Poetry Ireland Presents: Poetry Day Ireland Poetry Reading

This Poetry Day Ireland we are proud to host our first poetry reading in our new 'home' at No. 11 Parnell Square.

Poetry Day Ireland is an annual island-wide celebration of poetry. This year it takes place on Thursday May 28th, 2026 with the theme 'Home'.

Poetry Ireland / Éigse Éireann is delighted to present readings from a selection of our twelve poets showcased as part of Poetry Day Ireland 2026. Each of the selected poems responds to this year's theme Home. This is a bilingual event.

Expect and evening of poetry and music, with contributions from Medbh McGuckian, Sean Borodale, Paul Casey, Eilean Ni Chuilleanáin, Seosamh Ó Murchú and Marcus Mac Conghail.

Medbh McGuckian

Medbh McGuckian was born in 1950 in Belfast where she continues to live. She has been Writer-in-Residence at Queen’s University, Belfast, the University of Ulster, Coleraine, and Trinity College, Dublin, and was Visiting Fellow at the University of California, Berkeley. She is Honorary Lecturer at Queen’s University’s School of Arts, English and Languages Department.

Sean Borodale

Sean Borodale works as an artist, writer, poet. He is currently Poetry Ireland/ Éigse Éireann Poet In Residence (2026 – 2028). He studied and later taught at the Slade School of Fine Art in London, where he was also until recently Hon. Research Fellow in print and text. He has four collections of poetry published by Jonathan Cape. His debut Bee Journal (2012) was shortlisted for the TS Eliot Prize and Costa Book Award.

Paul Casey

Paul Casey's poems have most recently appeared in The Stony Thursday Book and Maple Leaf Anthology. Virtual Tides was published by Salmon Poetry in 2016, which followed home more or less (Salmon, 2012) and a chapbook, It's Not All Bad (Heaventree, 2009). He edits the annual Unfinished Book of Poetry anthology for secondary schools. Quilt, a chapbook, is forthcoming.

Eiléan Ní Chuilleanáin

Eiléan Ní Chuilleanáin was born in Cork City in 1942, educated there and at Oxford before spending her working life as an academic in Trinity College, Dublin. She was a founder member of Cyphers, a literary journal. She has won the Patrick Kavanagh Award, the Irish Times Award for Poetry, the O’Shaughnessy Award of the Irish-American Cultural Institute which called her “among the very best poets of her generation”, the International Griffin Poetry Prize and the 1573 International Poetry Award, one of China’s highest literary honours.

Seosamh Ó Murchú

Rugadh i Loch Garman é agus tá cónaí air le fada i mBaile Átha Cliath. Iar-eagarthóir ar Comhar is ea é agus bhí sé ina chomhbhunaitheoir agus ina chomheagarthóir ar an irisleabhar liteartha, Oghma. Chaith sé blianta fada ar an bhfoireann eagarthóireachta sa Ghúm. Bronnadh Gradam Filíochta Mhichíl Uí Airtnéide ar a chéad chnuasach, Taisí Tosta. In 2019 a foilsíodh Athchuairt, an dara leabhar filíochta leis. Tá cnuasach nua á chur le chéile aige faoi láthair.

Marcus Mac Conghail

Marcus has had two collections of poetry published, both by Coiscéim. In 2015 Ceol Baile was jointly awarded The Michael Hartnett Poetry Prize. His second book, Spásas, was published in 2021 and was widely praised for its experimental nature - both in language and form. Gallery Press, Dedalus, and Cló Iar-Chonnacht have all anthologised poems of his, and his work is also on the syllabus for second level students, north and south. As a songwriter he had the main writing credit on the album, Imlé, which was awarded album of the year by Nós in 2017 and he has recorded and gigged with various music projects including Thatchers of the Acropolis, Bruadar, and Spásas.