Minister Martin’s speech at the opening of the Patrick Kavanagh Centre in Co. Monaghan

Check against Delivery

Dia daoibh a chairde. Tá an-áthas orm a bheidh anseo inniu.

It is my pleasure to be here today to officially open the new Kavanagh experience. Patrick Kavanagh’s universal themes of love, beauty, nature and faith are timeless and resonate in the hearts of readers of all ages.

The son of a shoemaker who owned a modest farm, Patrick Kavanagh left school at around 12 years of age and so his learnings of literature are largely self-taught.

As documented in the television series “Self Portrait”, Kavanagh referenced the intellectual deprivation of his youth by saying; “Although the literal idea of the peasant is of a farm labouring person, in fact a peasant is all that mass of mankind which lives below a certain level of consciousness. They live in the dark cave of the unconscious and they scream when they see the light.”

Kavanagh makes us sit up and see the light. This treasured poet helps the creative soul feast on the banal, the ordinary. This made sense for a man, a creator from such humble origins. The lines of his much celebrated Canal Bank Walk remind us-especially after the isolation of the pandemic-what can inspire a starved mind. Nature, the simple pleasures, that allow us “wallow in the habitual, the banal”, that “feed the gaping need” of our senses. That canal bank walk triggered such passion for Kavanagh, who had escaped death, recovering from lung cancer, and penned this timeless life-affirming poem.

Kavanagh went on as apprentice to his father as a shoemaker and looked destined to be a farmer, though he wrote poems regularly for his own enjoyment.

This all changed when he succeeded in publishing poems in The Irish Independent and the Dundalk Democrat. Kavanagh then discovered the Irish Statesman which regularly published the work of major Irish writers and was edited by George William Russell who was a leader of the Literary Renaissance. Russell made an effort to develop the talents of promising unknown writers and, although he rejected Kavanagh’s first submissions to the Statesman he encouraged the young farmer from rural Monaghan to persevere.

After eventually publishing some of his work in the Statesman in 1929 and 1930, Kavanagh famously walked the 80 miles to Dublin to meet Russell in person and he subsequently became his literary adviser. Kavanagh gained access to Dublin’s literary society with Russell’s assistance and established himself as an authentic peasant and poet.

One of the most popular poems of Patrick Kavanagh’s, now forever immortalised in song by Luke Kelly of the Dubliners, is Raglan Road, which I believe we are being treated to a rendition of today by Ben Reel.

Originally published under the title Dark Haired Hilda Ran Away, the poem speaks of the dangers of love, especially when it is unrequited.

The poem tells us of the time when Kavanagh, then in his 40’s fell in love with medical student Hilda Moriarty who at the time was in her early 20’s. Speaking of their shared love of poetry he says;

I gave her gifts of the mind I gave her the secret sign that’s known

To the artists who have known the true gods of sound and stone

And word and tint. I did not stint for I gave her poems to say,

With her own name there and her own dark hair like clouds over fields of May.

I personally feel a great affinity with Patrick Kavanagh. Both of us are native to wonderful County Monaghan, and both of us ended up migrating to Dublin. Although he lived the remainder of his days in Dublin, Kavanagh’s final resting place is here, where it all began, in Inniskeen.

As many of you no doubt already know, Patrick Kavanagh was baptised in this very church, attended regular mass here and served as an altar-boy in his youth. It was undoubtedly a major landmark in his life which is evidenced by it featuring in some of his works including his novel, Tarry Flynn, as well as the semi-autobiographical, The Green Fool.

Deconsecrated in 1974, the centre was developed by the Inniskeen Enterprise Development Group and was opened by President Mary Robinson in 1994. Through co-operation and funding from Monaghan County Council, Fáilte Ireland and my Department directly via the Culture Capital Scheme, we can today officially open and enjoy the Patrick Kavanagh Centre and the new Kavanagh Experience.

As a significant proportion of tourists are drawn to attractions and participative experiences that bring local culture and heritage to life, Fáilte Ireland’s support will help this centre maximise their offering in a way that attracts tourists and enhances their overall experience. Indeed, in this unique facility, it will be the visitors who I believe in significant numbers will come to enjoy that “wonder” which Kavanagh highlighted, a special insight into his own life and works.

This exhibition is a wonderful testament to his life, his writing and his considerable legacy that future generations will be able to enjoy.

And can I just say this is an historic moment. Two Monaghan Cabinet ministers together opening this event in their home county; two female Cabinet Ministers from two different parties coming together on their home turf.

I also know how much effort Heather has personally put into this project. Her Department of course was involved in funding this centre too.

Indeed, In March 2017, when Minister Humphreys was Minister for the Arts, Inniskeen Enterprise Development Group was successful under the Arts & Culture Capital Scheme 2016-2018 and awarded a grant of up to a maximum of €188,636 in respect of The Patrick Kavanagh Centre towards the cost of a refurbishment project.

So the honour is even greater given the opportunity two Monaghan women have played in launching the Kavanagh centre today.

Kavanagh once said; “A man innocently dabbles in words and rhymes and finds that it is his life”. Well, how fortunate are we that he dabbled.

Tá Súil agam go mbainfidh sibh taitneamh as an gcuid eile den imeacht. Go raibh maith agaibh.