RTÉ Radio 1 is to air an hour of poetry, conversation and music in a very special Christmas Poetry Programme on Monday.
Guests will include Rita Ann Higgins, Tom French and Marie Heaney on the show, recorded before a live audience in Poetry Ireland in Dublin.
Presenter Olivia O’Leary chats with the guests about their memories of Christmases past and what the season means to them. Listeners will hear readings of poems old and new, from Seamus Heaney’s An Ulster Twilight to Vona Groarke’s Music from Home, reflecting the joys, humour and warmth of this time of year, while not forgetting that for many it is also a time of sadness and hardship.
Readers contributing to the programme are Cathy Belton and Nithy Kasa, while Kevin Doherty, Ciarán Tourish and James Delaney provide the music.
The Christmas Poetry Programme was devised in collaboration with Poetry Ireland and will broadcast on Christmas Day at 5PM on RTÉ Radio 1. It’s a Rockfinch production for RTÉ.
Series Producer is Claire Cunningham and the Executive Producer for RTÉ is Clíodhna Ní Anluain.