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Irish Post
18-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Post
'A great and unique talent': President Higgins leads tributes following death of Irish post Paul Durcan
PRESIDENT Michael D. Higgins has led the tributes to Irish poet Paul Durcan, who has passed away at the age of 80. Author of more than 20 volumes of poetry, he was known for his sharp, satirical voice as well as his outspoken, comic but often moving work. "Ireland has lost the poet with the keenest sense of its absurdity and the lost opportunities for love and feeling," said President Higgins. Durcan was born in Dublin on October 16, 1944 and raised both there and in Co. Mayo. His earliest poems appeared in the collaborative volume Endsville, which was published in 1967, a year after he had relocated to London. He returned to Ireland in the 1970s, studying Archaeology and Medieval History at University College Cork, graduating with first class honours. His first fully-fledged collection, O Westport in the Light of Asia Minor, was published in 1975 and earned him the Patrick Kavanagh Poetry Award. Durcan pictured in 1999 (Image: It was followed by more than 20 further collections, including 1990's Daddy, Daddy, which won that year's Whitbread Book Award for Poetry. That same year, he collaborated with Van Morrison on his album, Enlightenment, co-writing and performing on the track, In the Days Before Rock 'n' Roll. "It is with the greatest sorrow that I have heard of the passing of Paul Durcan, one of Ireland's most important poets, and a close friend for over 50 years," said President Higgins. "Paul Durcan's contribution to the performed poem was of enormous importance to the appreciation of poetry in Ireland. "That we have audiences in so many generations for Irish poetry owes much to him and those others who brought their work around Ireland and abroad." He added: "Sabina and I know him as a dear friend. Early in my presidency he visited us in the Áras. His illness was hard for him to bear and Ireland was missing a great and unique talent in poetry. "His over 20 collections will be a source of great humanity and insight for generations to come." 'Distinctive and authentic voice' Taoiseach Micheál Martin also praised Durcan, describing him as 'one of Ireland's outstanding poets and literary figures'. "Capable of both searing honesty and great wit, Paul's works will continue to be celebrated across generations," he added. "My sympathies go to his wife Nessa, children Sarah, Siabhra and Michael, and his wider family and friends." Tánaiste Simon Harris meanwhile said Durcan was 'unflinchingly honest, witty and one of Ireland's best poetic voices'. "In the quiet spaces of ordinary moments, he found inspiration," added Mr Harris. "His body of work was both accessible and deep and this is shown in his fantastic final selection of 80 of his finest poems, published in celebration of his 80th birthday last year. Durcan receiving his honorary Doctor in Letters degree from TCD in 2009 (Image: James Horan / "With his passing, Ireland has lost one of its most distinctive and authentic voices — and his work, which often turned the mundane into the extraordinary, will live on for generations." Durcan's other notable collections include Greetings to Our Friends in Brazil, The Laughter of Mother, Life Is a Dream, and Praise in Which I Live and Move and Have My Being. In 2001, he received a Cholmondeley Award, which honours distinguished poets from Britain and Ireland. From 2004 to 2007, he was the third holder of the Ireland Professor of Poetry position, set up in 1005 to commemorate Seamus Heaney's Nobel Prize. Durcan was conferred with an honorary Doctor in Letters degree by Trinity College Dublin in 2009 and an honorary degree of Doctor of Literature by University College Dublin in 2011. In 2014, he was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Irish Book Award.
Extra.ie
18-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Extra.ie
Tributes pour in after death of acclaimed poet Paul Durcan
Tributes have been paid to the acclaimed poet Paul Durcan, who died at the age of 80 yesterday morning. Mr Durcan's family confirmed the news, saying he will be 'sadly missed by (his wife) Nessa, his daughters Sarah and Síabhra, his son Michael, his sons-in-law, Mark and Blaise, his daughter-in-law, Linden and his nine grandchildren'. His daughter Síabhra said her father's passing was 'very sudden' but added 'he had been unwell in recent years, so he had spent the last several years in a nursing home in Dublin'. She said that the funeral arrangements will be announced at a later date. Tributes have been paid to the acclaimed poet Paul Durcan, who died at the age of 80 yesterday morning. Pic: James Horan/ Mr Durcan turned 80 years old on October 16, 2024. A collection of his work, 80 at 80, was released to mark the occasion. The book featured an introduction from writer Colm Tóibín, who said of the acclaimed poet: 'It is hard to think of another poet in these islands who has written such searing poems against violence and cruelty and the politics of hate. 'It is also difficult to think of another male poet who has written such brave works of self-examination.' Mr Durcan turned 80 years old on October 16, 2024. A collection of his work, 80 at 80, was released to mark the occasion. Pic: Laura Hutton/ Mr Durcan was born in Dublin in 1944 and grew up in the Co. Mayo village of Turlough. He began his poetry career 60 years ago, publishing his first book, Endsville, with colleague Brian Lynch. There followed more than 20 books, including The Berlin Wall Café (1985), Daddy, Daddy (winner of the Whitbread Award for Poetry in 1990), Praise in Which I Live and Move and Have My Being (2012), and The Days of Surprise (2015). He was Ireland Professor of Poetry from 2004 to 2007, and was awarded the Lifetime Achievement at the Irish Book Awards in 2014.
Irish Daily Mirror
17-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Daily Mirror
Acclaimed Irish poet Paul Durcan dies aged 80 as tributes pour in
Renowned Irish poet Paul Durcan has died at the age of 80. In a statement, Mr Durcan's family said he would be 'sadly missed by [his wife] Nessa, his daughters Sarah and Síabhra, his son Michael, his sons-in-law, Mark and Blaise, his daughter-in-law, Linden, and his nine grandchildren.' The family said that funeral arrangements will be announced at a later date. Born in Dublin in October 1944, Mr Durcan is regarded as one of Ireland's most renowned contemporary poets. He published his first collection, Endsville, with Brian Lynch in 1967 and he would go on to author more than 20 books over the next 50 years. Mr Durcan received a number of accolades over the course of his career, including the Patrick Kavanagh Poetry Award in 1974, the Irish American Cultural Institute Poetry Award in 1989, the Whitbread Prize in 1990, and the London Poetry Book Society Choice. Mr Durcan celebrated his 80th birthday in October, and a new a collection of 80 poems, titled 80 At 80, was released to mark the occasion. Tributes have been paid to the acclaimed poet, with Tanaiste Simon Harris saying in a statement: "Paul Durcan was unflinchingly honest, witty and one of Ireland's best poetic voices. "In the quiet spaces of ordinary moments, he found inspiration. "His body of work was both accessible and deep and this is shown in his fantastic final selection of eighty of his finest poems, published in celebration of his 80th birthday last year. "With his passing, Ireland has lost one of its most distinctive and authentic voices - and his work, which often turned the mundane into the extraordinary, will live on for generations."
RTÉ News
17-05-2025
- Entertainment
- RTÉ News
Renowned poet Paul Durcan dies at 80
Paul Durcan, one of Ireland's most renowned contemporary poets, has died at the age of 80. Born in Dublin in 1944, he began his work 60 years ago with his first book 'Endsville', which was followed by more than 20 others. His work is also known to younger audiences, having featured on the Leaving Cert English syllabus. A winner of the Whitbread Poetry Prize and the Patrick Kavanagh Poetry Award, his publications include A Snail in My Prime, Crazy About Women, Greetings to our Friends in Brazil, and Cries of an Irish Caveman. He also appeared on Van Morrison's 1990 album Enlightenment. The National Library of Ireland acquired his archive late last year, covering the period from the 1960s to the present day, and including hundreds of the his notebooks, letters and cards. It was described as a collection of exceptional importance by the National Library of Ireland Director Dr Audrey Whitty. It showed Mr Durcan as a prolific letter-writer, and included correspondence with fellow writers, including Seamus Heaney, Brian Friel and John McGahern, the library said. Speaking at the archive event last November, his friend, archivist Catriona Crowe, said: "The great thing about him was he kept notebooks all the time. "If ever you were out having dinner with him, he'd have a notebook, and he might take it out and write down a line that struck him, or something came into his head. "So they're all there, and they're kind of an invaluable resource for students of poetry. "The thing about Paul that singles him out, I suppose, is that you spend your time laughing when you're reading his books, because he has such a surreal imagination. I mean, imagine writing a poem called 'Making Love Outside Áras an Uachtaráin'. "He is a really interesting publicly engaged, poet, who loved giving readings, who responded very well to his audiences and who wrote very, very serious poetry that had a surreal and hilarious twist to it so he was constantly surprising." Paul Durcan will be missed by Nessa, his daughters Sarah and Síabhra, his son Michael, his sons-in-law, daughter-in-law, and his nine grandchildren. Funeral arrangements will be announced later.
