poets? It seems he may have been right … we’re just lucky there are a lot of good ones among them.

So while we do our best to provide a platform for all the capes and tunics of this great army, we also like to populate the series with a few handfuls of International poets during each year. To date we’ve hosted writers from England, Scotland, Wales, India, Greece, America, Australia, New Zealand, Holland and Romania. We’re hoping to see poets from Africa and South America before too long.

That’s just about it for now … guest poets have included, Eiléan Ní Chuilleanáin, Derek Mahon, Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill, Louis de Paor and many, many more. A full list follows:

Guests Since 2007 (Our first 8 weeks had no featured guests)

11 June 2007 – Gerard Sheehy, Edward O’Dwyer & Noel Harrington
18 June 2007 – Perciphone Petticoat (ENG)
25 June 2007 – Adam Wyeth
02 July 2007 – Gina Ferrara & Jonathan Kline (New Orleans)
16 July 2007 – Ian Horn (ENG)
30 July 2007 – John Liddy
06 August 2007 – Martin Farawell (US)
13 August 2007 – Terry McDonough & Diarmaid Moynihan
20 August 2007 – Perciphone Petticoat (ENG)
27 August 2007 – Seven Towers (5 poets)
03 September 2007 – Gene Barry
10 September 2007 – Seamus Harrington & Mel O’Dea
17 September 2007 – Gerry Murphy & Angelique Everitt
24 September 2007 – Louis de Paor
01 October 2007 – Dimitris Lyacos (Greece)
08 October 2007 – Sandeep Sinha (India)
15 October 2007 – Keith Armstrong & Paul Summers (ENG)
22 October 2007 – Mark O’Flynn (NZ)
29 October 2007 – Mags Traenor & Steven Murray
05 November 2007 – Billy Ramsell
12 November 2007 – Anamaría Crowe Serrano
19 November 2007 – The Poetry Chicks
26 November 2007 – Alan Garvey
03 December 2007 – Helen Kavanagh Ronan
10 December 2007 – Barbara Smith
17 December 2007 – Buddy Wakefield, Katie Wirsing & Andrea Gibson (US)

2008

07 January 2008 – Teri Murray
14 January 2008 – Jessica Peart
21 January 2008 – Cliff Wedgbury
28 January 2008 – Neil McCarthy
04 February 2008 – Mark Whelan
11 February 2008 – Gearoid Mac Lochlainn
18 February 2008 – Raven
25 February 2008 – Gary King
03 March 2008 – Trish Casey
10 March 2008 – Desmond Swords
17 March 2008 – James Kelly
24 March 2008 – Kevin Higgins
31 March 2008 – Derek Mahon
07 April 2008 – Eugene O’Connell & Matthew Geden
14 April 2008 – Ó Bhéal Poets from Five Words – the first edition
21 April 2008 – Miceál Kearney
28 April 2008 – Ian Horn (ENG)
05 May 2008 – Fred Johnston
12 May 2008 – Eileen Sheehan
19 May 2008 – John W Sexton
26 May 2008 – Seán Callahan (US) and Randall Maggs (CAN)
02 June 2008 – Colette Nic Aodha
09 June 2008 – Harry Zevenbergen (NL)
16 June 2008 – Tim Wells (UK)
23 June 2008 – Aoife Casby and Celest Augé
30 June 2008 – Dominic Taylor
07 July 2008 – Ronán Ó Snodaigh
14 July 2008 – Desmond O’Grady and John Liddy
21 July 2008 – Matthew Sweeney
28 July 2008 – Niall Herriott
04 August 2008 – Paddy Bushe
11 August 2008 – Dairena Ni Chinnéide
18 August 2008 – Oran Ryan and Ross Hattaway
25 August 2008 – Billy Ramsell
01 September 2008 – Knute Skinner
08 September 2008 – Robyn Rowland (AUS)
15 September 2008 – Leanne O’Sullivan
22 September 2008 – Felicity Heathcote and Seamus Cashman
29 September 2008 – Gabriel FitzMaurice
06 October 2008 – Barbara Smith
13 October 2008 – Aideen Henry
20 October 2008 – Anne-Marie Glasheen (ENG)
27 October 2008 – Keith Armstrong and the Honeyfeet (Jazz quintet – ENG)
03 November 2008 – Diarmaid Ó Dálaigh and Tony Desmond
10 November 2008 – Mary Noonan and John Mee
17 November 2008 – Jon Morley and Tony Owen (ENG)
24 November 2008 – Eiléan Ní Chuilleanáin
01 December 2008 – John Walsh and Miceál Kearney
08 December 2008 – Alan Titley
15 December 2008 – Pat Cotter

2009

05 January 2009 – Dave Lordan
12 January 2009 – PJ Brady & Lisa Marie Johnson
19 January 2009 – Grace Wells
26 January 2009 – Alan Jude Moore
02 February 2009 – Macdara Woods
09 February 2009 – Eabhan Ní Shúileabháin, Gwyn Parry and Declan Meade
16 February 2009 – Martin Daws (WALES)
23 February 2009 – Eamonn Lynskey
02 March 2009 – Gréagóir Ó Dúill
09 March 2009 – Susan Millar DuMars and Lorna Shaughnessy
16 March 2009 – Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill
23 March 2009 – Mary Mullen
30 March 2009 – Lothar Luken
06 April 2009 – James Harpur
13 April 2009 – Ó Bhéal 2nd Birthday & HOW THE LIGHT GETS IN (John Ennis)
20 April 2009 – Karen O’Connor
27 April 2009 – Rosemary Canavan
04 May 2009 – Dave Rock AND Stephen James Smith
11 May 2009 – Anamaría Crowe Serrano
18 May 2009 – Thomas McCarthy
25 May 2009 – Janice Fitzpatrick Simmons
01 June 2009 – Gerry Murphy
08 June 2009 – Ger Reidy
15 June 2009 – Frank Golden
22 June 2009 – Jon Morley, Mike McKimm and Tony Owen (ENG)
29 June 2009 – Máighréad Medbh
06 July 2009 – Ailbhe Ní Ghearbhuigh
13 July 2009 – Aidan Murphy
20 July 2009 – Frank Dullaghan
27 July 2009 – Frances Cotter
03 August 2009 – Pete Mullineaux
10 August 2009 – Joseph Horgan
17 August 2009 – Áine Uí Fhoghlú
24 August 2009 – Nigel McLoughlin
31 August 2009 – Tommy Frank O’Connor
07 September 2009 – Keith Armstrong (ENG) & Rense Sinkgraven (NL)
14 September 2009 – Liz Gallagher
21 September 2009 – Bernadette Cremin (ENG) and Munster Slam Champs
28 September 2009 – Pádraig Mac Fhearghusa
05 October 2009 – Robyn Rowland (AUS)
12 October 2009 – Terry McDonagh
19 October 2009 – Robert Gray and Alison Croggon (AUS)
26 October 2009 – Denisa Mirena Piscu (ROM) / Backra Men (ENG)
02 November 2009 – Gabriel Rosenstock
09 November 2009 – Maurice Scully
16 November 2009 – Enda Coyle-Greene
23 November 2009 – Six Whitehouse poets from Limerick
30 November 2009 – Joseph Woods
07 December 2009 – Meg Bateman (SCOT)
14 December 2009 – Gearoid Mac Lochlainn

2010

04 January 2010 – Patricia Byrne
11 January 2010 – Eugene O’Connell
18 January 2010 – Simon Ó Faoláin
25 January 2010 – Chris Agee
01 February 2010 – Matthew Geden
08 February 2010 – Marian O’Rourke
15 February 2010 – Liam Ó Muirthile
22 February 2010 – Teri Murray
01 March 2010 – Nessa O’Mahony
08 March 2010 – Kate Dempsey
15 March 2010 – Bríd Ní Mhóráin
22 March 2010 – Paul Grattan
29 March 2010 – Gerard Hanberry
05 April 2010 – John W Sexton
12 April 2010 – Ó Bheal’s Third Anniversary
19 April 2010 – Cuairt na bhFilí Albanacha
26 April 2010 – Aifric Mac Aodha
03 May 2010 – Vincent Woods
10 May 2010 – Camille Martin
17 May 2010 – Richard Tillinghast
24 May 2010 – Carlos Reyes
31 May 2010 – GMC and Bubba Shakespeare
07 June 2010 – Paul Perry
14 June 2010 – Afric McGlinchey AND Maureen Gallagher
21 June 2010 – Noel King
28 June 2010 – Quincy Lehr
05 July 2010 – Anthony Owen and Barry Patterson
12 July 2010 – John McNamee
19 July 2010 – Elaine Feeney and Dave Lordan
26 July 2010 – Seosamh Ó Guairim
02 August 2010 – Jerome Kiely
09 August 2010 – Kevin Higgins and Susan Millar du Mars

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