31st Galway Poetry Trail plaque to be unveiled in new Woodquay Park

The latest addition to the Galway Poetry Trail - a plaque containing a poem by Sister Finnín Concannon of the Mercy Order, Ar Bhruach na Coiribe – will be unveiled at the new Woodquay Park in Galway city on Monday November 16th from 11.30am. All are welcome!

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The poem is an ode to that beautiful calm of Waterside just opposite the Bish Boat Club and reflects the sense of peace and calm one gets sitting there watching the ducks swimming and the river slowly flowing. The plaque will be unveiled by Patricia Forde, distinguished author and playwright, former Children’s Laureate and an ex-pupil of Sister Finnín’s. Sister Finnín is a published poet who has spent her life teaching in the Mercy Convent School where she was much loved and respected.

The Galway Poetry Trail is a series of limestone and bronze plaques dotted around Galway City, each featuring a piece of writing about the place in which they are situated. The Trail was launched twenty years ago when a plaque featuring a poem entitled Girls Bathing by Seamus Heaney was unveiled on The Prom in Salthill. These plaques can be found in various parts of the city including The Claddagh and The Long Walk, and feature the work of W.B. Yeats, Pádraic Ó Conaire, Moya Cannon, James Joyce and Rita Ann Higgins, amongst others. Each plaque offers the viewer a moment of quiet contemplation, with words to lift the soul in a busy urban environment while at the same time celebrating Galway and its people. Sister Finnín’s poem will be the 31st plaque on the trail, and a full list can be found on www.kennys.ie/galway-poetry-trail.

The new park at Woodquay will be formally opened by The Mayor of the City of Galway, Councillor Helen Ogbu and Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment, Peter Burke TD, on Monday 16th November at 11.30am, and the unveiling will take place shortly afterwards. All are welcome.