Dinnseachas: The Lore of Places – Kerry

Rugadh Mícheál Ó Ruairc sa bhliain 1953 i mBréanainn  sa  Leitriúch i gContae Chiarraí. Tá  cónaí  air  i mBaile Átha Cliath ó 1980. Tá bailiúchán amháin gearrscéalta foilsithe aige Daoine A Itheann Daoine a bhuaigh an chéad duais i gComórtais Liteartha an Oireachtais 2010. A lán úrscéalta foilsithe le scór bliain anuas. Tá cúig chnuasach filíochta Gaeilge foilsithe agus  ceann  amháin  as  Béarla. Tá roinnt mhaith duaiseanna buaite aige as a chuid filíochta agus foilsíodh dánta dá chuid i ndíolaimí éagsúla. Bhuaigh Dambatheanga:Damlanguage (Arlen House, 2014), cnuasach filíochta, an chéad duais i gComórtais Liteartha an Oireachtais 2014. D’fhoilsigh LeabhairCOMHAR scéinséir nua dar teideal Fianaise Bhreise in 2019. Bhuaigh Duais de hÍde ag Féile Filíochta Bhéal na mBuillí i 2018. Cnuasach nua filíochta Treaspásóir: Trespasser foilsithe ag Arlen House i 2020. D’fhoilsigh Coiscéim Thugamar Féin an Samhradh Linn, saothar beathaisnéise sa bhliain 2022. Bailiúchán dánta dinnseanchais óna cheantar dúchais á chur le chéile aige faoi láthair maraon le bailiúchán nua gearrscéalta.

Originally from  Brandon  in Co Kerry, Mícheál  has  been  living in Dublin city since 1980. He has  published five collections of  poetry  in Irish and  one collection in English. His poetry has won numerous awards and has  been  included in a number of poetry anthologies.. His poetry collection, a bilingual one, Dambatheanga:Damlanguage (Arlen House 2014) won first prize in the Oireachtas Literary Competitions  2014. LeabhairCOMHAR published his new detective thriller entitled Fianaise Bhreise in 2019. He was the winner of Duais de hÍde at Strokestown Poetry Festival in 2018. Arlen House published his collection of poetry, Treaspásóir: Trespasser in 2019. His latest publication is Thugamar Féin an Samhradh Linn, a biographical work charting his years as a reluctant student in UCC. He is busy at present on a collection of topographical poems on his own local area in Co Kerry and on a new collection of short stories.

Bríd Ní Mhórain has lived in West Kerry most of her life and is married to Muiris Ó Muircheartaigh from Baile na hAbha, at the foot of Mount Brandon.

She has published eight poetry collections: Ceiliúradh Cré (Coiscéim) 1992, Fé Bhrat Bhríde (An Sagart) 2002, Síolta an Iomais (Cló Iar-Chonnachta) 2006, An Cosán Bán/The White Path (Oidhreacht Chorca Dhuibhne) 2008, Pietas (An Sagart) 2010. Saothrú an Ghairdín (An Sagart) 2015, Glórtha ón gCillín/Voices from the Cillín (Oidhreacht Chorca Dhuibhne) 2015,I gCochall mo Chroí (ComharLeabhar) 2017,Flóra na Samhlaíochta (2022) and a prose work, Thiar sa Mhainistir atá an Ghaolainn Bhreá (An Sagart) 1996, an M.Litt thesis on the decline of the Irish language in South Kerry 

She was employed as poet-in-residence by Oidhreacht Chorca Dhuibhne with the support of Údarás na Gaeltachta from 2003 – 2018. She was awarded Oireachtas prizes for poetry in 1988 and 1999 and for prose, 1992 and won first prize for a poem in Irish in Dún Laoire/Rath Down  poetry competition, 2006.She was shortlisted iin Strokestown Poetry Competition, 2017. Her latest collection, Flóra na Samhlaíochta was shortlisted for the Irish book of the year award, 2022.

She received many Arts Council awards (2000, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011) and from Ealaín na Gaeltachta (2013 and 2020).

She has read her poetry at many different locations – at the Oireachtas Poetry Court, at Éigse na Brídeoige, at An Fhéile Bheag Filíochta in Ballyferriter, at IMRAM,  at Sabhal Mór Ostaigh on the Isle of Skye where the installation, Glórtha ón gCillín was presented in 2015 as it was also at Ledbury Poetry Festival, England, 2016. She took part in many television programs  on TG 4 – Cursaí Ealaíona, Luibheanna na mBánta, Proinsias, Bréanainn, Comhrá with Máirtín Tom Sheáinín and Béaloideas with Seán Mac Síthigh. In 2023, she contributed to Na Féilte Tine, a TV series for TG4 produced by Ciarán Ó Coigligh which will be shown later this year. She often talks about and reads poetry on An Saol ó Dheas, Raidió na Gaeltachta and on the Frank Lewis program, Storied Kerry, on Radio Kerry. 

Last year, she undertook a project for Comhchoiste Ghaeltacht Uíbh Ráthaigh with the support of UCC where she rewrote 20 stories in Standard Irish from the folklore book, Leabhar Sheáin Í Chonaill, with a view to their being passed on to the higher classes in primary schools in the Iveragh Peninsula. At present, An Gúm has them to be published.