Sylvia Plath revision presentation

Many thanks to Mrs Donnelly for sharing this very helpful revision presentation for pupils revising Sylvia Plath for the Leaving Certificate (click on the full screen icon to read it easily):

Paul Durcan presentation

Many thanks to Mrs Donnelly for making and sharing this very helpful revision presentation on the poetry of Paul Durcan, for Leaving Certificate pupils (click on the full screen icon to read it easily):

Eileán Ní Chuilleanáin reads and discusses her poem 'All For You'

Poetry Ireland have a handy resource for those studying  Eileán Ní Chuilleanáin for the Leaving Certificate, with a lesson plan and also this engaging video of the poet discussing and reading her poem 'All For You'. She did this for us, too, in her visit to the Big Schoolroom last term for our Sixth Formers.

Willis Memorial Prize for the Knowledge of Shakespeare 2016

Congratulations to Hollie Canning, who has won this year's Shakespeare Prize, after sitting an examination on the plays and a sonnet.

Saturday is the 400th anniversary of  Shakespeare's death (and also his 452nd birthday), and on Monday all Sixth and Fifth Form will receive a Shakespeare400 supplement from the Irish Independent.

'The Cat', 'Love'

Two more poems from the recent Junior Poetry Prize, this time from a Second Former and a First Former.


'The Cat', by Megan Bulbulia

They always seemed to give me
a cold dark glare,
Scrutinising my every move
As if I was in danger.

The way they move,
So dramatic, as if in slow-motion,
The way they strike:
Unforgiving, with no deliberation.

They’re independent with no doubt.
They hide and lurk in shadows.
But when they’re in the light,
They illuminate such radiance.

Their coats shine bright,
Their paws patter softly.
And as they sleep, by your side,
They purr away loudly.

Now I’m not a danger,
I’m no surprise,
They look at me lovingly
With warm bright eyes.



'Love' by Imogen Casey

I sat on a bench looking out at the city,
my phone on the ground, my heart in my hands.
The woman beside me stared with pity,
as a small tear rolled down my cheek.

I stepped in a cab without giving instructions.
The driver looked at me without disruption.
My family were praying just by the door,
all of them kneeling, heads down on the floor.

The body it lay as still as a rock.
Everyone here was all still in shock.
The arms were crossed, the eyes were shut,
the small scar on his arm where he was cut.

Now there is not a thing left of him.
Not even a trace, a scent or a sight.

Willis Prize for the Knowledge of Shakespeare

The Willis Memorial Shakespeare Prize 2016 will be held on Monday 18th April (the week of Shakespeare’s birthday and deathday) at 7.15pm to 8.45pm in Adare or 4 to 5.30pm in the Library

 (other times are possible if you find these difficult: see JMG).

All pupils in these forms have studied at least one play by Shakespeare, which you can use in the general question (60 minutes) about his plays.  Questions will be very open, allowing you to show your knowledge of and insights into the play(s) you choose.  

In addition, you can/should use knowledge of any other plays you have studied, read, or seen on stage / film.

The second question (30 minutes) will be an unseen poetry question on a sonnet by Shakespeare.

Junior Poetry Prize

Congratulations to Tania Stokes, who for the second year in a row has won the Junior Poetry Prize, this time for her poem 'Metaphorest'. 

Well done also to Megan Bulbulia, Imogen Casey, Harry Oke-Osanyintolu, Guy Fitzgibbon and Sol Guitart Rivero, who receive Distinctions for their entries, some of which will be published here.


'Metaphorest'
by Tania Stokes

The springtime garden was in bloom,
Pansies and cosmos, tulips and roses,
Ivy clambering up the trellis.
Purples, pinks and whites and yellows
Surrounded me, as I sat on the deck.
The sunlight filtered through the eucalyptus
And I used to go to far-off places;
I could sometimes hear the sea.

One day, you floated here on the breeze,
Planting yourself into my life.
The garden was never quite the same
Once you began to spread,
Your brambles tangling, choking the competition.
Shadows fell over the house,
As you rose up to dominate it all,
Holding me in your thorny grasp.

You had taken over completely.

The wind changed, come Autumn
When you blossomed into something richer.
You finally brought forth your sweetness,
As ripe blackberries sprung up everywhere.
Each one was a memory full of flavour,
And as we shared them, I knew
That you had taken root in my heart.

Senior Poetry Prize 2016

Term starts today, and tomorrow we will have news of the results of the Junior Poetry Prize, completed last term.

Here are details of this year's Peter Dix Memorial Prize for Poetry (for Seniors):-

All entries are to be typed and sent to Mr.Canning at lcanning@staff.stcolumbas.iemailto:scc.english@yahoo.ie by the evening of Monday 16th May.

Entries should contain a portfolio of  between two and five poems based on or inspired by the idea of either :-
PLACE
or
PEOPLE

Poems should be at least ten lines long, and typed.  The winning entry will be based on the overall standard of the entrant’s body of poems. There will also be a prize for the best poem if it is not in the winner’s selection. All other strong entries will be posted on this site.

The English Department will also give smaller book-tokens to strong entries that do not win the Prize.

You can treat the ideas, ‘Place’, or ‘People’ in a free way: any connection is fine, as long as the poems are clearly connected by image, inspiration, theme, form, situation, context …

The Peter Dix Memorial Prize for Poetry was presented by the Dix family in memory of Peter, who died in the Lockerbie tragedy in 1988.  The memorial, by sculptor Joe Sloan, is kept in the Library
and inscribed with the names of past winners (pictured above).