Seán Dunne (1956–1995) was a

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or writte ...

born in

Waterford "Waterford remains the untaken city" , mapsize = 220px , pushpin_map = Ireland#Europe , pushpin_map_caption = Location within Ireland##Location within Europe , pushpin_relief = 1 , coordinates ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

Career

Dunne edited several anthologies, beginning with ''The Poets of Munster'' (1985) and finishing with the ''Ireland Anthology'' which was completed posthumously by George O'Brien and Dunne's partner Trish Edelstein. He released 3 collections of poems. Dunne's collections of poems were all well received, and in order of release are: ''Against the Storm'' (1985), ''The Sheltered Nest'' (1992) and ''Time and the Island''. The account of his childhood ''In My Father's House,'' published in 1991, was a bestseller.

Life

Dunne's father was Richard Dunne. His mother died in 1960 when Dunne was four.''In My Father's House'' Anna Livia Press Ltd, 1991 Sean attended Scoil Lorcain primary school in St Johns Park and Mount Sion secondary school in Waterford city, where he wrote for the school magazine and participated in organising poetry and music evenings. He attended

University College Cork University College Cork – National University of Ireland, Cork (UCC) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile Corcaigh) is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland, and located in Cork. The university was founded in 1845 as one of ...

(UCC) where he was taught by

Sean Lucy Sean Lucy (March 12, 1931 – July 25, 2001) was an Irish poet and educator. Biography Lucy was born in Bombay, British India in 1931. His father was an Irish officer in the British army, who resigned his commission in 1935 to resettle the famil ...

and John Montague and was part of a stream of talent issuing from the university in that period, which included

Maurice Riordan Maurice Riordan (born 1953) is an Irish poet, translator, and editor. Born in Lisgoold, County Cork, his poetry collections include: ''A Word from the Loki'' (1995), a largely London-based collection which was a Poetry Book Society Choice and ...

, Gregory O'Donoghue,

Theo Dorgan Theo Dorgan (born 1953) is an Irish poet, writer and lecturer, translator, librettist and documentary screenwriter. He lives in Dublin. Life Dorgan was born in Cork in 1953 being second child born into a family of 8 boys and 8 girls to pare ...

, Thomas McCarthy, William Wall, Gerry Murphy,

Greg Delanty Greg Delanty (born 1958) is an Irish poet. An issue of the British magazine, ''Agenda'', was dedicated to him. Early life and education Delanty was born in Cork City, Ireland, and is generally placed in the Irish tradition, though he is also c ...

and others. He became part of a group referred to as "the Cork poets", despite not being from Cork himself. He was active in student politics, as detailed in his memoir ''The Road to Silence''. After college Dunne settled in

Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

where he worked in the city library and continued to write and publish poems. Around this time he began to make a living from freelance journalism. He joined the ''

Cork Examiner The ''Irish Examiner'', formerly ''The Cork Examiner'' and then ''The Examiner'', is an Irish national daily newspaper which primarily circulates in the Munster region surrounding its base in Cork, though it is available throughout the country. ...

'' daily newspaper as a columnist. Dunne died on 3 August 1995 of a heart problem, aged 39.''Time And The Island'' The Gallery Press, 1996"Striken Blackbird" article - The Irish Times Weekend Review, Saturday January 28, 2006 He had three children. His son, Gavin Dunne, is a successful

independent musician Independent music (also commonly known as indie music or simply indie) is music that is produced independently from commercial record labels or their subsidiaries, a process that may include an autonomous, DIY ethic, do-it-yourself approach to r ...

based in Cork.

Sean Dunne Writers Festival

In 1996

Waterford City Council Waterford City Council ( ga, Comhairle Cathrach Phort Láirge) was the authority responsible for local government in the city of Waterford in Ireland until 2014. As a city council, it was governed by the Local Government Act 2001. The council ...

inaugurated the Sean Dunne Writers Festival in his honour. The 2009 Festival took place in Waterford City from Thursday 19 March to Saturday 21 March. It featured poets such as

Tom Paulin Thomas Neilson Paulin (born 25 January 1949 in Leeds, England) is a Northern Irish poet and critic of film, music and literature. He lives in England, where he was the G. M. Young Lecturer in English Literature at Hertford College, Oxford. Earl ...

Conor O'Callaghan Conor O'Callaghan (born 1968) is an Irish novelist and poet. Biography O'Callaghan was born in Newry in 1968 and grew up in Dundalk. His first novel, ''Nothing on Earth'', was published to acclaim in 2016 and was shortlisted for the Kerry Grou ...

and

MacDara Woods Macdara Woods (1942 – 15 June 2018) was an Irish poet. Biography Woods was born in Dublin, where he attended Gonzaga College and then University College Dublin. He married the poet Eiléan Ní Chuilleanáin. They had one son, Niall, a musician. ...

, with performance poets

Eamon Carr Horslips are an Irish Celtic rock band that compose, arrange and perform songs frequently inspired by traditional Irish airs, jigs and reels. The group are regarded as 'founding fathers of Celtic rock' for their fusion of traditional Irish mu ...

and Raven. It also featured writers A. L. Kennedy, Paul Carson,

Declan Lynch Declan Lynch (born 1961) is an Irish journalist, writer and playwright. Lynch was born in Athlone, Ireland, and now works for the ''Sunday Independent''. Lynch graduated from Marist College secondary school in 1978. He dropped out of law school ...

and more.http://www.seandunne.ie seandunne.ie The winner of the competition was Luke Byrne from St John's Park, Waterford, for his poem "Winter".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dunne, Sean 1956 births 1995 deaths 20th-century Irish poets 20th-century male writers