President Higgins pays tribute to acclaimed poet Gerald Dawe

Acclaimed poet and academic Gerald Dawe passed away following a long illness in his home of Dún Laoghaire.

President Micheal D Higgins was joined by family, friends and fellow poets yesterday as he paid tribute to his "dear old friend".

"The last collection I received from my dear friend Gerald Dawe was Revenant, a book of poems with images by John Behan. A very beautiful book with a very special poem, 'Only Son', dedicated to his father", he said.

"My reaction to that poem in the collection was that Gerald Dawe's work was getting better and better."

Speaking of Dawe, President Higgins said that "his passing represents a very significant and special loss to Irish poetry and to all those who love poems."

Continuing, the President spoke of their friendship that was kindled in Galway University as well as Dawe's many achievements, including his founding of the Oscar Wilde Centre at Trinity College.

Mr Higgins also wrote of Dawe's love for Northern Irish poets which culminated in his book Looking Through You: Northern Chronicles, published in 2020.

In closing, President Higgins expressed his sympathies to Dawe's family and also said, "Ireland has lost a great poet and so many of us, a warm and valued friend. I will miss him deeply."

Dawe studied at Ulster University before becoming a lecturer at Galway University, where he published his debut collection, Sheltering Places, in 1978.

He published 13 collections in total, the most recent being Another Time: Poems 1978-2023, which was his ninth published by The Gallery Press.

In 2023, it was announced that he had received the 2024 Lawrence O'Shaughnessy Poetry Award.

Gerry Dawe 1972-2024
Forty years since we met and Gallery published the first of nine books. I’ll miss his honesty, his seriousness and his laughter.
To his beloved Dorothea, to Olwen and Iarla, we send heartfelt condolences.
Peter Fallon pic.twitter.com/tpH6AffZq5

— The Gallery Press (@TheGalleryPress) May 29, 2024