On The Town Catherine FoleyThe American poet John Berryman, who lived in Dublin for a time in the 1960s, is recalled and celebrated in a new book, which was launched at TCD on Thursday night.
Poet Dennis O'Driscoll described Berryman, who took his own life in 1972, as a poet who was a "gifted, learned, eccentric, demotic, original, nervy, huffy, stentorian, hilarious and heartbreaking American".
After Thirty Falls: New Essays on John Berryman is edited by Philip Coleman and Philip McGowan. It "reveals the full dimensions of his achievement", said O'Driscoll, who recalled talking to some of the people who had met the poet in Dublin.
He said the editors "have assembled a wonderfully authoritative and comprehensive collection, in which every essay goes purposefully prospecting in the Berryman oeuvre".
The best of Berryman's work is "inexhaustible with its multi-tonal modulations, mordant observations, whipcrack allusions, intermittent ethical impulses and urgent existential dilemmas". Berryman's "trenchancy, virtuosity and linguistic vitality earn him a permanent place in the literary canon".
According to Coleman, who is a lecturer in English in Trinity College, Berryman's poetry is a "mixture of unbelievable energy and creative playfulness . . . He constantly pushed himself to try out new ways of writing. He's thought of as a confessional poet."
His poems "are funny if tragic at the same time and his life was quite sporadic at best", said McGowan, a lecturer in American literature in Queen's University.
Guests who attended the book launch in Trinity College included Prof Nicholas Grene and Prof Eiléan Ní Chuilleanáin, the writer Deirdre Madden and the poet Harry Clifton, who is one of four poets whose work is included in the Berryman book.
After Thirty Falls, New Essays on John
Berryman, edited by Philip Coleman and
Philip McGowan, is published by Rodopi.
Making sense of life in our times
Clinical psychologist and author Marie Murray has the voice of a ward sister or a school matron, the no-nonsense approach of a wise magistrate and the compassion of someone who has been at the coalface.
So said Pat Kenny at a reception to mark the publication of Murray's book, Living Our Times, in UCD's Quinn School of Business this week.
Recalling Murray's contributions to his RTÉ 1 radio programme, he said she was "like the font of all wisdom", adding "she could make sense of the kaleidoscope of emotions, love, happiness, vanity, regret, sacrifice".
Murray, who is director of Student Counselling at UCD, began writing a column in the The Irish Times Health Supplement in January 2004.
One of her great strengths is "the quality of her writing," said Peter Murtagh, an Irish Times managing editor. "Her writing conveys a rich understanding of human nature in all its guises," he said.
Among those who gathered to congratulate Murray on the publication of her book were Fr William Fennelly, of Glenstal Abbey; Dr John O'Brien, an associate vice-president of the University of Limerick; Ann Harper, an AIB executive; Síle O'Reilly, hospital chaplain at St Vincent's Psychiatric Hospital, Fairview, and Margaret Gill, of the Family Therapy Faculty in the Mater Hospital.
Other guests at the party included the author's daughters, Aisling and Karen Murray, her cousins Mary Layden, Prof Frances Ruane, director of the Economic and Social Research Institute, and Fr Leo Layden.
"It was here in UCD more than three decades ago in my first undergraduate year that I studied psychology and English," Murray said. "Those of you who know me will realise just how much these two disciplines have been interwoven in my work since then."
Living Our Times by Marie Murray is published by Gill and Macmillan
Jumping from stage to canvas
Swirls of vibrant colours dazzled guests at the opening of the first solo show of paintings by Paul Rattigan in Dublin earlier this week.
Spinning dancers and musicians as well as female forms and night-time scenes such as Moondance in the Blind Harbour were all on view along with walls of the restored Georgian residence at 10 Lower Ormond Quay in Dublin.
"The overall impression is one of colour," said artist Robert Ballagh, who opened the show.
After working as a full-time designer for the past 30 years on major projects including Riverdance, his pent up desire to paint was finally unleashed.
Since Rattigan stopped working as a graphic designer four years ago, he has been painting "frantically", working at all hours, often from dawn to dusk, he explained. "This is certainly what I'm meant to do now," he said, mentioning that he trained as a fine art student in the 1960s in Dublin.
His wife, Joan Burke, was there along with their three adult children, twins James and Simon and daughter, Nico.
"I've known Paul a long time," said Ballagh. "We've worked as collaborators on many projects . . . I think it's absolutely fantastic that someone can take such a radical change in direction, and putting it out for the public gaze is a courageous thing to do . . . What he seems to be really excited about is vibrant colour."
"Knowing him for so long, I've know that this is what he wanted to do, it's a brave move and I wish him well," said Riverdance producer Moya Doherty.
Others at the opening included Olivia Mitchell TD, actors and stars on RTÉ's television drama, The Clinic Dawn Bradfield and Stephen Brennan, the writer Dermott Barrett and Carmel Kelly, artist and member of the Council of the Friends of the National Collections of Ireland.
Paul Rattigan - Solo is at Zeus Gallery, at No 10 Lower Ormond Quay, Dublin 1. Viewing by appointment. For more information phone 01-8733700
A close-knit gathering for Lainey
Film stars, rock stars, designers and artists gathered in Dublin this week to salute Lainey Keogh, the woman who revolutionised contemporary knitwear.
They were there to celebrate Keogh's 50th birthday and view archive pieces that have been worn by stars such as Elizabeth Taylor, Jennifer Aniston, Charlize Theron and Naomi Campbell. The show also included a collection of 50 new designs which Keogh created specially to raise money for charity. All the proceeds from their sale will go to the ISPCC and the Chernobyl Children's Project.
Shelley Corkery, head of fashion direction at Brown Thomas, recalled her first day on the job as an 18-year-old when she met Keogh. "Within seconds Lainey was on my heels. She's the same today as she was then - with long blond hair, this extraordinary elphin smile, and she stares at you with this glazed look . . . she sat me down on a stool and told me about her yarns from Mongolia and Tibet, about her wool and about her inspiration . . . I remember the passion with which she spoke. She oozes passion and she's inspirational . . . She is one of the most important artists of our time."
The night "was a very happy event", commented Irene Keogh, the designer's sister, who works closely with her. "It was the culmination of all the hard work. It's nice to give back at this time in your life. We are hoping to raise €100,000 for charity," she said.
Among those who attended the event were artist Guggi, actor Jonathan Rhys Myers, star of the television series The Tudors, and singer Gavin Friday, who was the night's master of ceremonies. Fundraiser Caroline Downey, actor Leigh Arnold, who plays Clodagh in RTÉ's The Clinic, her sister, model Chloe Arnold and their brother, Simon Arnold, were all in attendance. Waterford man and magician to the stars Keith Barry was there with his wife, Máiréad, and designers Helen Cody and Joanne Hynes were also present.
The event was held in The Designer Rooms on the first floor of Brown Thomas in Dublin.
The Lainey 50:50 exhibition ends tomorrow at Brown Thomas, Grafton Street, Dublin 2