We had this year's tribute night in the Spailpín Fánach on September 4th. It was the 10th anniversary of Eoin's passing and we had the anthology and pin available for purchase. It is our one fundraising event of the year and as always we are very grateful to all those who came, supported, purchased or donated. 

It was a celebration in poetry and music and we were lucky to be joined by this year's Scholar, Ellen Ní Chonchúir, and Highly Commended poets, Aoife Imray and Claire Dineen. 

Big thanks to Bryan Rudd, aka Sunshine Primo, for taking video. And as always, big thanks to Rob, Eamonn, Adam, Aengus, Tom and Eoin's host of amazing friends for making it all happen.

You can watch all videos at here.

A new Reading Nook is now open on the third floor of the Boole Library in UCC. We were so touched to hear that the library moved to dedicate it to the memory of Eoin. We had this print of a painting of Eoin framed for the space, with the inscription "We were lucky to have him for 23 years".

We have donated some of Eoin's extensive library to the Reading Nook, as well as a few copies of his own book and the latest anthology. 

The space itself is a corner site with large windows, looking out on trees and the busy campus. It is a calm and meditative space and we think Eoin would have loved it. Many thanks to Danny Denton, Alan Carbery, Elaine Harrington and Shona Thoma for making this a reality.

Going into 2025, we spoke about what we might do to mark the ten year anniversary of Eoin's passing. Danny Denton, who we really couldn't manage without, had the idea of publishing an anthology of work supported by the scholarship and connected with Eoin. Over the summer, Danny Maria and Carraig Print worked hard to edit, design, typeset and print the book in time for the tribute night in September. From a list of possible titles, we went with "This is what it's like to be in love with life", taken from Eoin's poem "The night I met the Duffys". It is a poem full of youthful messing and joy and we felt it was a fitting title, reflective of Eoin's philosophy of joy in the small things. The cover image chosen is a photograph by Orlagh O'Brien, a photo taken in Ballyphehane on a bright spring day, where textures of walls and shadows of cables highlighted the beauty in the everyday. 

In the line of Love and Flies (Eoin's zine of poetry and accompanying art), we also invited visual artists connected to the scholarship to submit work. Eoin loved creative expression and collaboration in all of its forms and we are happy to reflect this in the book. 

It was really amazing to see the list of contributors coming together, some incredible rising stars of Irish literature, and some long-time giants. Contributors in order are: Eoin Murray, John Treacy, Ellen Ní Chonchúir, Muireann Ní Sheoighe Eachthighearn, Kel Menton, Dara Hanley, Molly Murray, Cónal Creedon, Freyja Hellebust, Claire Dineen, Daithí O Mathúna, Marij Bernart, Tess O' Regan, Molly Twomey, Martha Hegarty, Michelle Delea, Teresa Orazio, Emily Linehan, Joy Curtis, Ali Bracken Ziad, John McCarthy, Rose Keating, Luke Condon, Sadhbh Moriarty, Erin Murray, Maria Murray.