Poetry Ireland invites everyone across the island of Ireland to celebrate Poetry Day Ireland 2025. With over 50 events taking place across every province and online, this year’s celebrations are bursting with energy, creativity, and community spirit. Whether you’re attending a live event, tuning in from home, or simply sharing your favourite verse, today is the day to embrace the joy and power of poetry.
This year’s theme, “May Day”, reflects a spirit of renewal, celebration, and community resilience. Poetry Ireland encourages everyone to take part by attending events in their local area or joining the online celebrations using the hashtag #PoetryDayIRL and tagging @PoetryIreland on social media.
Across the island, poets, artists, and communities are marking the day with a wide variety of events:
- In Dublin, celebrations span the city—from poetry workshops and readings at Richmond Barracks and Tallaght Library, to intimate gatherings at Books Upstairs and The Winding Stair bookshops. At Project Arts Centre, a special event co-presented by Poetry Ireland and the Bealtaine Festival will feature a vibrant programme of readings and reflections.
- In Belfast, poetry meets visual art with two powerful exhibitions. EASCAIR magazine presents an immersive, interdisciplinary exhibition as part of Belfast’s Late Night Art Trail, while poet and artist Noel Connor launches Beyond Loss, the Poetry at The Linen Hall, exploring themes of memory, grief, and renewal.
- In Waterford there are events happening all day, from writing spaces at the Old Market House Arts Centre in Dungarvan, to poetry readings, performances and music happening in venues across Waterford City.
- In Clare, literary groups, collectives, and individual poets are teaming up to host a poetry gathering and open mic at Kilrush Farmer’s Market.
- In Mayo, Mayo County Council Arts Service and the National Museum of Ireland, supported by Poetry Ireland, celebrate the launch of ‘OnSight 2024/25: Silent Objects/Spoken Lives’ poetry trail at the National Museum of Ireland, Turlough Park.
- For those interested in taking part online, you can find poetry workshops and open mics being hosted as part of Poetry Day. Additionally, there are two special Poetry Day podcast episodes being released by Eat The Storms and Wander poetry podcasts.
Discover all Poetry Day Ireland Events across the island at poetryday.ie.
As part of the all-island celebration, Poetry Ireland is also proud to present a series of special poetry readings by well-known Irish voices:
- Manchán Magan, writer and broadcaster, reads Lá Bealtaine by Alan Titley
- Zainab Boledale, Nigerian-Irish TV presenter, reads Thank You by Othuke Umukoro
- Joe Duffy, RTÉ radio host, reads Hawthorn by Stephen de Búrca
- Michael Darragh MacAuley, All-Ireland Gaelic Football Champion and Sanctuary Runners CEO, reads Hostility towards Fugivity by ‘Sumbo Akanbi
- Patrick O’Donovan, Minister for Arts, Culture, Communications, Media and Sport, reads The Ghost of Billy Mulvihill by Michael Hartnett
These readings are available now on Poetry Ireland’s YouTube channel and will be shared throughout the day across social media. Follow Poetry Ireland on social media to see more Poetry Day Ireland activity.
Liz Kelly, Director of Poetry Ireland, says, “We’re delighted to once again to present Poetry Day Ireland and share the incredible array of poetry readings, workshops and celebrations taking place all over Ireland for May Day. Huge thanks to everyone involved – the poets and organisers all over Ireland who celebrate this important day in our calendar. We believe that poetry is an important way to understand and empathise with the world around us, which, at this moment in history, is deeply meaningful. To quote Audre Lorde ‘poetry is not only dream and vision; it is the skeleton architecture of our lives. It lays the foundation for a future of change, a bridge across our fears of what has never been before’.”
Anne Tannam, Poetry Ireland’s Poet in Residence, says, “Poetry Day Ireland has finally come, and the poetry gods have blessed us with good weather, so there’s no excuse not to get involved! I’m starting the day in Greystones with a sunrise swim and poetry reading, followed by a Poetry Poster Trail in Drumcondra and ending the day with a poetry event at the Project Arts Centre. It’ll be poetry all the way on Poetry Day!”
Whether you are at home, at work, in a school, a bookshop, a library, outdoors, or online, we invite you to make space for poetry today. Read it, write it, speak it, share it and celebrate the power of poetry. Explore the full Poetry Day Ireland 2025 programme and discover how to take part at poetryday.ie.
Poetry Day Ireland is supported by The Arts Council Ireland, the National Lottery through the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, Iarnród Éireann, RTE Supporting The Arts and Dublin City Council.
See here for further information.
And see here for previous posts on Ben’s Poetic Licence blog.
