Politics

Paul Muldoon proposed as parliamentary poet laureate

Suggestion of a parliamentary poet laureate due to be discussed at next meeting of Houses of the Oireachtas Commission, the cross-party body that runs the Oireachtas

Poet Paul Muldoon: he gave the eulogy at the funeral of Seamus Heaney
Poet Paul Muldoon: he gave the eulogy at the funeral of Seamus Heaney
Colin Coyle
Wed Sept 06 2023 - 05:00

Poetry Ireland has proposed Paul Muldoon, a Pulitzer Prize for Poetry winner, to take up a mooted role as parliamentary poet laureate.

Liz Kelly, the director of the organisation that promotes poetry in Ireland, wrote to the Ceann Comhairle, Seán Ó Fearghaíl, and Fine Gael TD David Stanton after learning of proposals to appoint a parliamentary poet laureate who would write poetry for use in the Dáil and Seanad and for State events.

The suggestion came from Mr Stanton, a TD for Cork East, after a visit to Dublin in November 2022 by the poet laureate to the Canadian parliament, Louise Bernice Halfe, also known by her Cree name Sky Dancer.

Ms Halfe visited Leinster House as part of a First Nations delegation at the request of the Ireland-Canada interparliamentary friendship group and was hosted by Mr Stanton.

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The Oireachtas said this week the idea was still under consideration. It is due to be discussed at the next meeting of the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission, the cross-party body that runs the Oireachtas.

After news of the proposed role emerged Ms Kelly wrote to the Ceann Comhairle and Mr Stanton to point out that Muldoon was already Ireland’s Chair of Poetry.

“[He] is a world-renowned poet who gave the eulogy at the funeral of Seamus Heaney, was a student of Heaney’s and is currently in residence at Queen’s University Belfast,” Ms Kelly wrote in May. “He will spend time in Dublin over the next two years as part of his role as Ireland Chair of Poetry. He would be ideally placed for official Oireachtas work – we are incredibly fortunate to have such incredibly accomplished and renowned poets here in Ireland, both established and early career and now also very much reflective of this hugely diverse society in which we live.”

James Kelly, chief executive officer of the Ireland Canada University Foundation, also wrote to the Oireachtas supporting the proposal and offering assistance in providing more information about the Canadian model. “I think this is an outstanding idea. Ireland is, as Deputy Stanton noted, internationally renowned for its poets,” he said.

“The work of poets has often helped us describe moments in civic life on this island in ways us mere mortals cannot. In imagining how to govern our new fledging State, our forebears (including, I imagine WB Yeats) drew on our ancient heritage, conceiving of a taoiseach, a tánaiste, a Dáil. I think we should continue to draw on our rich past in order to chart our way into our challenging future.”

A briefing on the proposal, released under the Freedom of Information Act in April, noted Canada was the only country with a sitting parliamentary poet laureate, although other countries have their own poets laureate. It noted the Canadian parliamentary poet laureate receives about €27,454 every year.

During the debate in Canada about appointing a parliamentary poet, one politician, Cheryl Gallant, called for safeguards in case the poet prompted controversy, the briefing notes show. “Poets have the ability to stir up powerful emotions,” she cautioned.