Brendan Hamill (born 1945,
Belfast
Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...
,
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
) is a poet and writer.
Biography
Hamill was born and grew up in the
Falls Road area of
Belfast
Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...
. His home was on the Whiterock Road opposite
Belfast City Cemetery
Belfast City Cemetery ( ga, Reilig Chathair Bhéal Feirste) is a large cemetery in west Belfast, Northern Ireland. It lies within the townland of Ballymurphy, between Falls Road and Springfield Road, near Milltown Cemetery. It is maintained by ...
. He attended St. Kevin's Primary School and then St. Thomas's Secondary School near Ballymurphy. At the latter school the headteacher was the writer
Michael McLaverty
Michael McLaverty (5 July 1904 – 22 March 1992) was an Irish writer of novels and short stories.[Seamus Heaney
Seamus Justin Heaney (; 13 April 1939 – 30 August 2013) was an Irish poet, playwright and translator. He received the 1995 Nobel Prize in Literature.] .
After finishing school, he worked for several years in England. He recalled: "A lot of my time was spent between the bookshops at Tottenham Court Road and Charing Cross at lunchtimes."
He then returned to Northern Ireland to study for a degree in
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
at the New
University of Ulster
sco, Ulstèr Universitie
, image = Ulster University coat of arms.png
, caption =
, motto_lang =
, mottoeng =
, latin_name = Universitas Ulidiae
, established = 1865 – Magee College 1953 - Magee Un ...
. One of his lecturers was the critic
Walter Allen
Walter Ernest Allen (23 February 1911 – 28 February 1995) was an English literary critic and novelist and one of the Birmingham Group of authors. He is best known for his classic study ''The English Novel: a Short Critical History'' (1951).
...
. His fellow students included the poet
Gerald Dawe
Gerald Dawe (born 1952) is an Irish poet.
Early life
Gerald Dawe was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland and grew up with his mother, sister and grandmother. He attended Orangefield High School across the city in East Belfast, a leading progres ...
and the writer
Brian Keenan. After he graduated he subsequently worked for several years as a teacher in Kilcullen, County Kildare and later in Belfast.
Work
He has published two poetry chapbooks - the first Emigrant Brother and the second Alameda Park.
His poetry has been published in a wide range of newspapers and magazines including ''Phoenix'', ''
Belfast Telegraph'', ''
Irish Times
''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is considered a newspaper ...
'' and the ''
Irish Press
''The Irish Press'' ( Irish: ''Scéala Éireann'') was an Irish national daily newspaper published by Irish Press plc between 5 September 1931 and 25 May 1995.
Foundation
The paper's first issue was published on the eve of the 1931 All-Ireland ...
'', included in anthologies and read on both the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
. He read at the Belfast literary festival celebrating poet
.
He spoke at the launch of ‘The Literature of the Troubles Project’.
* ''Emigrant Brother'', Lagan Press, Belfast, 1976
* ''Alameda Park'', Glandore, Belfast, 2000
* ''Letter to America: poems on the 30 year war in N. Ireland'', Glandore, 1998