Words in the Air on Parnell Square

We are delighted to announce that tickets are now on sale for a special spoken word showcase taking place on Saturday 5 April 2025, in the Irish Writers Centre. 

Words in the Air on Parnell Square 

A showcase of poetry and performance 

Hosted by Paul Muldoon 

Ireland Professor of Poetry and Pulitzer Prize winner, Paul Muldoon will introduce us to some of the most exciting and stirring spoken word artists in Ireland today.   

The line-up includes: 

• Former all-Ireland Poetry Slam Champion and one of Dublin’s newest voices, Anne D 
• Multi-award-winning bilingual spoken word poet and current All-Ireland Poetry Slam Champion, Cormac Mac Gearailt 
• Bilingual writer, broadcaster and founder of REIC spoken word event which is celebrating 10 years in 2025, Ciara NÍ É 
• Nigerian-born multidisciplinary artist and an electrifying force in Ireland’s creative landscape, Samuel Yakura 
• And finally, 0ur host, Paul Muldoon, will perform alongside singer-songwriter, Fiach Moriarty 

Over the course of 90 minutes, our artists will demonstrate how poetry collides with rap, pulls in the percussion of an orchestra and grabs the attention of the ‘every man’ on the street.   

A drinks reception will be provided. Doors open at 7pm. Tickets cost €30 (€27 members) via Eventbrite.  

Paul Muldoon was born in County Armagh in 1951. He now lives in New York. A former radio and television producer for the BBC in Belfast, he has taught at Princeton University for thirty-five years. He is the author of fifteen collections of poetry including Joy in Service on Rue Tagore, published by FSG and Faber and Faber in 2024. Among his awards are the 1972 Eric Gregory Award, the 1980 Sir Geoffrey Faber Memorial Award, the 1994 T.S. Eliot Prize, the 1997 Irish Times Poetry Prize, the 2003 Pulitzer Prize, the 2003 Griffin International Prize for Poetry, the 2004 American Ireland Fund Literary Award, the 2004 Shakespeare Prize, the 2006 European Prize for Poetry, the 2015 Pigott Poetry Prize, the 2017 Queens Gold Medal for Poetry, and the 2020 Michael Marks Award. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society for Literature and a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Letters.

Fiach Moriarty is an Irish singer-songwriter and television presenter from Dublin, Ireland. His debut album So I came out in 2010; it appeared in the Irish top 100 album chart and peaked at 62. His second album was released in April 2015 and debuted at number 29 in the Irish chart. From 2019 to 2021 he was a member of The Late Late Show house band, performing every Friday on the world’s longest running chat show. His cover of “Mr. Blue Sky” by Electric Light Orchestra has been used in multiple videos on TikTok and has amassed in excess of 50 million views. In 2022, it was announced that Moriarty would be joining Horslips as lead guitarist for a run of gigs.

Anna D is a spoken word poet from Dublin. Throughout her short poetry career, she has won multiple slams and poetry competitions including the All-Ireland Poetry Slam. Anna has an interest in the interplay between emotions and patterns of behaviour, family and collective trauma and the impact of oppressive systems on how we relate to each other and the world today. Her poems are raw, honest and relatable portrayals of her experience of the human condition in all its grime and glory.

Writer and broadcaster Ciara Ní É has performed in Paris, New York, London, Brussels, and Sweden. She was Artist in Residence UCD School of Irish, Celtic Studies & Folklore 2023, the Dublin Fringe Festival in 2022, and DCU in 2020. She was chosen as one of the Irish Examiner’s ‘100 Women Changing Ireland in 2022’. Her work has been published in the recent anthologies Impressions irlandaises – 23 poétesses racontent leur pays, Bone and Marrow/Cnámh agus Smior, Queering the Green and Washing Windows Too, in journals including Aneas, Icarus, Comhar, Impossible Archetype and Eat the Storms, and video poems can be found on her YouTube. She is a co-founder of the LGBTQ+ arts collective AerachAiteachGaelach and founder of REIC spoken word event which is celebrating 10 years in 2025. She has just finished directing her first short film and is working on a TV show at the moment with Tua films. Ciara is an Irish Writers Centre ambassador. 

Cormac Mac Gearailt is a multi-award-winning bilingual spoken word poet and creative writing teacher based in Dublin, Ireland. He is the current All-Ireland Poetry Slam Champion, and the UNESCO Cities of Literature Slamovision Champion. He has performed at festivals across Ireland. Cormac’s work is fast-paced and rhythmic, making use of multi-syllable rhyming and other techniques to deliver pieces in an engaging, hard-hitting style. He writes about the passing of time, urban isolation and loneliness, addiction, ecological breakdown and native language loss, as well as love, family and beauty in nature, among other themes. 

Samuel Yakura is a Nigerian-born multidisciplinary artist and an electrifying force in Ireland’s creative landscape. A writer, playwright, and performing artist, Samuel has claimed multiple Slam Championship titles across Nigeria and Ireland. His powerful artistry has seen him collaborate with leading organizations, including Poetry Ireland, the Abbey Theatre, Dublin Fringe, IMMA, MoLI, and Gaisce Awards. Samuel’s debut poetry play, The Perfect Immigrant, earned two award nominations, premiered at the Dublin Fringe Festival, and captivated audiences during its nationwide tour in 2023. He is also the co-founder of Wearegriot Poetry Collective, the driving force behind Ireland’s largest poetry slam. As a Next Wave Playwright with the National Theatre, Samuel crafts stories that resonate deeply, shining a light on the intricacies of human relationships, cultural dynamics, and societal structures. With his work, he continues to challenge perspectives and inspire change, cementing his place as one of Ireland’s most compelling artistic voices. 

Access our Building 

The Irish Writers Centre is currently housed in 19 Parnell Square, Dublin 1. This is a Georgian building which unfortunately does not have a lift. There are 5 steps into the entrance level. This event will take place in the Kiely Room which is on the first floor and requires climbing 30 steps in total.  Please do inform us of any accessibility requirements you might have before the night so we can make any necessary arrangements. 

If you have any questions about the event, please email info@irishwriterscentre.ie.