Admirers of the work of Patrick Kavanagh mark the centenary of the poet's birth.
Although he was born in Inniskeen County Monaghan on 21 October 1904, Patrick Kavanagh said he was born as a poet in Dublin in 1955.
One hundred years following his birth Dublin City Hall hosts a celebration of the poet's life and work. Actors performed extracts from Tarry Flynn (1948) and admirers, including actor and comedian Ardal O'Hanlon, recited some of his best loved poems.
A complex man, Kavanagh's beautiful lyrical lines sometimes seemed at odds with his public demeanour.
Patrick Kavanagh's biographer Dr Antoinette Quinn says there were two sides to the poet. To some, he was rude, abrasive and aggressive, an uncouth peasant. To those who knew him and were friends with him, he was endearing, charming and entertaining.
Patrick Kavanagh had an immeasurable influence on successive Irish poets such as Seamus Heaney and Anthony Cronin. Poet Paul Durcan descibes him as, the great liberator.
Further centenary events are planned to take place at the poet's birthplace in Inniskeen.
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 21 October 2004. The reporter is Anne Marie Smyth.
