Michael Hartnett

He was one of the most significant voices in late 20th-century Irish writing and has been called "Munster's de facto poet laureate".

He grew up in the Maiden Street area of Newcastle West, County Limerick, spending much of his time with his grandmother Bridget Halpin, who resided in the townland of Camas, in the countryside nearby.

Hartnett emigrated to England the day after he finished his secondary education and went to work as a tea boy on a building site in London.

Hartnett had started writing by this time and his work came to the attention of the poet John Jordan, who was professor of English at University College Dublin.

His Gypsy Ballads (1973), a translation of the Romancero Gitano of Federico García Lorca was published by the Goldsmith Press.

In 1974 Hartnett decided to leave Dublin to return to his rural roots, as well as deepen his relationship with the Irish language.

He went to live in Templeglantine, five miles from Newcastle West, and worked for a time as a lecturer in creative writing at Thomond College of Education, Limerick.

In 1999, the documentary film on his life and work: Michael Hartnett: Necklace of Wrens, was widely shown on Irish television to critical acclaim and won several prizes.

Hartnett died from Alcoholic Liver Disease in October 1999 following a stroke in Listowel and after repeated visits to the hospital over the years.

[5] During the 2011 Éigse, Paul Durcan unveiled a bronze life-sized statue of Michael Hartnett sculpted by Rory Breslin, in the Square, Newcastle West.