NEW IRISH POETS

By Cian Pierce Ireland is a nation of poets, always has been and always will be. We are all familiar with the bigger figures of Irish poetry, Ni Chuilleanain, Boland, Heany, Yeats, etc; but we should not ignore the new up and coming generation of poets. Below is a list of biographies of eleven extraordinary poets who are living or are currently practicing in Ireland. The list is by no means neither exhaustive nor complete, but I think they are a great indication and starting point for those with an interest in contemporary Irish poetry. The following list is in no particular order, I highly recommend you check them all out!Shasha TerfousAnnounced as the Poet Laureate for Wexford, Sasha Terfous is one of Ireland’s important figures in the poetic community. She seeks to narrate life’s experiences through her wisdom, eloquence and passion. Using her work as a form of activism, her work draws attention to the voices that need to be heard and issues that need to be raised. Ashley O’NealLiving in the Gaeltacht area of Ballyvourney, Ashley O’Neal is an award-winning artist, poet and philosopher. She was the winner of the 2018 Kanturk Poetry Slam Competition, and she read her poems for the Sliabh Luachra Scully’s Fest in 2018. Her book ‘The Wren Is Near’ has been described as a "compelling compilation of the medieval legendary of gods and myths of Seamus Heaney and Ciaran Carson and the lyric grace and evocativeness of writers such as Michael Hartnett" and was shortlisted for the 2020 Shine Strong Poetry Award.Denise ChailaDenise Chaila is an Irish and Zambian rapper, singer, poet, grime and hip-hop artist based in Limerick. Her work confidently challenges both misogyny in rap and the Irish hip-hop identity. She was one of the performers at the ‘Perspectives: Imagining Ireland, Speaking Up, Singing Louder’ in the National Concert Hall in Dublin in 2020 and she appeared on The Late Late Show in 2020. Taken from her debut mixtape Go Bravely, her song “Anseo” is a playful yet spiritual depiction of the medieval era that has been praised and even studied in universities. Sadhbh Goodwin Sadhbh Goodwin is currently a UCC Quercus performing arts scholar and poet from Co. Galway. They have written poems in both Irish and English and they have been published in the Wild Words anthology, Vox Galvia, and in Cinders magazine among others. Jade RiordanAn undergraduate student at the University of Ottawa, Jade Riordan is an Irish-Canadian poet and a selection committee member with Bywords. Her poetry has been featured in, among other places, The Blue Nib, Cordite Poetry Review, Corvid Queen, Eunoia Review, Noble / Gas Qtrly and Room. Jess Mc KinneyAn English Studies graduate of UCD, Jess MC Kinney is a queer feminist poet and essayist. From Inishowen, Co. Donegal, she is based in Dublin city. Her writing is informed by themes like sexuality, memory, relationships, nature, gender, independence and mental health. She often seeks to marry pictorial elements alongside written word. Her work has been published previously in Impossible Archetype, A New Ulster, HeadStuff, In Place, Hunt & Gather, Three fates and a few other local zines. Clodagh Mooney Duggan Clodagh Mooney Duggan originally trained as an actor and graduated from The Gaiety School of Acting in 2013. She wrote Made from Paper, which premiered in Dublin 2020 in The Scene and Heard Festival. The Women Who Loved ME & The Women Who Couldn’t is her first published collection. Anna Walsh Anna Walsh is an Irish writer based in Glasgow. They have had both prose and poetry published in Fallow Media, The Honest Ulsterman and many other publications. Their debut poetry collection was published in 2020, in conjunction with the Small Trans Library in Dublin. Anora MansourAnora Mansour is a graduate from Oxford, she is African-American and Irish and currently lives between Oxford and Dublin.  Online she has published a collection of Jazz Poems and has her own published collection of poetry and a blog. William KeohaneWilliam Keohane is a MA student in UL. His work has appeared in Hennessy New Irish Writing and his poems have been broadcast on the RTE Radio 1’s Sunday Miscellany. His work includes a lot of trans-related themes.Kayssie KKayssie K, also known as Christie Kandiwa, is a poet and singer/songwriter and Poet Laureate from Bray, Co. Wicklow. She blends her Zimbabwean cultural heritage and her Irish upbringing in her work. A lot of her creative output works to intertwine Southern African myths and local languages, while also glimpsing nature in its multitude of forms. She explores the “stretches and beauty of being a black woman in modern-day Ireland, as well as what it truly means to be a diaspora baby”.Jake GriffinJake Griffin is a writer and poet from Co. Cork. His first collection ‘Lost Frequencies’ includes poetic works that will make you think, scare you and comfort you.