THE first book I wrote was Falls Memories. Brandon Books, led by the late Steve Mac Donagh, was my publisher. I asked Steve if we could include drawings by Michael McKernon. I didn’t know Michael but I was familiar with his fine line drawings. Steve indulged me, Michael obliged and Falls Memories was produced, enhanced by his artistry. That was decades ago. In 1990. I came across Michael again recently talking on a radio show about the unpublished poems of Pádraic Fiacc and the book which Michael and Fiona Gault have produced of Pádraic’s work. I have long been interested in Pádraic's poetry. He is one of Belfast’s almost forgotten poets. Born Pádraic Joseph O'Connor, he took on the name Fiacc in adulthood. I met him ages ago at a Féile An Phobail event in the Falls Library. I found him humorous and self-deprecating. He had an American twang to his speech which added to his delivery of poetic verse and observations about life, the world and Ireland. His unpublished poems are now contained in a wonderful publication ‘Tear The Dead Day Back Alive’. Pádraig entrusted his literary estate to Michael in 2017. Fiona and Michael have collaborated in editing these largely unknown poems. They have published this collection in the centenary year of Pádraic’s birth, five years after his death in 2019. We should all be grateful to them and those who helped them in rediscovering Fiacc, including another local writer, Brendan Hamill. Pádraic Fiacc’s creativity should be celebrated. Especially in his native city. He deserves recognition here. Born in the Falls district, he spent time in the USA when his mother emigrated there in 1929 with her three sons to join her husband, who had gone there before them and set himself up in business. It was there in the 1930s Pádraic started writing. He also came in contact with other poets and writers like Michael McLaverty and Padraic Colum. Michael McLaverty, one of my favourite writers, was one time the headmaster of Saint Thomas’s School on the Whiterock Road. Later, after Pádraic returned to live in Belfast in the 1940s he came to know Seamus Heaney, John Hewitt and others who were part of an emerging group of northern writers and poets. Lack of space prevents me from expanding on the twists and turns of Pádraic’s personal and literary life. Michael McKernon and Fiona Gault have commenced that process. So read ‘Tear The Dead Day Back Alive’ to learn more of that and also to read the poetry they have rescued from obscurity. You won't be disappointed with the poems. Or the illustrations, including some by Michael McKernon. ‘Tear The Dead Day Back Alive’ - Unpublished Poems By Pádraic Fiacc. Michael McKernon and Fiona Gault. Published by MH Press.
