The Irish Literary Times

By Kathleen Donovan
 
Irish poet, playwright, and ballad singer Patrick Galvin, died in Cork, Ireland, in May of 2011. A unique and iconoclastic poet Galvin holds an important position among the members of his country’s prestigious Aosdána. [Membership of Aosdána is limited to 250 living artists who have produced a distinguished body of work]. In the market, streets and alleys of his old community, however, he is well loved not because of such an accolade, but because his poetry beats with the collective heart of Cork’s population. As a tribute to his popularity, his body was held in state at Connolly Hall, Cork’s trade union headquarters. A steady stream of community members including musicians, artists, writers and poets, visited the memorial before Galvin was waked in the traditional way, at his home.