RTÉ has started a new feature to find the best loved Irish poem of the last 100 years, spearheaded by The John Murray Show.
The Radio 1 programme has teamed up with The Works on RTÉ One to work on the initiative in partnership with Poetry Ireland and An Post.
RTÉ’s A Poem for Ireland will roll out over the course of six months, from its launch on The John Murray Show and The Works on September 26th to the unveiling of the Irish public’s final choice in March 2015. It will be accompanied by a major digital site where the public can nominate, read and vote for poems. The digital site will build in scale and content as the campaign progresses.
A brand-new landmark RTÉ One documentary telling the story of Irish poetry from the bards to the present day will launch the 6-week voting campaign in January 2015. The shortlisted ten poems will be announced on 30th January 2015 and over the next six weeks, the public will have the chance to engage with all ten shortlisted poems, across television, radio, online and mobile, and vote for their RTÉ A Poem For Ireland.
The RTÉ A Poem for Ireland will be announced live on RTÉ One on 13th March 2015 and published by An Post on a free postcard.