Visual Poem by Spoken Word Poet Stephen James Smith Captures the Essence of Modern Ireland

Culture
15 Feb 17

The poem, which was commissioned for the St. Patrick's Day Festival, is an honest, clear-sighted odyssey into Ireland as we know it today.

Founder of the annual LINGO Spoken Word Festival, Ireland’s only festival of its kind, poet Stephen James Smith from has created a fantastic new poem called ‘My Ireland, written for the St Patrick’s Day Festival this March.
Filmed by Myles O’Reilly (music documentary film maker) and set to music recorded by The Frames’ Colm Mac Con Iomaire and the Villagers’ Conor O’Brien, ‘My Ireland’ is a 12-minute representation of the feelings and thoughts of modern day Ireland.
With lyrics relatable to almost any Irish native, work on the poem began in August and was finished earlier this month.
The poem captures all aspects of today’s culture in Ireland and will have you listening again and again. In the poem, Smith, who is from Tallaght, speaks about the everyday triumphs of Irish people, the struggles that Irish citizens go through on a day to day basis and the hardships from our past.
Glen Hansard is among the many fans who have already shared their love for the poem, tweeting about this morning: