Stoney Road Press • An Post • Poetry Ireland
To celebrate the centenary of the 1916 Rising, Stoney Road Press, in association with An Post and Poetry Ireland, are pleased to announce the publication of ’16’, a limited-edition, fine-press collection of poetry and art.
Poetry, more than any other art form, is intimately connected to the events of Easter 1916. Three of the executed signatories of the Proclamation – Pádraig Pearse, Thomas McDonagh and Joseph Mary Plunkett – were recognised poets of their day, who had used their poems to espouse the cause of revolutionary nationalism. The author Peter Costello, in his ‘The Heart Grown Brutal’, says of them: “They gave themselves to the great theme of their poetry, the cause of Ireland, and made the Rising not merely a political event but also a poetic creation.” In contrast to this assessment of their literary importance, Pearse, in a moment of humorous self-effacement, is reported to have said that, should the Rising fail, “If we do nothing else, we shall rid Ireland of three bad poets.”
For ’16’, Poetry Ireland has invited four contemporary poets to present their own responses to the Rising and its aftermath. These works will be by: Harry Clifton, Vona Groarke, Paula Meehan, Paul Muldoon.
In addition, Stoney Road Press has commissioned four limited edition prints by the following Irish artists: Michael Canning, Alice Maher, Brian O’Doherty, Kathy Prendergast.
Stoney Road Press has also invited the Irish literary scholar, Professor Declan Kiberd, to write the introduction to this collection. To complement this introduction, he has chosen eight poems relevant to the notion of Ireland’s freedom and the sacrifices of those who lived and died to attain that cherished goal. Included in this selection will be: ‘Séan Ó Duibhir an Ghleanna’/ John O’Dwyer of the Glen with George Sigerson’s translation, ‘Róisín Dubh’ / ‘My Dark Rosaleen’ with James Clarence Mangan’s version, ‘The Famine Year’ by Lady Jane Wilde, ‘Fornocht Do Chonac Thú’ by Patrick Pearse with his own English version, ‘Lament for Thomas MacDonagh’ by Francis Ledwidge, ‘Easter 1916′ by W. B. Yeats, ‘Comrades – to Con’ by Eva Gore-Booth, ‘Do M’Athair’ by Caoimhín Ó Conghaile with translation by Declan Kiberd.
’16’ will be published in April 2016 and will be available in a limited edition of 150, each signed by the living writers and artists. Individual volumes are available for a pre-publication price of €1,250 and a post-publication price of €1,750. Copies of the book and associated prints will be featured in the new GPO Witness History exhibition on Dublin’s O’Connell Street.
To receive a prospectus on this upcoming edition please contact mail@stoneyroadpress.com. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for updates on the printing and publication of “16”.
’16’ will be in the collections of The Library of Trinity College Dublin, The Boole Library of University College Cork, The Firestone Library of Princeton University, The Burns Collection of Boston College, The Arts Council, and Meath County Council.
