Limerick Writers Centre: 14 books

This book creates an awareness of the connection between the place and the poem so that Limerick can establish itself internationally as one of the few places that gave its name to a literary form. It packs in a wealth of detail on the origins and history of the limerick, the Maigue Poets, and the...

For anyone interested in getting a sense of Limerick’s past history, Mae Leonard’s writing provides that vital link between history, memoir and musing. Volume 3 of My Home is There is a welcome addition to our knowledge about Limerick’s heritage. - Professor Bernadette Whelan, Department of History, University of Limerick, Limerick.

In this eclectic compilation of short stories, Pat draws on his own life experiences, on anecdotal narratives and on events both past and contemporary. Some of the stories are based on actual historical events – ranging from the national to the international. Other stories are the fruits of childhood...

IT’S ALL about chaos – the chaos within each of us and the chaos that lurks out there. But these poems, drenched in sensuality, honesty and hope, put a measure of order on that chaos, and separate the light from the darkness of the void. A suckling babe, the smell of church candles, a sleeping...

The poems of Denise Blake are poems to sit with, to live with, and return to over time, for they reveal themselves more deeply with each visit. In the gentle cadence of Donegal Island voices or in the realtor-speak" description of a childhood Cleveland home, layers of memory are exposed. They spring from a wide, deep and very rich field, and are laid out with a subtle touch.

A dramatic and humorous novel about travel, independence, and the struggle to find employment. Its narrative weaves its way from Ireland and across continental Europe where adventures and hijinks lay waiting for Gabriel Costello, a young father and husband with an itch for adventure and a responsibility to his family. His decent into chaos amid a snapshot of Europe will have you gripped.

Here are a few things you will discover from this text: How the Beatles expressed a modern take on the ancient Greek god Dionysus, How the title Yellow Submarine brings together male and female symbolism, That John Lennon’s first experience with LSD influenced the song ‘Help!’, Why the Beatles’...

Kate O’Shea is probably the best-known unknown poet in Dublin. She has published a chapbook, Crackpoet (Wurm Press, 2013). She was short-listed for the Patrick Kavanagh Award twice in two consecutive years, and also made the short-list for the Cork Literary Review Manuscript Competition,...

Arthur Broomfield’s sense of history excavates the fustier corners of things wemight almost forget, but which he refuses to ignore. These observant poems sparkle with a unique response to experience as he writes of love and marriage, the ‘poetry’ of a sporting fixture to the ears of a young boy, or the menace of the IRA at odds with the joy of the 1990 FIFA World Cup.

Lorraine Carey's poetry displays both the durability and the brittleness of Donegal’s granite and flint clad landscape. As you explore this extraordinary collection, you will not come away unscathed. Great boulders of verbs and craggy nouns will stop you in your tracks: poems will sidetrack you...

Redshank is a contemporary story of a poet’s struggle with the isolation of his craft, while, at the same time, having to deal with some complicated familial issues. It is a humorous novel, interspersed with poetry and enriched with zany minor characters. But it is the main character, Cathal Ó...

Madrid and Other Poems has a threefold annunciation - Praise, Tort, and Vista. The sections reflect these words: Praise is filled with gratitude and thanks to people who are gone while it mourns those who have been loved and lost. Tort speaks out against issues of the modern day, and the outrage and chaos that is within and outside of the poet. In Vista he reflects on life’s experiences.

In The Fish Woman, Liz Price chronicles the loves of ordinary people, to present a picture of the extraordinary spirit and resilience needed to survive everyday challenges. One woman is disillusioned by her experience of community education, one struggles to accept her role as carer while another tries to share in her pregnant daughter-in-law's life.

Keeping My Ghosts Alive is a heartwarming and multi-faceted chronicle of a woman who, up to her untimely death, lived life with exceptional energy and intensity. Having been misdiagnosed with cancer in 2007, she was given one year to live. This is her story written in her words, which were discovered...