Esker Sessions XI: Paula Meehan & Theo Dorgan

Thursday 28th January, 8pm

Esker Sessions kicks off another year of literature and poetry readings with Paula Meehan and Theo Dorgan

Paula Meehan was born and raised in Dublin’s north inner city. Her multi-award-winning poetry has brought her widespread national and international acclaim.

Her poetry has been scored for solo voice and orchestra and for many choirs. Her love song to Dublin, The City of Our Dreaming, was premiered by The Guinness Choir in St. Patrick’s Cathedral last May. Her poems have been made into songs by many artists, not least the legendary Christy Moore, have been made into films, have been choreographed. Poetry has brought her all over the world.

She was honoured with election to Aosdána in 1996. She was Ireland Professor of Poetry, 2013–2016. In 2025 she received the XXI International Civil Poetry Prize at Vercelli, in Italy, and last December she received the Golden Magnolia Award for Poetry in Shanghai. She holds an Honorary Doctorate from DCU, is an Honorary Fellow of TCD and is an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Hibernian Academy.

Her collection The Solace of Artemis, received the 2024 Pigott Prize for Poetry.

Theo Dorgan is an award-winning poet with ten collections published, the most recent being ONCE WAS A BOY, chosen as the One City, One Book of 2024 in his native Cork.

His second novel CAMARADE, was published to critical acclaim in 2025.

Dorgan is also a documentary screenwriter, translator from French and Irish, essayist, broadcaster and editor.

In 2022 he devised the script for ANU's production of STAGING THE TREATY (now also a film available from IFI) and in 2023 he scripted and presented the multi-award-winning Alan Gilsenan documentary AN BUACHAILL GEALGHÁIREACH/THE LAUGHING BOY.

Two of his long poems, SAPPHO'S DAUGHTER and ÉRIU & AMERGIN, have been performed to music composed by Colm Mac Con Iomaire. Translations of his books have been published in many languages, most recently in Greek, Italian and French. He is a member of Aosdána and an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Hibernian Academy.

Tickets: €8 (+booking fee)