Overview
“This, I feel, is my final book. The job is done. In the words of Saint Paul; ‘I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith’.”
A fine collection of poems composed over a lifetime by one of Ireland’s most prominent poets, and a great character of the Irish arts, A Farewell to Poetry is Gabriel Fitzmaurice’s last book.
This selection shows decades of Fitzmaurice’s poetry, from his debut collections Rainsong (1984) through to Smitten Soul (2018). The poems pay homage to the poet’s parents, elucidate his marriage to the love of his life, and celebrate true rural Irish living. In addition, he skillfully translates iconic Irish poems, and has included many of his original Irish language poems in the collection.
Fintan O’Toole of The Irish Times, in his foreword, describes the Kerry man from Moyvane as ‘one of the last of the tribal bards, a poet in and of his own kind.’
“Fitzmaurice is one of Ireland’s leading poets… a master of his art.”– Books Ireland Magazine
About the Author
Gabriel Fitzmaurice is from the small village of Moyvane in Co. Kerry. He taught in the local primary school there, from which he retired as principal in 2007, over 30 years . He is author of more than 60 books, including collections of poetry in English and Irish, as well as several collections of verse for children. He frequently broadcasts on radio and television on the topic of culture and the arts.
Additional Information
Reviewed in The Independent (2019)
Gabriel bids a ‘farewell to poetry’
Reviewed in The Irish Times (2019)
Reviewed in The Irish Catholic (2019)
Can this fine book really be Gabriel Fitzmaurice’s swansong?
Reviewed in Limerick Leader (2019)
