By Dominic Taylor

Desmond O'Grady.

Was the first poet to headline at the White House poetry revival on the 25th. June 2003. Lending his enormous international prestige to the event his performance was inspirational. He fondly remembered Kitty Bredin, the poet Ryan, Bernadette Mulrooney, Richard Harris, Seamus O'Cinneide the artist raol Peter Jackson and politician and writer Jim kemmy.

Desmond O'Grady was born in Limerick and schooled at the Cistercion College. He took his Docterate at Harvard where he taught classical literature. He also taught English literature in Italy, Egypt and Jordan. He has published 26 books of poetry including Trawling Tradition 1954 - 94 collected translations of world poetry, the Road taken - collected poems 1956-1996 and the Wandering Celt poems 1996-2001. His most recent being The Collected Poems published by Sailsbury University Press in Vienna where de is visiting Professor of English.

Also launched recently was Song of Songs at the Limerick City Art Gallery this was O'Grady's a combined creation with artist Jack Donovan. Based on the Hebrew folklore of the Semitic tribes from India living on the Iranian mountains. This is a most scintillating descriptive, sensual and dynamic book of poetry and art and an extraordinary achievement.

Knute Skinner

Knute Skinner lives in Killaspuglonane, County Clare, his home for the past thirty-eight years.

His poetry has appeared widely in Ireland, Britain, Australia and North America. For some years he taught literature and creative writing part of each year at Western Washington University. He has worked as director of the Signpost Press and editor of The Bellingham Review, as well as serving on the editorial board of New Series-Departures.

He is the author of ten previous collections of poetry, four of them with Salmon Publishing, and he has poems in numerous anthologies, including Irish Poetry Now and Or Volge L'Anno-At the Year's Turning: An Anthology of Irish Poets Responding to Leopardi. He is married to Edna Faye Kiel, who is the subject of some of these poems.

John Liddy

John Liddy was born in Youghal, Co Cork but grew up in Limerick.

His collections are Boundaries (Jane Hunt/The Limerick Leader, 1974); The Angling Cot (Dublin, Beaver Row Press, 1991); Song of the Empty Cage (Belfast, Lapwing Press, 1997); and Wine and Hope/Vino y Esperanza (Madrid, 1999).

He is the founding editor, along with Jim Bourke, of The Stony Thursday Book and has edited bilingual issues with his brother Liam and Miguel Ortega. The review is currently edited by Mark Whelan. He lives in Madrid.

Tim Cunningham

Tim Cunningham was born in Limerick in 1942.

His has published one collection, Don Marcellino's Daughter (Cornwall, UK, Peterloo Poets, 2001. He lives in Billericay, Essex, UK.

Ciaran O’Driscoll

Ciaran O'Driscoll was born in Kilkenny in 1943.

His collections include Gog and Magog (Galway, Salmon, 1987); The Poet and His Shadow (Dublin, Dedalus, 1990); Listening to Different Drummers (Dedalus, 1993); The Old Women of Magione (Dedalus, 1997); and Moving On, Still There: New and Selected Poems (Dedalus, 2001). He has also published a memoir, A Runner Among Falling Leaves (Liverpool University Press, 2001). He was guest editor of Cyphers, 1992/93 and co-editor of On the Counterscarp. He lives in Limerick.