44th Annual Irish Evening of Music and Poetry

HoCoPoLitSo’s 44th annual Irish Evening of Music and Poetry featured eight Irish writers, Colm Tóibín, Alice McDermott, Colum McCann, Mike McCormack, Vona Groarke, Theo Dorgan, Mary Madec, and Paula Meehan, along with music by O’Malley’s March and step dancers from the Teelin Irish Dance Company.
The evening program, co-chaired by Anne Reis and Ed Young, paid tribute to Irish evenings of the past and introduced poet Mary Madec. The Honorable Daniel Mulhall, Ireland’s Ambassador to the U.S, introduced the evening, which also featured music by O’Malley’s March fronted by former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley and award-winning dancers from the Teelin Irish Dance Company.
The writers read from their award-winning works and from the work of James Joyce. Vona Groarke, who visited in 2019, is the author of ten books of poetry and winner of numerous awards. Colum McCann, who visited both 1999 and 2013, received both the National Book Award and the Dublin Literary Award. His most recent book, Apeirogon, was longlisted for the Booker Prize. Poet and playwright Paula Meehan also visited twice, in 2000 and 2014. Theo Dorgan, who visited in 2014, is a poet, writer, lecturer, translator, and documentary screenwriter. Alice McDermott, who visited in 2020, was nominated three times for the Pulitzer Prize and was a recipient of the National Book Award. Colm Tóibín visited in 1999 and again in 2011. A winner of the Dublin Literary Prize, Tóibín received the 2021 David Cohen Prize for Literature, a lifetime achievement award. Mike McCormack visited us in 2018 and his newest novel, Solar Bones, won the Dublin Literary Award. Newcomer Mary Madec’s third poetry collection is The Egret Lands with News From Other Parts (2019). For more information on HoCoPoLitSo's live or recorded programs, visit www.hocopolitso.org.

[@toddjacksonpoetry]

Well, I'm "a wee part" Irish. He was a great-great-grandfather, late 19th century - nice to know it wasn't a slavery scenario - and fondly remembered by the family. I don't think that qualifies me for citizenship, but I'll watch the show and raise a pint for my great-great-grandpa.