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Welcome to the Monasterevin Hopkins Society website.

Our society celebrates Gerard Manley Hopkins, his poetry and his unique connection to our community in Monasterevin.  We hold an annual festival, and invite you to join us and gain an insight into the community and location that he referred to as “one of the props and struts of my existence”.

Friday 26th July ’24

Venue: Monasterevin Community Centre

3.30pm          Official Opening of Festival & Art Exhibition (Art exhibition will operate all weekend)

4.30pm          Lecture on Art by Chair: Irene Kyffin

Venue:  To Be Announced

8.00pm         Concert: by Vocalese

Saturday 27th July ’24

Venue:   Monasterevin Community Centre, Whelan’s Row

10.00am          Lecture: Poetry & Its Role in Society       by Olivia O’Leary

11.30am          Lecture: Emily Lawless, Kildare Poet       by Eoghan Corry

Venue:   Monasterevin House, Presentation Generalate, Main St., Monasterevin.

2.30pm          Poetry Reading                by Rita Kelly

3.00pm          ‘My Favourite Hopkins Poem’                Open Call

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Gerard Manley Hopkins, S.J.

Gerard Manley Hopkins, S.J. (28 July 1844 – 8 June 1889) was an English poet, Roman Catholic convert, and a Jesuit priest, whose posthumous fame established him among the leading Victorian poets.  His experimental explorations in prosody (especially sprung rhythm) and his use of imagery established him as a daring innovator in a period of largely traditional verse.

Hopkins in Monasterevin

Hopkins moved to Dublin in 1884 and died there in 1889.  During this time he was a professor of Greek and Latin at University College Dublin.  In letters to his mother and friend, English Poet Laureate Robert Bridges, he fondly mentions taking 6 or 7 short breaks at Monasterevin House with the Cassidy sisters commencing in 1886.  The Cassidy family were wealthy Catholic whiskey distillers.

Monasterevin Celebrating Hopkins

Monasterevin has been celebrating the Hopkins’ association since 1988 when a module on Hopkins was included in the Monasterevin Canal Festival.  The Monasterevin community has supported and organised the Annual Monasterevin Hopkins Festival every year since, under the aegis of a number of community organisations.  Since 2010, the Annual Hopkins Festival is organised by the Monasterevin Hopkins Society.

Our Annual Festival

The Annual Monasterevin Hopkins Festival is a celebration of Hopkins, his poetry and his connection with Monasterevin.  The program consists of poetry, literature, lectures, and music .  Please visit our Past Programs page for further information.

If you have any comments, suggestions or feedback, please feel free to contact us.