PATRICK KAVANAGH ON COVER OF FIRST BOOK TO CELEBRATE UNESCO HONOUR

Monaghan poet Patrick Kavanagh has pride of place on the cover of the first book to celebrate Dublin’s UNESCO City of Literature designation. The photograph shows the Iniskeen poet arriving by carriage at a Duke Street pub, after the first 1954 commemoration of James Joyce’s Bloomsday.

With a Foreword by Patrick’s friend, novelist J. P. Donleavy, and published by Liffey Press, the lavishly illustrated 300-page book is PRODIGALS AND GENIUSES. The Writers and Artists of Dublin’s Baggotonia.

Author Brendan Lynch said: “Patrick was the logical choice as he was the best known character in Baggotonia, the name given to the Georgian area around Baggot and Leeson Streets, where many writers and artists lived from the 1930s until the 1980s. He is commemorated by a plaque on Parsons Bookshop, which Peter McDonnell and the Monaghan Association erected in 2008.”

The new 300-page book features many photographs of the Iniskeen poet, as well as two chapters devoted to him, including one on the celebrated libel case against The Leader journal. Peter Kavanagh is also praised for his consistent support of his brother. There are also chapters on Brendan Behan, Flann O’Brien, Dublin’s artists, censorship and the controversial 1954 prosecution of The Pike Theatre for indecency.

The book reveals that many of Patrick’s contemporaries disputed allegations of his alleged rudeness. Fellow-poet Robert Greacen cautioned: “Life had taught him to be on his guard.”

John O’Brien, owner of Parsons Bookshop, met the poet many times in a Ballsbridge restaurant: “Usually alone, he was always polite. I think he got a bad press. Years later, I was pleased to allow Peter McDonnell erect a plaque to him on the wall of Parsons, to commemorate his long association with the place.”

Among the new book’s many anecdotes is one account of Patrick’s poverty-induced sleight of hand in a Baggot Street pub. Arguing with a fellow-drinker about the labelling of Irish whiskey, columnist Myles na Gopaleen insisted that Powers and Jameson were described as Dublin rather than as Irish whiskey; “The obliging barman brought down a bottle to show his audience. He left to attend to other customers. When he returned, the bottle was gone, as was Patrick, who had been sitting on the

periphery of the company.”

Foreword writer J. P. Donleavy, who was a close friend of Patrick Kavanagh, said; “Brendan Lynch’s book evokes vibrant memories of a wonderful place and an exciting period.  It’s a worthy tribute to our wonderful writers and poets who battled against the odds in the past century.”

The large-format PRODIGALS AND GENIUSES features 120 photographs, further details may be seen on its author’s brendanlynch.ie website.

Monaghan poet Patrick Kavanagh has pride of place on the cover of the first book to celebrate Dublin’s UNESCO City of Literature designation. The photograph shows the Iniskeen poet arriving by carriage at a Duke Street pub, after the first 1954 commemoration of James Joyce’s Bloomsday.

With a Foreword by Patrick’s friend, novelist J. P. Donleavy, and published by Liffey Press, the lavishly illustrated 300-page book is PRODIGALS AND GENIUSES. The Writers and Artists of Dublin’s Baggotonia.

Author Brendan Lynch said: “Patrick was the logical choice as he was the best known character in Baggotonia, the name given to the Georgian area around Baggot and Leeson Streets, where many writers and artists lived from the 1930s until the 1980s. He is commemorated by a plaque on Parsons Bookshop, which Peter McDonnell and the Monaghan Association erected in 2008.”

The new 300-page book features many photographs of the Iniskeen poet, as well as two chapters devoted to him, including one on the celebrated libel case against The Leader journal. Peter Kavanagh is also praised for his consistent support of his brother. There are also chapters on Brendan Behan, Flann O’Brien, Dublin’s artists, censorship and the controversial 1954 prosecution of The Pike Theatre for indecency.

The book reveals that many of Patrick’s contemporaries disputed allegations of his alleged rudeness. Fellow-poet Robert Greacen cautioned: “Life had taught him to be on his guard.”

John O’Brien, owner of Parsons Bookshop, met the poet many times in a Ballsbridge restaurant: “Usually alone, he was always polite. I think he got a bad press. Years later, I was pleased to allow Peter McDonnell erect a plaque to him on the wall of Parsons, to commemorate his long association with the place.”

Among the new book’s many anecdotes is one account of Patrick’s poverty-induced sleight of hand in a Baggot Street pub. Arguing with a fellow-drinker about the labelling of Irish whiskey, columnist Myles na Gopaleen insisted that Powers and Jameson were described as Dublin rather than as Irish whiskey; “The obliging barman brought down a bottle to show his audience. He left to attend to other customers. When he returned, the bottle was gone, as was Patrick, who had been sitting on the

periphery of the company.”

Foreword writer J. P. Donleavy, who was a close friend of Patrick Kavanagh, said; “Brendan Lynch’s book evokes vibrant memories of a wonderful place and an exciting period.  It’s a worthy tribute to our wonderful writers and poets who battled against the odds in the past century.”

The large-format PRODIGALS AND GENIUSES features 120 photographs, further details may be seen on its author’s brendanlynch.ie website.