Ireland Chair of Poetry, Northern Ireland Trustees Annual Report
Period: 2023 / 2024
Date registered with the Charity Commission Northern Ireland
23[rd] May 2022
Charity no. 107974
Trustees of the Ireland Chair of Poetry, Northern Ireland, as of March 31[st] 2023:
Professor Fran Brearton Professor Lucy Collins Professor Ignatius McGovern Sir Donnell Deeny Professor Michael Longley Professor Brian Walker Maura McGrath
Chairperson Mr. Liam Hannaway
Principal Address
Poetry Ireland CLG. 11 Parnell Square East Dublin 1
Principal Bankers
Allied Irish Banks
Introduction:
The Ireland Chair of Poetry, Northern Ireland, was set up in 1998 following the award of the Nobel Prize of Literature to Seamus Heaney and is jointly held between Queen’s University Belfast, Trinity College Dublin, University College Dublin, the Arts Council of Northern Ireland and the Arts Council/An Chomhairle Ealaíon. Every three years a poet of honour and distinction
is chosen to represent the Chair as Ireland’s Professor of Poetry. During their tenure, the holder spends a year attached to each of the three universities and resides for a period of approximately eight weeks at each. While in residence, the poet gives informal workshops or readings, spends time working with students and performing outreach work and makes one formal presentation a year, usually in the form of a lecture.
Activities of the Ireland Chair of Poetry, Northern Ireland, over these twelve months:
How to Read a Poem Seminars by Professor Paul Muldoon
From January – March 2023 Prof. Paul Muldoon, gave a series of discussions at Queen’s University Belfast, entitled How to Read a Poem. Dates of the seminar were 25[th] January, 1[st] February, 8[th] February, 22[nd] February, 1[st] March.
Readings by Professor Paul Muldoon
On February 24[th] 2023 Prof. Paul Muldoon gave a reading at the Linen Hall Library, in Belfast. On Thursday, March 2[nd] 2023 Prof. Paul Muldoon gave a reading in the Thomas Davis Theatre, Trinity College Dublin.
Lectures by Professor Paul Muldoon
Prof Paul Muldoon gave a lecture entitled ‘Talking Heads, on campus at University College Dublin on 17[th] May and in The Great Hall of Queen’s University Belfast on 25[th] April 2023.
The Poet of Promise
In July, Molly Twomey was nominated by the Ireland Chair of Poetry Trust and the Ireland Professor of Poetry as the Poet of Promise for 2023. The bursary awarded Molly with a fourweek residency at the Tyrone Guthrie Centre, Annaghmakerrig County Monaghan. Her nomination and acceptance of the bursary was announced on the ICOP website and social media channels on the 13th July 2023.
The Ireland Chair of Poetry Student Awards
Now in its fifth year, the Ireland Chair of Poetry Student Award recognised excellence in the work of six emerging poets currently enrolled at Master’s level. The student awards went to Rhiannon McGavin, Shakeema Edwards, Simon Goligher, Emma Buckley, Cullan Maclear and Sam Furlong.
The Ireland Chair of Poetry Travel Award
The 2023 Travel Award was awarded to Dane Holt. The winners of the 2023 Student and Travel Awards were announced on the ICOP website and social media channels on June 22[nd] and 19[th] 2023.
Dane Holt successfully traveled to Paris to visit Place Saint-Sulpice, and to sit where Georges Perec had sat over a long weekend in 1974 when he was writing ‘An Attempt at Exhausting a Place in Paris’. A summary of Dane’s experience and an extract from Day 1 of his journal can be read on the Ireland Chair of Poetry website.
The publication of Prof. Frank Ormsby’s lectures, The Poet’s Chair published by UCD Press In October 2023 the publication of The World Unmade, Writings of the Ireland Professor of Poetry Frank Ormsby 2019-2022 was launched. UCD Press published the lectures, and the launch took place in The Crescent Arts Centre, Belfast on 6[th] October.
Spring Semester Series of Public IPOP Events 2024
From January 24[th] until May 1[st] Professor Paul Muldoon hosted his popular series of discussions ‘How to Read a Poem’ this time in the Long Room Hub in Trinity College Dublin. There were seven seminars in total. He gave a reading of his recent poems in the Museum of Literature Ireland on February 1[st] . To complete his series of events for the Spring of 2024 Professor Muldoon gave a lecture entitled Make Like a Bird in Trinity College Dublin on 27[th] February and in Queen’s University Belfast on 2[nd] May 2024.
How the Trust raised and spent funds
The Ireland Chair of Poetry Trust is funded by donations from Queen’s University Belfast, Trinity College Dublin, University College Dublin, the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, and the Arts Council/An Chomhairle Ealaíon. The funds are spent on the promotion and support of poetry in the South and the North of Ireland.
To conclude:
Over these twelve months, the Ireland Chair of Poetry Trust has supported and helped poets in the North and South of Ireland – through student awards, a poet’s residency, and by supplying a travel award to facilitate a poet’s travel. In addition to supporting the work of poets, the Trust has supported the poetry infrastructure in Ireland (North and South) by providing a series of poetry seminars, readings, and lectures to benefit the public.
The trustees have at all times regard to the Commission’s Public benefit requirement with particular reference to the purposes of arts and education.
A review of the charity’s financial position is included in the audit which has been submitted with this return.
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