"I am overwhelmed with love... this must be the cost".

Marij reads one of her very beautiful works at this year's tribute night. Once again we came together in the Spáilpín Finch and had a wonderful night of poetry and music, surrounded by friends and family and new and old scholarship community members. It was, as always, a beautiful night.

You can see a list of performances here.

On the On August 30th we gathered together again in The Spailpín Fánach to remember Eoin and to celebrate this years Scholar and highly commended Poets, and those from previous years.

It was really lovely meet Freya and Otto in person, both of whom gave beautiful readings of their recent work.

We were also delighted to be joined by previous scholars, Aoife Osborne, who performed some of her new work, and Alana Daly Mulligan, who treated us to a screening of their short film Homofónia.

As always, Eoin's friends treated us to a great night of music, with performances from (in no particular order!) M'Adam, Rob Carlile, John Treacy, Sadhbh Moriarty, Aengus Mac a Bháird, Annie Bloch, Lauren Cahalane, Muireann Joyce-Hearn, Katie O' Neill, Nikki Burke, Eamonn Mulholland, The Duffys, Jack Hickey, Sound Addiction and Mark Leonard.

A special thanks to Tom Duffy for doing the sound on the night and Danilo Milk for doing a live stream - a first for the Tribute Night and a huge benefit for those who couldn't make it, but wanted to take part in some way.

Thanks as always for all of the love and support and it is so encouraging to see the community of poets grow every year.

This year we were finally able to gather in person again to celebrate Eoin's tribute night. The event took place in the Spailpín Fánach on the first of September. As always, the room was full of love, creativity and friendship, just the way he would have wanted it to be. Thanks as always to Eoin's close friends in organising and performing on the night. It was really lovely as well to see poets from past years coming back with their family and friends to perform and support. One of our ambitions with the scholarship was to create a supportive community of writers in Cork, and we really saw that coming to fruition this year. It was also as always a lovely opportunity to catch up with each other and a remember Eoin together. 

You can see the full playlist here. 

Eoin's very talented friend, Annie Bloch, recently released the official music video for her song; "The Saint".

​Annie has written a number of songs about Eoin, her relationship with him and her processing of her grief at his passing. She was a very close friend of Eoin's and we are always so happy to spend time with her when we can and to enjoy the music she creates and shares with us.

After a very strange year and a bit, and having missed the 2020 tribute night, we held on online Zoom tribute on the 11th of September. As usual, a great effort was made by Eoin's closest friends to create a night of poetry and music. We were joined by our scholar for 2021, Maeve Joy Taggart, and our scholar for 2020, Alana Daly Mulligan. Many of Eoin's talented friends performed both covers and original songs and it was really great to see them all again. 

Though we may have had reservations about yet another Zoom get-together, this one was really special. The atmosphere of love and creativity that is so palpable on all tribute nights managed to come through. Having said that, we are very excited to get together in person next year, le cúnamh Dé!

We were, of course, beset by some technological issues. The various videos have plenty of moments of audio and/or video freeze. We still felt it was worthwhile to share them, You can access the full playlist here. 

Around this time each year, Eoin's friends led by Eamonn, Adam, Rob and Aengus, organise a tribute night. It was initially to remember Eoin through poetry and music, to reconnect with friends and family and to help us all process our grief together while celebrating those things Eoin valued most in life. In recent years it has also been a means to celebrate the winner and runner ups in the Eoin Murray Memorial Scholarship. 

In light of the pandemic, this year we decided that the safest thing would be to postpone the tribute night. This was a difficult decision as it is always a very special night of remembrance and celebration. However we wouldn't want anyone to encounter any unnecessary risk or for the tribute night to be a source of stress for anyone, so we feel it was the right decision.

We look forward to inviting Alana, Joy and Lara to our tribute night in 2021. In the meantime, we would love to share the beautiful video above, written and directed by Alana in memory of an exceptional boy; Mattie J.T. Stepanek. This piece won the Grand Prize in Poetry and Film at the Mattie J.T. Stepanek 2020 Poetry Award.

We also share three written pieces from Alana, Joy and Lara below;

The Fish
Alana Daly Mulligan
 
You and I sitting –
Two fisherfolk on a bench in Dunmore
With nothing but a sunset caught between us.
 
I look at the chips –
They are great cliffs splashed in a vinegary sea,
And the fish split open like a book.
 
My fork traces the rivers in its flesh
Back to the source, the bone,
What life has this creature known?
 
Between the waves of myth, fiction and reality,
I am myself a Fionn with my thumb firmly
Pulling on the star-fastened jacket,
 
Peeling it back, dripping grease and oil.
I’m toiling with the idea of my appetite
Escaping me when my meal hasn’t.
 
There are little hot blisters in its skin,
And I pick them off with my little fingers
To count the futures I should now see
 
As I decide to set the rest free.
It is an oath as strong as hazel wood
Sewn between a child and the sea.
 
You are none the wiser.
We eat in the shadows of the waves
And let the sunsets sail away.

Ode to a Knob
Joy Amber Curtis

Your cold hand twists my nose and I feel a sneeze.
I open the door slowly when I feel a breeze,
I make you believe I’m inhabited by the ghost of your great nan.
I once glowed bronze but age has left me dull and tan.

I give my consent to visitors who knock first.
And everyone else I vow to curse.
Snap their keys in my lock.
Jam my door when they try to pick-pock.

I always latch onto your jumper for attention
But when I broke was the only time I was mentioned.
You unscrewed me from my homely door-frame
The ornate knocker, once again, stealing my fame.

I had dreamt of owning a new, clear, crystal face
But I started to realise I was being replaced.
​
You throw me on a shelf deep into the shed.
And my metallic heart rapidly fills with dread.
I lose my screw eyes and try to count to ten.
I cry tears of rust and I never unlock again.

Lacuna
Lara Ni Chuirrin

We sat across from each other in his kitchen, the light above us shining feebly, flickering slightly.
I guess I arrived around six?
By the time we'd finished eating, the world outside was a deep inky blue that seemed to pour through the window behind him, the kind of night sky that if you got too close, it would swallow you up.
You would disappear.


I wonder if I knew then?


Dinner was:
Thick slices of pork, the fat barely crispy,
waxy potatoes,
beans.
The linoleum topped table wobbled as we hacked at the meat in silence.


When our cutlery had clattered down on empty plates, my fingers were greasy and there was bean sauce gathered at the corner of his mouth, trailing into his beard. He began to rise, reaching shakey hands across the table to clear my plate.
               'Don't, Dad, I'll do it.'
I stood and grabbed both plates and brought them to the sink as he slowly sat back down again.
               'Put the kettle on, will you?' His usual post-dinner refrain.
Water poured from the tap into the spout , splashing the dishes now piled in the sink, swirling in the grease of the pork fat.


God. Everything is still so vivid.


Later that evening we went out to the back yard and lit a fire. We lit it in the corner, by the compost bin, and the sweet smell of rotting fruit flesh mixed with the smoke, trundling into the sky.
               'She would have liked this.' He had said, shielding his eyes from the smoke.
               'Do you?' I asked, but my voice caught in my throat, barely reaching above a whisper.
He didn't seem to hear, threw a sod of turf on the fire.


We sat there for ages in the growing cold and I watched the fire fall lower, turn to embers, watched the gentle breeze pick up scraps of ash and carry them to heaven.
His eyes were closed, his lips moving slightly, but when I leaned in closer I couldn't hear anything.


How long did I stay? I hope long enough.


The moon had given up trying to push through the thick clouds, was now clothed in darkness, a faint yellow hum hanging above us.
               'I'm headin' off now.'
His eyes shot open.
               'Oh yeah...good lad. Thanks for coming. She'd have liked that.'
​

I left through the sidegate in the garden, did battle with the rusty bolt for a moment before escaping into a dark estate which sprawled down to the sea. 

The annual Eoin Murray Tribute night will take place this August 25th, upstairs in The Long Valley bar - the site of weekly poetry night, O Bhéal.

This year the night is particularly special as it is the first scholarship showcase night.  Our 2018 winner, Ali Bracken Ziad, will preform work from his newest chapbook, which he wrote with the support of the scholarship fund.  Runner up Melanie Butler O' Reilly will also recite some of her original work.

We are very excited about the night.  We look forward to both remembering Eoin and supporting emerging poetic talent in Ali Bracken Ziad and Melanie Butler O' Reilly.  

The night will also include musical performances, a stall of poetry books & related art work and a raffle in aid of the scholarship.

It is our intention that these nights become inclusive events for all lovers of poetry and music, regardless of attendees having known Eoin personally.  In that spirit we welcome all to the night.

You can read more about the event on Facebook.

Colette Sheridan from The Evening Echo contacted us via the site to ask for information on an article about Eoin, the scholarship and the marathon that Brian is running to raise funds.  The article came out this October 10th and it was a heart-warming thing to see and read.  Colette chose beautiful photographs of Eoin and printed one of his poems - The Stream - with the article. 

The interview is mostly with Brian, and he has some great anecdotes and insights into Eoin's personality.  Some of my favourite quotes are....

"He was an amazing guy. I feel lucky more than anything to have had time with him. I’ll never again have the kind of conversations I had with him. He was amazingly artistic and very clever. He had been in local bands, playing drums and bass. He also played the piano and a bit of ukulele and he acted in plays."

“I’ll always remember one particular weekend. On Friday night, he was doing a gig in Cork. On Saturday night, he was playing in Belfast and on Sunday night, he was in Kerry doing a play as Gaeilge. He was about 18 at the time.” 

"(Eoin) would literally read and write all the time. It wasn’t him saying ‘I’m going to be a writer’. He was really doing it. He would tell people he was sorry he couldn’t meet them as he had books to read."

Click here to read the full article online.

​On Saturday the 12th of August we held both the third tribute night for Eoin and the launch of the Eoin Murray memorial scholarship.

It was a wonderful night with an intimate and healing atmosphere.  The love for Eoin was palpable in the room, and the tributes to him in both song and spoken word were beautiful. 

We raised almost €1000 that night and we're very happy with this as a start to the fundraising activities. 

You can view the full playlist of tributes from that night by clicking here.