Desmond O'Grady (poet)

At the age of 19 he left Ireland for Paris and taught English at the Berlitz School, following in the footsteps of James Joyce.

O'Grady also took work at a radio station, and had a cameo role as himself in Francesco Fellini's film La Dolce Vita.

He later became a teaching fellow at Harvard University, where he earned a PhD in Celtic Studies.

[1] Seamus Heaney said of him: "Desmond O’Grady is one of the senior figures in Irish literary life, exemplary in the way he has committed himself over the decades to the vocation of poetry and has lived selflessly for the art.

"[2] On 24 February 2015, Irish president Michael D. Higgins unveiled a plaque in O'Grady's honor at the White Horse Bar in Limerick.