LITERARY FESTIVAL NAMES PRIZE AFTER ANTHONY CRONIN MARIA NOLAN – PAGE 12

THIS YEAR’S Wexford Literary Festival is to honour one of the county’s finest and most celebrated writers by establishing a poetry award in his name.

The Anthony Cronin International Poetry Award, sponsored by Baker Tilly Hughes Blake, will be awarded during this year’s festival, which runs from May 19 to May 21 in Enniscorthy.

The winner will receive €250 and the crystal Anthony Cronin International Poetry Award, while second and third place will receive €200 and €100 respectively.

Entries are being judged by poets John Kelly and Margaret Galvin and the award aims to promote poetry as an art form within the county and beyond. It also pays tribute to the great literary legacy of Anthony Cronin.

John Kelly said: ‘It was felt by the Wexford Literary Festival Committee back in 2015 that in order to support, encourage and nurture all aspects of the written word, that the inclusion of a poetry competition would be a welcome addition. I was delighted to come on board at that stage and now that we are in a position to honour the memory of Enniscorthy native Anthony Cronin, it is, indeed, very exciting.’

Anthony Cronin’s wife, writer Anne Haverty, will present the inaugural Anthony Cronin International Poetry Award at the Wexford Literary Festival’s awards ceremony in Enniscorthy’s Athenaeum on Sunday, May 21.

Anthony Cronin was born in 1928 in Enniscorthy, where his mother managed the family shop, and his father worked as a reporter with the Enniscorthy Echo.

Following studies at Blackrock College and UCD, Cronin went on to become a prolific poet and critic and a member of Aosdána. His publications included the novel the Life Of Riley and a memoir, Dead As Doornails. The Enniscorthy native passed away in December 2016 at the age of 88. Fellow Enniscorthy man Colm Tóibín and President Michael D Higgins were among the funeral congregation.

Aosdána noted: ‘He raised the public standing of the arts and, most especially, of the artist, to a level that no one of his generation would have thought possible. As Anthony Cronin dies, there are many artists today in Ireland, who can live and work in their native land because of what he did for them.’

l For full details of this year’s Wexford Literary Festival, visit wexfordliteraryfestival.com.