Friday 27 April 2012

The unabridged vitality of youth


A review of CĂșirt's All-Ireland Schools Poetry Slam

I was at the all-Ireland schools poetry slam in the Town Hall Theatre in Galway which took place as part of the CĂșirt Literary Festival. It was a free event, where transition-year students from different parts of the island came together to perform their poems in front of a rapturous audience of friends, family and peers. I was absolutely captivated; my breath was well and truly taken. It bamboozled me to think that the individuals before me were at the very least, in their mid-to-late teens. A simultaneously spellbinding and sobering thought.

The Masters of Ceremony were Irish poets Dave Lordan and Stephen Murray, who, in addition to enthusiastically revving up the crowd in between the efforts of contestants, performed some of their own work, but it was the unabridged vitality of youth that most impressed.

The honesty of these kids was somewhat startling. Here, children confessed to worries of the future, fears of rejection and recalled the intoxication of alcohol consumption. Girls and boys alike lamented romantic near-misses and naively mused on economic devastation. It was pure raw. It was invigorating, utterly refreshing to take in the candid observations of these beacons of hope. For a moment, I was almost convinced that humanity wasn't, in fact, so bad after all.

I wondered, as the locations of the schools were read out, if this was actually worthy of the title of “all-Ireland”: Connacht, Munster, Leinster... but no Ulster (not even Cavan, Monaghan or Donegal). It struck me afterwards that this kind of event liberated. It liberated both the performer and the audience, the energy was infectious. This kind of liberation is what is sorely needed in the north. It permits transcendence of both mind and soul. It reduces barriers to nothing. It is true freedom.

Tuesday 24 April 2012

Reflections on reaching the Setanta Cup Final


 

Like so many Derry City fans last night, I was delighted that Decky Devine's men had secured their place in the Setanta Cup final at the expense of Shamrock Rovers. They now face an interesting tie at Windsor Park with Irish Premiership outfit Crusaders, who disposed of Sligo Rovers in a thrilling encounter, on Saturday May 12th. However, despite the elation of reaching the final of the Setanta Cup for the first time, it was also pointed out that, on the night, City lost 0-2 at home, making that two successive home defeats and four defeats overall in all competitions.

Granted, four defeats in 15 competitive games is not a despicable record, by any means - Derry have impressively won eight of their games and drawn three. The real concern for Candystripe fans however, is that three of those four defeats have come in the league, meaning that Derry are already chasing the pack. The Foylesiders currently sit in sixth place in the league, with 11 points from eight games, trailing league leaders Sligo Rovers by nine points.


But before the anxiety really sets in, it is vitally important for the fans to consider that the season is still in its early stages. In that context, reaching a cup final, disposing of Irish giants such as Linfield and Shamrock Rovers on the way, is a marvellous achievement. It is all the more remarkable when you take into account that Declan Devine is, after all, still in the process of finding his feet as a manager and that he has been grappling admirably with the problems associated with having a thin squad; injuries are mounting up, with several key players such as Stewart Greacen, Shane McEleney, Rory Patterson ruled out and others playing, as Devine says, "through the pain barrier".

Dealing with such a small squad is not ideal for a club of Derry's stature, a club that hopes to challenge for honours, but one thing that it seems to have fostered is a great sense of team spirit. Almost in spite of the injury set-backs and some surprise defeats, the squad is, nevertheless, demonstrating a bit of character. That said, character doesn't always win trophies and Devine will have to ensure that his team maintains their focus as they head into another crunch fixture with Shamrock Rovers this Friday at Tallaght.


All things considered, if Declan Devine can bring the Setanta Cup to the Brandywell and consolidate a respectable league position in his debut season, perhaps even sneaking a European spot, then the fans, and the board, should be reasonably content. The framework for long-term success is in place and Devine believes that Derry are capable of beating anybody. My only hope is that the squad shares his confidence.