At 5 o'clock on Christmas Day on RTÉ Radio 1, Olivia O'Leary presents an hour-long Christmas Poetry Programme - listen above.
This year's programme, made in collaboration with Poetry Ireland, features readings and conversation with Caitríona Ní Chléirchín, Barry Devlin, Eiléan Ní Chuilleanáin and Andrew Bennett, and music from Lumen Chorale.
Barry Devlin chooses some favourite Christmas poems to read, including one by Paul Muldoon and Seamus Heaney's poem from his 1984 Christmas card. Caitríona Ní Chléirchín reads from her collection The Talk of the Town, and we hear a joint reading of the ever-popular A Christmas Childhood by Patrick Kavanagh, with Barry reading the poem in English and Caitríona reading her new translation of the poem into Irish. Eiléan Ní Chuilleanáin's choices include some of her own work, as well as poems by JM Synge and her late husband, Macdara Woods. Andrew Bennet reads a selection of poems throughout the programme (by Patrick Moran, Joan McBreen, Alvy Carragher, Moya Roddy, Kevin Cowdall and Louis Mulcahy) and talks with Olivia about the remarkable success of the Irish language film An Cailín Ciúin, in which he played the role of the foster father.
The programme opens with a setting of setting by Fiona Shields of the poem Oíche Nollag by Máire Mhac an tSaoi, performed by members of the DCU Lumen Chorale, conducted by Dr Róisín Blunnie, and the musicians close the programme with a performace of Carol of the Bells by the Ukrainian composer Leontovich.
The programme was recorded before a live audience in Belvedere House, St Patrick's, Drumcondra, part of the campus of DCU. Poetry Ireland is temporarily based at St Patrick's while works are ongoing at their city centre headquarters.
The Poetry Programme is a Rockfinch production for RTÉ - listen to more from The Poetry Programme here.
