AUTHOR and poet Vona Groarke has taken up the position of Ireland Professor of Poetry.
In July the Longford native was named the tenth Professor of Poetry of Ireland, a role for which a new poet is selected every three years.
Groarke’s term, which she takes over from previous holder Paul Muldoon, will run until November 2028.
During her tenure she will work with University College Dublin, Trinity College Dublin and Queen’s University Belfast, devoting one year to each establishment.
In that time she is expected to reside at each university for a period of eight weeks.
While in residence, she will engage with students through workshops and readings.
She is also expected to make a formal presentation, usually in the form of a lecture, at each institution.
Poet Vona Groarke has been appointed Ireland Professor of Poetry (Pic: UCD)Speaking of the position, Groarke said: “It may seem strange for the newly minted Irish Professor of Poetry to find herself (almost!) at a loss for words to describe the delight and honour of having been selected for a role some of our finest poets have graced and amplified.
“But I want to express my deep gratitude to the Trust for this opportunity.
“I hope that my tenure will continue the service of my predecessors in highlighting the work of those who’ve chosen to put the practice of the art and craft of poetry at the very centre of our lives.”
She added: “I would like my time as Ireland Professor of Poetry to honour all those individuals and organisations, from teachers to libraries, readers to Irish publishers, whose attentions and efforts help to sustain the work of Irish poets.
“Together, we contribute to a sense that Ireland north and south, is a place where poetry happens and continues to matter.
“I also look forward to engaging with as many aspiring poets and readers of all ages as possible during my time in the role.”
President Michael D Higgins marked Groarke’s appointment with an event held at Áras an Uachtaráin this afternoon.
Michael D Higgins marked Vona Groarke's new appointment with a reception at Áras an Uachtaráin“In accepting this appointment, Vona Groarke joins a distinguished line of poets who have held this most prestigious of posts, each making their own profound contribution to the role and, in so doing, enriching the cultural and imaginative life of our nation,” he said.
“Vona has been one of the most compelling poetic voices of her generation,’ he added.
“Through her 15 books, including nine collections of poetry, from ‘Shale’ in 1994 to ‘Infinity Pool’ in 2025, and her wonderful story ‘Hereafter: The Telling Life of Ellen O’Hara’ – a complex dialogue with her late grandmother’s life as an immigrant in New York – she has shaped a body of work remarkable for its lyric beauty and its acute and attentive gaze upon the world around us.
“Each of these collections has marked a deepening and widening of her work, at once intimate and expansive, attentive to the smallest details of daily life yet alive to the largest questions of history, identity and belonging.”
Mostrim-born Groarke has held a number of prestigious roles over the years.
She has been a member of Aosdána since 2010.
Previously she has been a Senior Lecturer in Poetry at the Centre for New Writing at the University of Manchester, a Poet in Residence with the Yeats Society in Sligo, and Writer in Residence at St John’s College, Cambridge.
The Ireland Chair of Poetry Trust was established in 1998 after Seamus Heaney was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature.
“It was felt that this honour should be marked by choosing, every three years, a poet of honour and distinction to hold the Ireland Chair of Poetry,” a spokesperson for President Higgins’ office confirmed.
