Christmas Story 2024 in The Kilkenny Observer

Thank you so much to The Kilkenny Observer for asking me to write another Christmas story for this year’s Short Story Series.

“Skerries” published in The Storms

Issue 4 of The Storms launched recently and the theme of the journal was Dublin Days. I was delighted to have my poem “Skerries” published in the journal, particularly as the live launch took place in the gorgeous Ardgillan Castle in Skerries. I wrote the poem for my husband, a Skerries native, and it was so special to dedicate my reading of the poem to him at the launch.

Many thanks to Damien Donnelly, the editor-in-chief at The Storms, for his passion and support.

You can purchase the journal and listen to the accompanying podcast at this link.

New poem in The Ogham Stone 2024

The last place I lived and studied in Ireland was Limerick. And I loved it! So, I was thrilled to have my poem, “Thirty Years Between” published in the latest issue of University of Limerick’s literary journal, The Ogham Stone.  You can buy the book locally and online from one of my favourite bookshops, O’Mahony’s, at this link.  

  • The Ogham Stone at the University of Limerick

  • April 2024

New poem in White Twine and Old Suitcases

A new miscellany of local poetry and prose has been published in Kilkenny under the the title of White Twine and Old Suitcases. The book features 60 authors in addition to the artists and photographers who contributed to the collection. It was produced by the Kilkenny Involvement Centre and Recovery College South East with Lake Productions.  I was part of their online writer’s group and my poem is lighthearted tribute to them following a prompt from the contributors.   My dad also has a beautiful poem in the book. It is available in Kilkenny workshops. You can read more here.

  • The Kilkenny Involvement Centre, Recovery College South East and Lake Productions

  • May 2024

Another adventure for Finn

Finn returns for a new Christmas adventure in The Kilkenny Observer and this time he is with a very famous Kilkenny Castle character…

Read the story here.

  • The Kilkenny Observer

  • 7th December 2023

  • Paul Kelly

“Roast Chicken”

I was very honoured to have my poem “Roast Chicken” published in the June 2023 edition of The Honest Ulsterman. This poem found its origins in a poetry group and session I attended last spring with Derek Coyle, my friend and former lecturer at Carlow College.

You can find the poem here.

“The Cross of Women”

Small Faces Collective published my poem “The Cross of Women” in the “Saints and Mystics” edition of their online magazine. I wrote this poem for St Brigid’s Day and read it at an event for Irish Women working in the Arts in Switzerland at the Ambassador’s residence in Bern on February 1st, 2023. The poem is dedicated to my grandmother with whom I share the BRCA2 gene. We were both young when we got breast cancer. Due to her death at 41 from cancer, I received regular screenings and was diagnosed at 36. This poem is a tribute to her, Brigid and the enduring power of women. You can read the poem here.

  • Same Faces Collective

  • 10th March, 2023

“Staying in Touch”

Keeping it Under Wraps have a new anthology, “Bodies”, for spring 2023. I am thrilled to have had my non-fiction prose chosen for the publication. The personal essay is called “Staying in Touch” and explores the relationship I’ve had with my body. There’s a lot of cancer and weight talk in this one! The anthology can be ordered here,

  • Keeping it Under Wraps

  • March/April 2023

“Finn and the Banshee of the Park”

Finn is back for another festive tale. Thank you so much to The Kilkenny Observer for inviting me back again this year.

You can read the story here.

  • The Kilkenny Observer

  • 16th December 2022

  • Paul Kelly

“Lunch Lover”

In late 2022, The Woolf asked for submissions for issue 3 of their online magazine for new writing on the theme “Strange/r”.

You can find my piece on their site at this link.

  • https://thewoolfx.com/

  • 23rd November 2022

“We must believe in brighter days”

My villanelle, “We must believe in brighter days”, was selected by Beyond the Veil Press to be part of their new anthology, How to Heal a Bloodline. It was released on November 15th, 2022 and you can find the link here.

The poem was written during a particularly rough cancery moment. “Do not go gentle into that good night” by Dylan Thomas, probably the most famous villanelle, was the inspiration for my piece. When I was diagnosed, several doctors and nurses said “You have to believe you will get better”. It caused me to eye-roll every time I heard it, to be honest. But when things got tough, that belief was all I could hold onto in the face of physical and mental exhaustion and illness.

When Beyond the Veil Press asked for submissions based on the theme of hope and healing, I thought this poem would work and they obviously agreed! This indie press from Colorado do amazing work and advocate for mental health awareness. Check them out here.

  • https://beyondtheveilpress.com/

  • 15th November 2022

“Slicing Pomegranate”

Poem

Blood Moon Poetry chose one of my poems for their anthology Chronic(les).

This is an early poem about my preventative ovariectomy. Initially, it had a different title, “The time I broke a valuable vase”, but I am working on making it part of a series on the subject.

The important thing is the subject of this anthology. It is by women and speaks to and of their experiences. The poems voice the chronic pain and conditions women experience. They are wonderful and thought-provoking. Please check it out!

Click here for more.

  • Blood Moon Poetry Press

  • 15th September 2022

  • Kirby Moses

 

“Festive Finn”

UP AT THE CASTLE, YOUNG FINN IS GOING TO LEARN THAT CHRISTMAS IS ABOUT MUCH MORE THAN PRESENTS…

Do you know what the saddest thing is about being a ghost? It’s that you never get presents. Not for birthdays. Not for deathdays. Not even for Christmas! Young Finn thought about this a lot, especially on Christmas Eve. The last 134 Christmas Eves, in fact. And every year, after Christmas, he enviously watched children walk through his castle gates with enticing toys and gadgets. “You will come to realise, Finn”, Lady Butler said, “that there’s more to life, and death, than presents.”…

Click here to read the full story at The Kilkenny Observer

 

  • The Kilkenny Observer

    https://kilkennyobserver.ie/

  • December, 17th 2021

  • Paul Kelly