Mowing the lawn with Maura Dooley

‘There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as … More

About Maurice

I first met Maurice in the sitting room of a mutual friend, a lifelong Labour supporter, the night after the … More

I had bumped into a friend at the cash machine. We greeted each other, as we always do, with a … More

Let’s love today, the what we have now, this day, not today or tomorrow or yesterday, but this passing moment, … More

What I want is to – to be present. That’s what I’ve learned. I want to strive for presence, now, … More

As I did last year, I will be taking a break from uploading new posts to this blog over August. … More

Don’t Think About A White Horse Coming closer, he turns out to be you – or nearly. Once you … More

My deep thanks to Maria Taylor, who has written the most lovely appreciation of Lifesaving Poems. Thank you Maria for capturing its … More

An artist needs not so much an audience, as to feel a need to answer, a promise to respond. Robert … More

This is the link to the podcast of the interview I gave yesterday on the Arena programme, RTE, about … More

This is the first in a series of guest blog posts by writers I admire. Having enjoyed speaking and reading … More

Lifesaving Poems has arrived Well, it has finally arrived. The anthology which began life as a blog, which began life as … More

Tomorrow I will be taking part at the Wenlock Poetry Festival in an event with Roz Goddard. We will be … More

because of the words and because of the books because of the woman in the anorak at the swimming baths … More

It’s hard to describe. One day your are fine, not quite the same (age will do this to you), then … More

Nine years ago today I was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a cancer of the white blood cells. Even though I have … More

Days Each one is a gift, no doubt, mysteriously placed in your waking hand or set upon your forehead moments … More

Reading Arthur W. Frank’s astonishing At the Will of the Body recently has given me pause to reflect on the relationship … More