Cormac Lally has been appointed as the Poet Laureate for Tullamore.

Cormac is new Poet Laureate for Tullamore

A renowned spoken word poet who credits Ballinamere national school with fostering his love of the English language has been appointed as the Poet Laureate for Tullamore.

Cormac Lally, who is originally from Tullamore but has now made his home in Skibbereen, West Cork is one of 20 Poet Laureates to be appointed to towns around Ireland as part of Poetry Ireland’s new initiative to make poetry more accessible to people of all ages and backgrounds.

As part of the initiative, 20 towns around Ireland, including Tullamore, were selected as ‘Poetry Towns’ which will see a host of poetry-related activities taking place between September 10 and 18 next.

Cormac Lally was appointed to his new role by Poetry Ireland, in conjunction with the Arts Office of Offaly County Council, and all of the Poet Laureates appointed are either from the respective local area or have strong connections to it.

One of the most exciting aspects of the new job for Cormac is that he has been commissioned to write a poem honouring and reflecting Tullamore and its people!

The former electrician who is now one of Ireland’s leading spoken word artists, has described it as “a great honour” to represent his hometown in any field of worthy endeavour, adding that “Tullamore has shaped me.”

He also credits his former primary school, in Ballinamere, as having been “the inspiration” for his love of the English language and “understanding the deep and rich cultural landscape that is Ireland.”a

In a very touching gesture, the newly-appointed Poet Laureate for Tullamore dedicated his title to his family “without whom I am nothing.”

Cormac Lally, who is married to fellow poet, Julie Goo, has performed with Mick Flannery, Blindboy Boatclub, Liam O’Maonlai, Stephen James Smith and Luca Bloom, among others, and his work has also been featured on RTE. He is also a regular on Ireland’s Festival circuit and in 2016 he co-wrote a show called ‘Me, Myself and Ireland’ along with his wife, in which they take a look back at Ireland and her history and culture. The Show has toured Ireland to sell-out audiences.

As part of the week-long Poetry Town celebrations next month, each Poet Laureate will reveal and present their poem to the people of their Poetry Town at a series of flagship online events, one of which will be hosted in each of the 20 towns selected. Each event will also feature contributions from other local poets, artists and musicians. Further details of those taking part in the Tullamore event will be revealed at a later date.

Director of Poetry Ireland, Niamh O’Donnell said the aim of Poetry Town is to “celebrate the vitality and strength of our towns and communities, and to shine a light on the wealth of creativity and talent that can be found in them. The diversity of this talent is reflected in the selection of Poet Laureates, which includes well-known visionary poets and new powerful voices".