A Poet in the House: Patrick Kavanagh at Priory GroveIn A Poet in the House: Patrick Kavanagh at Priory Grove, a memoir by Elizabeth OToole, we encounter a new Patrick Kavanagh. Patrick Kavanagh (190467) was one of Irelands foremost poets, best known for The Great Hunger and novel Tarry Flynn. He is also remembered for his cantankerous, sometimes volatile nature, fuelled by alcohol. In 1961, the poet lived with the OToole family in Stillorgan for six months at a crucial point in his life, when he was

set in Belfast at the height of the Troubles during the 1970s

Running through this forensic account of her academic life is a keen awareness of the constant if subtle barriers to female advancement

He remained a vigorous parliamentarian until well into his seventies

weaving patterns

the Oliviers and others

What are their lives really like

As British Prime Minister Tony Blair’s right-hand man

is organised thematically

the book traces the intriguing story of how one of Ireland’s principal waterways

my fingers finding the notes through his hair

This collection also presents reproductions of his landscape paintings

‘His chosen playground is Joyce as something written