Seán Dunne (poet) facts for kids
Seán Dunne (born 1956, died 1995) was a talented poet from Waterford, Ireland. He was known for his beautiful poems and his popular book about his childhood.
Seán Dunne's Writings
Seán Dunne was a busy writer. He put together several collections of poems by different writers. These collections are called anthologies. His first anthology was The Poets of Munster in 1985. His last one, the Ireland Anthology, was finished after he passed away. His friends George O'Brien and Trish Edelstein helped complete it.
He also wrote three collections of his own poems. People really liked all of them! They were:
- Against the Storm (1985)
- The Sheltered Nest (1992)
- Time and the Island
In 1991, Seán Dunne wrote a book about his childhood called In My Father's House. This book was very popular and sold many copies. It became a bestseller.
About Seán Dunne's Life
Seán Dunne's father was Richard Dunne. Sadly, his mother passed away in 1960 when Seán was only four years old.
Seán went to Scoil Lorcain primary school and then Mount Sion secondary school in Waterford city. At school, he enjoyed writing for the school magazine. He also helped organize evenings where people could share poetry and music.
After school, he went to University College Cork (UCC). There, he learned from famous poets like Sean Lucy and John Montague. Many talented writers studied at UCC around the same time as Seán. These included Maurice Riordan, Gregory O'Donoghue, Theo Dorgan, and Thomas McCarthy. Seán became part of a group known as "the Cork poets," even though he was not from Cork himself. He was also involved in student groups and discussions about how the university was run. He wrote about this in his book The Road to Silence.
After college, Seán settled in Cork. He worked at the city library and continued to write and publish his poems. Around this time, he started earning money by writing for different newspapers and magazines. He then joined the Cork Examiner newspaper as a columnist. This meant he wrote regular articles for the paper.
Seán Dunne passed away on August 3, 1995, at the age of 39. He had a heart problem.
He had three children. His son, Gavin Dunne, is a successful independent musician who lives in Cork.
Seán Dunne Writers Festival
In 1996, the Waterford City Council started a special event to honor Seán Dunne. They called it the Seán Dunne Writers Festival.
The festival in 2009 took place in Waterford City from March 19 to March 21. Many famous poets attended, such as Tom Paulin and Conor O'Callaghan. There were also poets who performed their poems, like Eamon Carr. Other writers, including A. L. Kennedy and Paul Carson, also took part.
A competition was held at the festival. The winner was Luke Byrne from St John's Park, Waterford. He won for his poem called "Winter."
