Following a hugely successful tour of the Wild Atlantic Way to promote his first collection, From the Sea Hound, Stephen Murphy will be in Fiddle + Bow on Saturday the 25th of March for what promises to be a magical evening.
Originally from rural Leitrim, Stephen is a bard in the truest sense of the term. His live performances have seen him previously called ‘the highlight’ of Electric Picnic by Kitty Holland in the Irish Times, the ‘poet of our age’ by the Irish Independent columnist Billy Keane, and ‘a splendid, gifted and courageous young poet’ by President Michael D. Higgins, who put Stephen ‘up there with those times I heard Ginsberg, and I think of that long poem, Howl’.
At Brendan Kennelly’s 80th Birthday celebrations, the Irish Times described ‘an extraordinary piece of performance poetry from a young Leitrim man’ lighting up the Abbey Theatre stage ‘as befits the old bardic tradition of handing on torches’. The assembled crowd rose to a standing ovation to herald in a new 21st Century torchbearer for the ancient Irish poetic tradition.
Speaking ahead of the gig in Doolin, Stephen said ‘I’m really looking forward to it. Doolin’s a beautiful little town. No matter what time of the year there’s a lovely buzz about the place, an ancient energy that goes to the heart of us as a people. I’ve always found that there’s a wildness to Clare people, a glint of divilment in the eye that can’t be tamed, and nor should it be. We’re shaped by that wildness, by the ocean and the land, and I try to honour that wildness in what I do.’
The From the Sea Hound tour sees him blend his newer work with the old, drawing on his own experiences and a love of the surreal to bring his audiences on a journey that’s at times comedic, and at times heart-breakingly poignant. ‘I think when people come to see you, you have a responsibility to them as an artist to mind them when they’re willing to take a journey with you in your art.
I heard an interview lately that really struck me with the Clare superstar Tara Howley, where she was talking about the importance of eye contact with the audience. It’s that genuine connection that I think is what it’s all about. In an increasingly disconnected world, to be able to reach out to people on a soul level to say look, we’re all just as human as each other, everyone has their battles, but we learn and we grow in the shelter of each other. Ar scáth le chéile a mhaireann na daoine.’
You can check in with Stephen via his Stephen Murphy Facebook page. Tickets for the event are already selling well, and are available on Eventbrite.