Kathy D'Arcy
Kathy D'Arcy is a poet, workshop facilitator and and youth worker based in Cork city. Originally trained as a doctor, she has recently completed a Creative Writing PhD in UCC, where she teaches with the Women's Studies MA programme and has taught undergraduate and adult education Creative Writing courses.
From 2012-2014 she was poet in residence with Tigh Fili Cultural Centre, Cork. Her poetry collections are Encounter (Lapwing 2010) and The Wild Pupil (Bradshaw 2012). In 2013 she was awarded an Arts Council Literature Bursary, and in 2014 an Irish Research Council Postgraduate Award to support the future development of her work.
Kathy has worked with homeless teenagers and families in crisis in the city for many years. She is also a playwright: her first play, Retreat, was performed in the Granary theatre in 2008 and her second, This is My Constitution, was performed in Dail Eireann at a parliamentary briefing on gender bias in the Irish Constitution during the Constitutional Convention in 2014. She has been a frequent guest on RTE Radio One's flagship arts show, Arena, and since 2016 has been editor of Rhyme Rag, an online poetry journal for young writers. She has edited the 2016 special issue of the Cork Literary Review and the 2018 collection Autonomy, which raised funds for the Together for Yes campaign for which she was also Cork chair.
Find out more here.
Kathy runs creative writing courses for people of all ages and levels of experience (see Creative Self-Isolation).
Readings/Performances/Publications:
2021:
March
Performance on Eat the Storms podcast hosted by poet Damien Donnelly.
Chapter “The Journey to Me: Exploring Identity and Belonging through Creativity with Children Living in Direct Provision in Cork” published in Direct Provision: The Academy and Asylum (PeterLang, ed. Jacqui O'Riordan and Mike Fitzgibbon).
2020:
December:
'Aisling', 'Anniversary', Blasket', and 'Surgery' published in A New Ulster.
Hippocrates Prize 10th anniversary reading.
'Inside' published in These are the Hands - Poems from the Heart of the NHS (Fairacre Press)
'River Lee' commissioned and performed on Littoral Spaces podcast hosted by Dr Richard Scriven.
'River Lee' and 'Girls, Scarecrows and Dragons' published in Corkwords: available to read online here.
Cell collaborative poetry film commissioned for the Half Moon Festival.
Article 'Why Uncomplicated Recovery Isn’t Enough’ published in The Honest Ulsterman.
April/May:
Virtual workshops during the Coronavirus shutdown for Cork City Libraries, Rhyme Rag, the Abortion Rights Campaign 'Write Your Repeal Story' project and others (see Creative Self-Isolation).
March:
'Measles' published as part of UCC's online 'Creative Corona' project.
2019:
Rehearsed reading of PhD work in progress with practice presentation at MEAS (Measuring Equality in the Arts Sector) conference UCC 6 Sept.
2018:
Autonomy (New Binary) - edited women-led collection of writings on the theme of bodily autonomy to raise funds and awareness for the Together for Yes referendum campaign.
Reviews & Media Coverage:
"Autonomy: an Interview with Kathy D'Arcy," Stinging Fly, May 10, 2018“Secrets, Lies and Home Truths”, by Anne Casey, Verity LA, May 1, 2018
“Irish doctor-turned-editor pens book about women’s reproductive rights”, by Taryn De Vere, Her, April 2018
Review of Autonomy, by Anita Patel, Not Very Quiet, April 21, 2018
Review of Autonomy, by Aisling Walsh, Headstuff, April 21, 2018
Kathy D’Arcy’s #Autonomy, The Echo Chamber Podcast, Episode 51, April 15, 2018
Review of Autonomy, by Jess McKinney, The Glass Wall, April 11, 2018
“When Archives Meet Activism: The Role of Historical Research in the Irish Abortion Debate”, by Matthew Worswick, April 11, 2018
“Women’s bodies were absent from Irish history, except as tools, cyphers or vessels”, Kathy D’Arcy, The Irish Times, April 9, 2018
“Autonomy edited by Kathy D’Arcy, Repeal the 8th edited by Una Mullally review”, by Martina Evans, The Irish Times, April 7, 2018
“Autonomous voices”, interview with Kathy D’Arcy, the contemporary small press, March 23, 2018
Performance of PhD work in progress at the AWP (Association of Writing and Writing Programmes) Conference, Tampa Florida, 10 Mar 2018.
2017:
Performance and practice-based-research presentation at Sibéal The Art of Resistance: Interdependencies and Co-Becoming conference 18 Nov.
Longlisted for Ivan Juritz Prize
Winner of Hippocrates Health Professional Poetry Prize
2016:
November:
Remembering the Somme, Cork City Library
Cork City Gaol Jazz Festival Event with Obheal
June:
Performance with practice-based-research presentation of PhD work in progress at UCC Perforum: BodyStories conference 19 June.
April:
AWP 2016 (Los Angeles) Poetry Slam
March:
Performative reading with practice-based-research presentation of PhD work in progress at Women in Parenthesis Re-Sounding Voices feminist philosophy conference, Durham University 8 March 2016.
February:
Sirius Arts Centre, Cobh: Performance of 'Sagarmatha': a collaborative exploration of walking in the Himalaya, with photographer and artist Harry Moore. Also performed at the Old Market House Arts Centre, Dungarvan (with thanks to Waterford Arts Office), the Cork Harbour Festival 2017, and others.
2015:
Camino: Durational performance poem based on walking the Camino de Santiago, developed with an Arts Council Literature Bursary and performed at the Triskel Theatre Development Centre in collaboration with Fernando Tunon Hernandez. Excerpt published in The Stinging Fly.
2012:
This is My Constitution: Play based on letters written by women to de Valera protesting sexist language in his 1937 draft constitution of Ireland, performed by Kathy and actress Maria Lappin at a Dáil briefing on gender in the Irish constitution, and in later years during the West Cork Literature Festival and others.
The Wild Pupil (Bradshaw)
Title poem on Poethead;
'Plums' in The Irish Examiner;
Review in Southword.
2010:
Encounter (Lapwing) - see also the page above.
From 2012-2014 she was poet in residence with Tigh Fili Cultural Centre, Cork. Her poetry collections are Encounter (Lapwing 2010) and The Wild Pupil (Bradshaw 2012). In 2013 she was awarded an Arts Council Literature Bursary, and in 2014 an Irish Research Council Postgraduate Award to support the future development of her work.
Kathy has worked with homeless teenagers and families in crisis in the city for many years. She is also a playwright: her first play, Retreat, was performed in the Granary theatre in 2008 and her second, This is My Constitution, was performed in Dail Eireann at a parliamentary briefing on gender bias in the Irish Constitution during the Constitutional Convention in 2014. She has been a frequent guest on RTE Radio One's flagship arts show, Arena, and since 2016 has been editor of Rhyme Rag, an online poetry journal for young writers. She has edited the 2016 special issue of the Cork Literary Review and the 2018 collection Autonomy, which raised funds for the Together for Yes campaign for which she was also Cork chair.
Find out more here.
Kathy runs creative writing courses for people of all ages and levels of experience (see Creative Self-Isolation).
Readings/Performances/Publications:
2021:
March
Performance on Eat the Storms podcast hosted by poet Damien Donnelly.
Chapter “The Journey to Me: Exploring Identity and Belonging through Creativity with Children Living in Direct Provision in Cork” published in Direct Provision: The Academy and Asylum (PeterLang, ed. Jacqui O'Riordan and Mike Fitzgibbon).
2020:
December:
'Aisling', 'Anniversary', Blasket', and 'Surgery' published in A New Ulster.
Hippocrates Prize 10th anniversary reading.
'Inside' published in These are the Hands - Poems from the Heart of the NHS (Fairacre Press)
'River Lee' commissioned and performed on Littoral Spaces podcast hosted by Dr Richard Scriven.
'River Lee' and 'Girls, Scarecrows and Dragons' published in Corkwords: available to read online here.
Cell collaborative poetry film commissioned for the Half Moon Festival.
Article 'Why Uncomplicated Recovery Isn’t Enough’ published in The Honest Ulsterman.
April/May:
Virtual workshops during the Coronavirus shutdown for Cork City Libraries, Rhyme Rag, the Abortion Rights Campaign 'Write Your Repeal Story' project and others (see Creative Self-Isolation).
March:
'Measles' published as part of UCC's online 'Creative Corona' project.
2019:
Rehearsed reading of PhD work in progress with practice presentation at MEAS (Measuring Equality in the Arts Sector) conference UCC 6 Sept.
2018:
Autonomy (New Binary) - edited women-led collection of writings on the theme of bodily autonomy to raise funds and awareness for the Together for Yes referendum campaign.
Reviews & Media Coverage:
"Autonomy: an Interview with Kathy D'Arcy," Stinging Fly, May 10, 2018“Secrets, Lies and Home Truths”, by Anne Casey, Verity LA, May 1, 2018
“Irish doctor-turned-editor pens book about women’s reproductive rights”, by Taryn De Vere, Her, April 2018
Review of Autonomy, by Anita Patel, Not Very Quiet, April 21, 2018
Review of Autonomy, by Aisling Walsh, Headstuff, April 21, 2018
Kathy D’Arcy’s #Autonomy, The Echo Chamber Podcast, Episode 51, April 15, 2018
Review of Autonomy, by Jess McKinney, The Glass Wall, April 11, 2018
“When Archives Meet Activism: The Role of Historical Research in the Irish Abortion Debate”, by Matthew Worswick, April 11, 2018
“Women’s bodies were absent from Irish history, except as tools, cyphers or vessels”, Kathy D’Arcy, The Irish Times, April 9, 2018
“Autonomy edited by Kathy D’Arcy, Repeal the 8th edited by Una Mullally review”, by Martina Evans, The Irish Times, April 7, 2018
“Autonomous voices”, interview with Kathy D’Arcy, the contemporary small press, March 23, 2018
Performance of PhD work in progress at the AWP (Association of Writing and Writing Programmes) Conference, Tampa Florida, 10 Mar 2018.
2017:
Performance and practice-based-research presentation at Sibéal The Art of Resistance: Interdependencies and Co-Becoming conference 18 Nov.
Longlisted for Ivan Juritz Prize
Winner of Hippocrates Health Professional Poetry Prize
2016:
November:
Remembering the Somme, Cork City Library
Cork City Gaol Jazz Festival Event with Obheal
June:
Performance with practice-based-research presentation of PhD work in progress at UCC Perforum: BodyStories conference 19 June.
April:
AWP 2016 (Los Angeles) Poetry Slam
March:
Performative reading with practice-based-research presentation of PhD work in progress at Women in Parenthesis Re-Sounding Voices feminist philosophy conference, Durham University 8 March 2016.
February:
Sirius Arts Centre, Cobh: Performance of 'Sagarmatha': a collaborative exploration of walking in the Himalaya, with photographer and artist Harry Moore. Also performed at the Old Market House Arts Centre, Dungarvan (with thanks to Waterford Arts Office), the Cork Harbour Festival 2017, and others.
2015:
Camino: Durational performance poem based on walking the Camino de Santiago, developed with an Arts Council Literature Bursary and performed at the Triskel Theatre Development Centre in collaboration with Fernando Tunon Hernandez. Excerpt published in The Stinging Fly.
2012:
This is My Constitution: Play based on letters written by women to de Valera protesting sexist language in his 1937 draft constitution of Ireland, performed by Kathy and actress Maria Lappin at a Dáil briefing on gender in the Irish constitution, and in later years during the West Cork Literature Festival and others.
The Wild Pupil (Bradshaw)
Title poem on Poethead;
'Plums' in The Irish Examiner;
Review in Southword.
2010:
Encounter (Lapwing) - see also the page above.