My poem ‘From a Register of Sick Calls – attended to by the Clergy in July and August, 1922, during the Siege of Waterford’ – included on the Poetry as Commemoration Poetry Jukebox for Dublin City Centre.
I’m delighted to share news that my poem ‘From a Register of Sick Calls – attended to by the Clergy in July and August, 1922, during the Siege of Waterford’ has been included on the Poetry as Commemoration Poetry Jukebox for Dublin City Centre along with some incredible Irish poets like Paul Muldoon, Martina Evans, Sean Hewitt, Stephen Sexton and Victoria Kennifick amongst others. The poem was written during two Poetry as Commemoration Workshops that took place in Central Library, Waterford in November 2022. The poem is about some local Waterford people who were shot during the Siege of Waterford which took place during the Irish Civil War in July and August, 1922. Ann-Marie Gaffney from Upper Grange, John Doyle from Roches Street, and Patrick O’Grady from Kilmacthomas. Thankfully most of them survived their injuries. My inspiration for the poem came from examining the Priests Visits Book, which recorded the visits by a local priest, to those who were shot and recovering in the County Infirmary on John’s Hill, Waterford.
I am a 49 year old working mother from Waterford, Ireland. I have been writing in my spare time for the last fourteen years. I have currently completed the second draft of my second historical fiction novel. Most recently, my poem ‘From a Register of Sick Calls - attended to by the Clergy in July and August, 1922 during the Siege of Waterford’ was accepted by Poetry as Commemoration for their Dublin City Centre Poetry Jukebox, which was installed in the grounds of the Irish Museum of Modern Art on 1st November 2023. This poem was written during the Poetry as Commemoration workshops held in Waterford City Library in November, 2022.
My poem, ‘Ballybricken Hill’, was published in Déise Voices: New Poems from County Waterford in 2019. I’ve also had two poems, ‘All Earth’ and ‘My Own Sakura’, published by Singapore Eco Journal, The Tiger Moth Review.
Two short stories were shortlisted for the Atlantis Short Story Contest, “The Lone Wolf” in 2015 and “Spring Rain is a Different Entity” in 2017. The latter was also published in their inaugural anthology in 2018. My short story, “Ghosts” was longlisted for Wordsmiths, 2020. My short story, “Make Believe”, was published by The Galway Review in January 2021.
I have had several articles on writing and writers published in The Irish Times, both online and in the Irish Times Magazine.
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Joyce Butler 