Thomas McCarthy (born 1954) is an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

poet, novelist, and critic, born in

Cappoquin Cappoquin, also spelt Cappaquin or Capaquin (), is a town in west County Waterford, Ireland. It is on the Blackwater river at the junction of the N72 national secondary road and the R669 regional road. It is positioned on a sharp 90-degree be ...

, County Waterford, Ireland. 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 ...

where he was part of a resurgence of literary activity under the inspiration of John Montague. Among McCarthy's contemporaries, described by Thomas Dillon Redshaw as "that remarkable generation", were the writers and poets

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 ...

, Sean Dunne,

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 ...

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 ...

and William Wall. McCarthy edited, at various times, The Cork Review and

Poetry Ireland Review ''Poetry Ireland Review'' is a journal of Irish poetry published three times a year by Poetry Ireland, the national Irish poetry organisation. ''Poetry Ireland Review'' publishes the work of both emerging and established Irish and international ...

. He has published seven collections of poetry with Anvil Press Poetry, London, including '' The Sorrow Garden'', ''The Lost Province'', ''Mr Dineen's Careful Parade'', ''The Last Geraldine Officer'', and ''Merchant Prince''. The main themes of his poetry are Southern Irish politics, love and memory. He is also the author of two novels; ''Without Power'' and ''Asya and Christine''. He is married with two children and lives in Cork City where he worked in the City Libraries until his retirement. He won the

Patrick Kavanagh Poetry Award The Patrick Kavanagh Poetry Award is an Irish poetry award for a collection of poems by an author who has not previously been published in collected form. It is confined to poets born on the island of Ireland, or who have Irish nationality, or are ...

in 1977. His monograph "Rising from the Ashes" tells the story of the burning of the Carnegie Free Library in Cork City by the

Black and Tans Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have ...

in 1920 and the subsequent efforts to rebuild the collection with the help of donors from all over the world.

Works

Poetry

1978 in poetry Nationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature (for instance, Irish or France). Events * Bloodaxe Books is established by Neil Astley in Newcastle upon Tyne, England * ''L=A=N=G=U=A=G=E'' magazine, edit ...

: ''The First Convention'', Dolmen Press, DublinWeb page titled "Thomas McCarthy"
at the Poetry International Website, accessed 2 May 2008 *

1981 in poetry Nationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature (for instance, Irish or France). Events * American poet Jane Greer launches ''Plains Poetry Journal'', an advance guard of the New Formalism movement. * Fin ...

: ''The Sorrow Garden'', Anvil Press, London *

1984 in poetry Nationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature (for instance, Irish or France). Events *December 19 – Ted Hughes' appointment as Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom in succession to Sir John Betjeman is ...

: ''The Non-Aligned Storyteller'', Anvil Press, London *

1989 in poetry Nationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature (for instance, Irish or France). Events * April 15–June 4 – 1989 Tiananmen Square protests in Beijing (China): Poets are active in the events (se ...

: ''Seven Winters in Paris'', Anvil Press, London *

1996 in poetry Nationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature (for instance, Irish or France). Events * April – National Poetry Month established by the Academy of American Poets as a way to increase awareness and ap ...

: ''The Lost Province'', Anvil Press, London *

1999 in poetry Nationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature (for instance, Irish or France). Events * 1 May 1999 — Andrew Motion becomes Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom for 10 years * 1 July 1999 — Scotland's ...

: ''Mr Dineen’s Careful Parade: New and Selected Poems'', Anvil Press, London *

2005 in poetry Nationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature (for instance, Irish or France). Events * October 7 — Celebrations marking the 50th anniversary of the first reading of Allen Ginsberg's poem "Howl" were s ...

: ''Merchant Prince'', Anvil Press, London *

2009 in poetry Nationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature (for instance, Irish or France). Events * January 5 – The Turkish government announces it will posthumously restore the citizenship it had stripped from i ...

: ''The Last Geraldine Officer'', Anvil Press, London

Fiction

1990 in literature This article contains information about the literary events and publications of 1990. Events *March – Anton Chekhov's play '' Three Sisters'' opens at the Gate Theatre in Dublin with locally born Sinéad, Sorcha and Niamh Cusack in the tit ...

: ''Without Power'', Poolbeg Press, Dublin *

1993 in literature This article contains information about the literary events and publications of 1993. Events *September 24 – Former president and writer Zviad Gamsakhurdia returns to Georgia to establish a government in exile in the city of Zugdidi. *November ...

: ''Asya and Christine'', Poolbeg Press, Dublin

Nonfiction

* 2021: Poetry, Memory and the Party, Gallery Press, Dublin * 1998: The Garden of Remembrances, New Island Books, Dublin

Other works

McCarthy is also a contributor to a series of podcasts made by Podcasts.ie (under the Arts Council of Ireland’s Literature Project Awards) called ''The Writer's Passage'' in which 10 Irish authors take a personal tour through the locations of their books.

Notes and references

*Ryan, Ray. Ireland and Scotland: Literature and Culture, State and Nation, 1966–2000. Oxford University Press, 2002.

External links

Thomas McCarthy Poems in ''Qualm''
*
Podcast interview with Thomas McCarthy in which he reads from his work (March 2010)
{{DEFAULTSORT:McCarthy, Thomas Alumni of University College Cork Irish poets 1954 births Living people People from County Waterford Aosdána members 20th-century Irish writers 20th-century male writers 21st-century Irish writers 21st-century Irish male writers International Writing Program alumni