The Contemporary Music Centre’s Dublin Literary New Music Trail 2011
1. St. Patrick's Park - Literary Parade
2. Grogan's Pub - James Wilson
3. McDaid's Pub - Benjamin Dwyer
4. Nassau Street - Michael Alcorn
5. Comhdháil Náisiúnta na Gaeilge - Seóirse Bodley
6. The National Library - Frank Corcoran
7. Merrion Square Park - Roger Doyle
1. Literary Parade, St Patrick’s Park, Patrick’s Close, Dublin 8
The Literary Parade is a tribute to great Irish writers. It was crafted by Colm Brennan and John Coll and commissioned in 1988 by Irish Distillers to commemorate the Dublin Millennium in 1988. The sculptured heads, each accompanied by a short biography, are set into the arched alcoves of the red-bricked east wall of St Patrick's Park. The 12 bronze oval plaques feature Samuel Beckett, Brendan Behan, James Joyce, Sean O'Casey, George Bernard Shaw, Jonathan Swift, John Millington Synge, Oscar Wilde, William Butler Yeats, Eilish Dillon, James Clarence Mangan and Austin Clarke.
2. Grogan’s Pub, 15 South William Street, Dublin 2
Composer: James Wilson
Composition: Undesirables
Year: 1990
Time: 7'17"
Literary Connection: Leland Bardwell
A haven for Irish writers and artists of all shades since the early 70s. Frequented by Irish writer Leland Bardwell, whose poem is set by James Wilson in the Undesirables.
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3. McDaid’s Pub, 3 Harry Street, Dublin 2
Composer: Benjamin Dwyer
Composition: Apuntes si titulos III
Year: 2003
Time: 3'28"
Literary Connection: MacDara Woods
McDaid's Pub was a major centre of literary activity in Dublin from the mid 1940s to the late 60s. It was where a young MacDara Woods met many major poets, among them Patrick Kavanagh. In the Ranelagh Gardens which features Apuntes si Titulos is a collaboration between poet MacDara Woods and composer Benjamin Dwyer, the CD is a compilation of readings and compositions by both artists.
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4. Nassau Street, Dublin 2
Composer: Michael Alcorn
Composition: The Old Woman of Beare
Year: 1994
Time: 17'03"
Literary Connection: Brendan Kennelly
Beckett, Swift and Wilde were among the famous Irish writers who would have walked along Nassau Street on the way to the lofty gates of Trinity College Dublin. One of Ireland's most well-known figures, Brendan Kennelly, was a both a graduate of Trinity College and is its Professor of Modern Literature for over thirty years. He too walks along Nassau Street! The Old Woman of Beare by Michael Alcorn is s written around a dramatic recitation on tape of Brendan Kennelly's translation of an early text describing the legend of The Old Woman of Beare.
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5. Comhdhail Naisiunta na Gaeilge, 46 Kildare Street, Dublin 2
Composer: Seóirse Bodley
Composition: Streetscape (from Earlsfort Suite)
Year: 1999-2000
Time: 4'14"
Literary Connection: Micheal O'Siadhail
Comhdháil Náisiúnta na Gaeilge is the central steering council for the Irish language community. Its mission is to 'strengthen and consolidate goodwill and support for the Irish language and its usage as a living language so that it may be used freely and widely in all aspects of Irish life'. It hosts events including readings by Irish language writers and poets. Micheal O’Siadhail is a prolific poet and intellectual. Among his many academic works are Learning Irish (Yale University Press 1988) and Modern Irish (Cambridge University Press 1989). The poet has worked closely with the composer Seóirse Bodley over the course of the last twenty years.
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6. National Library, 2 Kildare Street, Dublin 2
Composer: Frank Corcoran
Composition: Buile Suibhne
Year: 1996
Time: 18'04"
Literary Connection: Seamus Heaney
The mission of the Library is to collect, preserve, promote and make accessible the documentary and intellectual record of the life of Ireland and to contribute to the provision of access to the larger universe of recorded knowledge. Irish writers, historical and contemporary, have and continue to use the National Library on a regular basis. Buile Suibhne (Mad Sweeney) by Frank Corcoran is translated from middle Irish by Seamus Heaney one of our greatest living Irish writers.
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7. Merrion Square Park, Merrion Square, Dublin 2
Composer: Roger Doyle
Composition: Under the Green Time
Year: 1995
Time: 6'28"
Literary Connection: Sebastian Barry
Merrion Square Park is home to two statues commemorating Irish writers. These statues in turn have inspired contemporary Irish writers thereby forging the links between past and present. Roger Doyle’s work Under the Green Time is inspired by Sebastian Barry a contemporary Irish playwright.
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