10 Most Famous Irish Poets

Oscar_Wilde_portrait_by_Napoleon Sarony-Wikimedia

10 Most Famous Irish Poets

Ireland has produced its fair share of great poets who have contributed to the growth of Literature. Irish poets have written unique verses that are been studied to date.

Below are the 10 Most Famous Irish Poets.

1. Oscar Wilde

He was an Irish playwright and poet born in Dublin, Ireland on 16 October 1854. He was born where Trinity College Dublin currently is and therefore out of respect and admiration the school has named the English wing after him.

On many occasions, he was sent to prison due to his homosexual acts. While at Pentonville prison he was forced to do hard manual work which led to him contracting meningitis and later his untimely death at the age of 46 on November 30, 1900.

He published his only novel ” The Picture of Dorian Gray” in July 1890 though it was received with a lot of criticism. Some of his other works include “The Ballad of Reading Gaol” and Requiescat.

2. Alice Kinsella

She is an Irish poet and Playwright born in Dublin in 1993. She studied English Literature and Philosophy at Trinity College Dublin.

She has successfully written and published two poetry pamphlets that are, Flower Press and Sexy Fruit. Her poetry has been read far and wide and has been translated into different languages with an audio version available. She currently lives on the west coast of Ireland with her family.

3. Seamus Justin Heaney

Seamus Heaney, Irish poet Author Gotfryd, Bernard-Wikimedia

An Irish poet who received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1995. He was born on 13 April 1939 in Castle Dawson, United Kingdom.

Justin studied English Language and Literature at Queen’s University Belfast. The themes of his writing surrounded nature and his upbringing. His most influential and famous poem is Death of a Naturalist.

His life came to an end on 30 August 2013. He died on 30 August 2013, at the age of 74. He left behind his wife and 3 children.

4. Eavan Aisling Boland

She was an Irish poet, author, and professor who taught at Stanford University. Eavan was born on September 24, 1944, in Dublin, Ireland. Wife to the Novelist Kevin Casey where they were blessed with two daughters. She studied Bachelor of Arts at Trinity College where she graduated with honors.

Some of her famous poems are Quarantine and the science of cartography is limited. Her colorful life came to an end on 27 April 2020 after suffering a stroke.

5. William Butler Yeats

W. B. Yeats Author by Bain News Service-Wikimedia

He was a poet, a writer, and a dramatist. William was born on 13 June 1865 in Sandymount, Ireland. Considered one of the greatest poets of the 20th century, he had his first solo most influential publication in 1886 named Mosada published in the Dublin university review.

In 1912, he won the Nobel Prize for Literature making him the first Irish to win such an award. He was the one who initiated the formation of the Irish National Theatre Society.

The Wanderings of Oisin and Other Poems, was his first renowned collection of poems that gained him fame and reputation. Numerous of his poems are inspired by Maud Gonne, a woman who turned down his marriage proposal 3 times. William married Georgie Hyde-Lees and they had two children. He suffered heart problems which led to his death at the age of 73.

6. Patrick Kavanagh

He was a poet and novelist who was born on 21 October 1904 in Inniskeen, a rural area in Ireland. After William Butler Yeats is considered the best poet in Ireland.

He was the son of a shoemaker and grew up on a farm where he self-taught himself literature after dropping out of school at the age of 12.

He published his first collection of work in 1936 dubbed The Ploughman and Other Poems. He married Katherine Barry Moloney in April 1967 and they were blessed with 5 children. He died at the age of 63 from pneumonia.

7. James Augustine Aloysius

He was a poet and a novelist who was born on 2 February 1882 in Rathgar, Ireland. He wrote his first published poem at the age of 9 named “Et Tu Healy?”. Later on in 1907, he published “Chamber Music”, a collection of his poems.

James studied modern languages at the University College Dublin. He married Nora Barnacle and was blessed with two children.

During their courtship, some of the erotic letters they had written made their way into the public domain and were auctioned for a huge sum. He suffered eye problems during his life and underwent 12 surgeries.

Due to his poor vision, he did his writing on large white sheets of paper using red crayons. He helped open the Volta Cinematograph, considered the first committed cinema. He died on 13 January 1941 in Switzerland at the age of 58.

8. John Montague

He was born on 28 February 1929 in Brooklyn, New York. He returned to Ireland at the age of 4, where he stayed with his aunt. He published the first book of his poetry collection dubbed, “Forms of Exile” in 1958. He also published two short story collections, a memoir, volumes of poetry, and an autobiographical novella.

He studied at University College Dublin and later proceeded to Yale. John married 3 times. He married Laura Roundell in 1996 and divorced in 2002. He then proceeded to marry Lady Honor Wellesley on 3 July 2004 and later divorced and married novelist Elizabeth Wassell, a novelist. He died at the age of 87 after a surgery complication.

9. Thomas Moore

Thomas Moore (1779-1852) Author by Thomas Lawrence-Wikimedia

An Irish Writer, poet, and Lyricist, Thomas Moore is appreciated for his Irish Melodies.

He was a Catholic Patriot married to a protestant actress famously addressed as “Anacreon Moore “, named after the Greek composer of songs and erratic Verses.

He is famously remembered for his work, Melodies and “The time I have lost Wooing”.

10. Katharine Tynan

Katharine Tynan photo by Twigler –Wikimedia

Katherine was an Irish writer and poet who authored over 150 books and was a great supporter of feminism.

She published her first works in 1875 and had a major impact on Dublin literary circles.

She has written over 100 novels and her collected poems appeared in 1930. Tynan died at age 70 on April 1931.

Some of her Famous poems are “Immortality and “Lambs“.