His Chosen Islands – first broadcast on Friday 4 August 2017 at 7 pm on RTÉ lyric fm. Repeated on Sunday 31st December 2017 at 6 pm on RTÉ lyric fm. Re-broadcast on Sunday 4th February 2018 as a tribute to the poet, who died on 30th January 2018.
This programme was awarded SILVER at the 2018 New York Festivals Radio Awards in the Culture and the Arts category.
Listen to the programme on the RTÉ lyric fm soundcloud account: https://soundcloud.com/the-lyric-feature/his-chosen-islands-richard-murphy-in-the-west
A tribute to the work of poet Richard Murphy, who celebrated his 90th birthday on 6th August 2017.
When Richard Murphy first stepped on board a pookaun at Rossow Harbour in 1951 he had no idea where the traditional fishing boating would bring him. A storm was coming that would steer Richard to an island where the poet would find friends that would mentor him and a sailing life that would inspire him for more than 20 years. Producer Julien Clancy, takes us on a voyage of discovery to the west coast where we visit Inishbofin, Cleggan and High Island to explore the impact these places had on one of Ireland’s greatest Anglo Irish Poets. We also speak hear from his daughter Emily, islander John Concannon, whose father taught Richard how to sail, academics Lucy Collins and Ben Keatinge, and the poet Gerald Dawe. The programme also features archive recordings of interviews and readings by Richard Murphy from his home in Sri Lanka sharing some of his most celebrated work, including Sailing to an Island and The Battle of Aughrim.
Producer: Julien Clancy.
Executive producer: Claire Cunningham.
A Rockfinch Production (Ireland) for RTE lyric fm, funded by the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland from the Television Licence Fee.
Richard Murphy’s memoir The Kick was re-issued by Cork University Press in 2017.
In Search of Poetry, by Richard Murphy, was published by Clutag Press in 2017.
The volume Making Integral: Critical Essays on Richard Murphy, edited by Ben Keatinge, will be published in 2018 by Cork University Press.