Celia de Fréine facts for kids

Celia de Fréine, born in 1948, is a talented writer. She creates poems, plays, and movie scripts. She also writes words for operas. Celia writes in both the Irish and English languages.

Quick facts for kids Celia de Fréine
Occupation	Writer
Nationality	Irish

About Celia de Fréine

Celia de Fréine was born in Newtownards, County Down, Ireland. When she was young, her family moved to Dublin. She always stayed close to her relatives in Northern Ireland. Celia studied at University College Dublin and Lancaster University. She used to work for the government and as a teacher. Today, she splits her time between Dublin and Connemara.

Celia's Poetry

Celia de Fréine has published six collections of her poems. Her poetry has won many awards.

Faoi Chabáistí is Ríonacha

Her first poetry book was Faoi Chabáistí is Ríonacha. It was published in 2001. This book won an award in 1999. It has been translated into Romanian and Bulgarian.

Fiacha Fola

Her second book of poems, Fiacha Fola, came out in 2004. This collection tells the story of the Anti-D scandal in Ireland. It also won an award in 2004.

Scarecrows at Newtownards

In 2005, Celia published her first poetry collection in English. It was called Scarecrows at Newtownards.

imram : odyssey

In 2010, a special bilingual book of her poems was released. It was called imram : odyssey. This book was inspired by an old Irish storytelling style. It also came from a trip Celia took to Slovenia.

Aibítir Aoise : Alphabet of an Age

Aibítir Aoise : Alphabet of an Age was published in 2011. This book is based on a Polish writing style. It lets the author share observations from their life. Celia adapted this style into poetry.

cuir amach seo dom : riddle me this

This collection was published in 2014. The main poem in the book was written in Slovenia. It is like a riddle, which is a traditional Slovene style. The book also includes other poem series.

Other Poetry Awards

Celia de Fréine's poems are featured in many different collections. She has won several other awards for her poetry. These include the Patrick Kavanagh Award in 1994. She also won the British Comparative Literature Association Translation Award in 1999.

Celia's Plays

Celia de Fréine's plays have been performed many times. They have also won several awards.

In 2000, her play Nára Turas é in Aistear was performed. It was shown in Dublin and Galway.

In 2004, her play Anraith Neantóige was performed. It was part of the Dublin Theatre Festival Fringe. It also toured around Ireland. This play won an award in 2003.

Other plays that won awards include Cóirín na dTonn in 2005. Tearmann won an award in 2006. Tearmann also received an award at Listowel Writers' Week. These three plays were published together in a book called Mná Dána in 2009.

Also in 2009, the Abbey Theatre asked her to write a short play. This play, called Casadh, was read aloud in Dublin and Belfast.

In 2013, her play Beholden was read at the National Gallery of Ireland. Present was read in 2012. Stamen was read in 2014.

In 1982, Celia translated and adapted Brian Merriman's famous poem, The Midnight Court, into a play. It was performed in Dublin. A new version of this play was performed again in 2007.

In 2012, three of Celia's plays were published in books. These plays were Desire: Meanmarc, Cúirt an Mheán Oíche: The Midnight Court, and Plight: Cruachás. These plays are all connected to Brian Merriman and his poem.

Other plays she has written or adapted include:

• Were Man But Constant (from Shakespeare's comedies), 1982.
• The Courting of Emer, 1985.
• Diarmuid agus Gráinne, 1986.
• I Have Seen The Stars, 1988.
• Holloway 1918 (a reading), 1989.
• Two Girls in Silk Kimonos (a reading), 1991.

Celia's Films

In 2007, a filmmaker named Biju Viswanath created short films based on Celia's poems. These films include Lorg / Quest, Seal / Sojourn, Cluiche / Game, and Beatha / Life.

Lorg / Quest was shown at the Irish Film Institute in 2007. It was first shown in the US at a film festival in 2008. Seal / Sojourn was also shown there. Cluiche / Game was first shown at a festival in 2008.

In 2009, a film called Marathon premiered. Celia wrote this film with Biju Viswanath. It won awards for best screenplay and best cinematography at the New York International Film Festival.

Celia's Opera Work

In 2009, Celia wrote the words for an opera called The Earl of Kildare. The music was composed by Fergus Johnston. A special performance of this opera was held in Bray.

Celia on Television

Celia de Fréine was a scriptwriter for the TG4 TV series Ros na Rún. She worked on the show from 1997 to 1999. Her first script for the show was nominated for an award in 1998.

Celia's Translations

Celia de Fréine has translated poems from many European languages into Irish and English. She has translated works by poets like Rainer Maria Rilke and Catullus. She has also translated poems from the Gujarati language.

Awards and Achievements

Celia de Fréine has received many awards for her writing. Here are some of them:

• Patrick Kavanagh Award, 1994
• Dún Laoghaire Poetry Competition (Irish Poem), 1996
• Literature Scholarship (Arts Council), 1997
• British Comparative Literature Association Translation Award, 1999
• Cló Iar-Chonnachta Literature Award, 1999
• Literature Scholarship (Arts Council), 2000
• Smurfit/Lá International Poetry Award Samhain Festival (Irish Poem), 2003
• Oireachtas Award (for play Anraith Neantóige), 2003
• Cló Iar-Chonnachta Literature Award, 2004
• Oireachtas Award (for play Cóirín na dTonn), 2005
• Oireachtas Award (for play Tearmann), 2006
• Foras na Gaeilge Award at Listowel Writers' Week (for Tearmann), 2006
• Best screenplay (with Biju Viswanath) at the New York International Film Festival, 2009
• Best international short (with Biju Viswanath) at the New York International Film Festival, 2010
• Oireachtas Award (for play Meanmarc), 2010
• Oireachtas Award (TV script, Cuir i gCás), 2011
• Literature Scholarship (Arts Council), 2013