First hometown show for Longford poet Darragh Coady in Athena Fine Art Gallery

Longford’s contribution to Irish poetry is often underestimated. The works of Padraic Colum, Oliver Goldsmith, John Keegan Casey, Séamus Ó Fearghail and Charlotte Brooke built a foundation that established the county as a seat of poetic excellence.

Contemporary poets like Noel Monaghan and Nigerian-Longford poet Felicia Olusanya, known as FeliSpeaks, continue that tradition. Another Longfordian engaging in versification is Darragh Coady.

“My goal is to promote spoken word poetry and hopefully connect with others who may not find poetry accessible,” Darragh told the Leader in anticipation of a show this week in Longford town.

“I’ve been writing poetry since my mid teens but only got involved with performing it about two years back. I was going to see John Cooper Clarke at the Olympia, Dublin. As fate would have it, I bumped into him at Cafe 1920 a few hours before the show and he gave me some solid advice about performing poetry,” he said of embarking on his poetic adventure.

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The Longford town native has honed his performance side of his craft: “I have performed at the Maria Edgeworth literary festival, culture night, I’ve read during World Poetry Day, and bagged the much coveted featured act slot at the Circle Sessions in Dublin.

“Last October I performed my first show at Culture Rapide in Paris which has been described as “volcanic”. I’ve had work published in magazines and journals and written for poetry as commemoration.”

Darragh draws on life experience for his subject matter: “Many of my poems provide a social commentary on contemporary society, some of which are often told from an underdog’s perspective.

“The themes explored within my work range from love to memory, politics, morality, injustice and the occasional taboo topic,” he says.

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Darragh speaks of the power of his art: “I am a modern poet with a social conscience, keen to promote performance poetry within Longford.”

He concluded with an invitation to his show: “On Sunday, April 7 I will be hosting my very 1st home town show at the recently opened Athena Art Gallery on Ballymahon Street.

“It’s a free event aimed at anyone interested in poetry or performance arts. Indeed it’s for anyone who is even curious, so I hope people feel free to stop by. Everyone is welcome!”