Longford Poet on his literary debut 'Menageries'

Darragh Coady is a local wordsmith who has just released his first collection of poems this month.

His journey as a poet started only a few years ago but he has been a writer all his life, drawing inspiration from the world around him that feeds to the heart of his work.

When asked about when his journey as a poet began Darragh said, “A little over three years ago. I fell into poetry by accident.

I went to a John Cooper Clarke gig. Manchester Poet Mike Garry was on first and blew my head off with his set. I knew poetry was something unique but I didn’t know it could be that.

“I left the gig knowing I wanted to start performing my work in front of audiences and began writing material that would question the norm and cut close to the bone.”

While this performance was a catalyst for Darragh's poetry he has always loved writing and has dipped his toe in all avenues of the craft.

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“My love of words has strong ties with music and goes back to when I was writing songs and poems in my teens. I wrote fiction mostly and it takes a long time to write novels. The beauty of poetry is that you can condense an entire story into one poem,” he expressed.

There are many things that fuel Darragh’s work, he explains how he channels them into his pieces and how they drive him as a poet.

“People I meet. Society. Injustice. Love and heartbreak. Taboo subjects are a big one. Ireland and the world. I’m driven by a head full of ideas and the only way to get them out is to write them down, a bit like taking out the trash.

“You don’t want the bin overflowing,” he joked, “Performing has helped me up my game massively. When people come back to you and tell you how they can relate to what you’re saying, you take a step back and think, maybe I’m doing something right here after all.

“I believe that poetry is the last great vehicle left to us to communicate and express how we feel, especially now when we live in an age where censorship is king and we’re being too conditioned to no longer think for ourselves.”

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For Darragh, this is the process of his poetry, he is “driven by a head full of ideas,” as he said above.

“There was never a process,” he explained, “Everything fell just right, as though I was being guided by someone else. The whole thing has been surreal.”

Surreal is right, as now Darragh is enjoying the excitement of publishing his first book, ‘Menageries’.

“I published my first poem two years ago. That was a special moment. Then another and another. Lightning kept striking and a friend asked, why not put a book out? I never gave it much thought. I think in terms of music a lot.”

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And indeed he does, in fact, it seems that a particular Beatles album greatly inspired ‘Menageries’ inception.

“‘Sgt Pepper’ has thirteen tracks so my friend dared me that if I reached 13, I’d have to put something out. I’ve surpassed that and now the bill has come due. ‘Menageries is me keeping a promise and scratching off another one on the to-do list.”

For those wishing to see Darragh perform some of his work, he will be at the Granard Booktown Festival this weekend on Saturday, April 12, for ‘Poetry & Pints’ at Fay's Bar. He will also be doing his own show at W.A.L Fest Longford on May 5.

“I never thought of it as a profession or anything more than sharing an odd poem at an open mic, but something has happened over the last two years.

“In the short space of one year I’ve headlined in Paris, been to Berlin and performed at Electric Picnic. I never thought I would progress beyond a fantasy in my head.”

No matter how far Darragh travels his home is always in his heart.

“Longford is always in my heart and words. There’s a poem in ‘Menageries’ called ‘Go tell the Man’, it’s an ode to a much loved and missed Longford Character, Joe-Dick Hackett.

“The town reflects a lot in everything I create, so for now I’ll leave it to the pages of this book to show you,” concluded Coady.

‘Menageries’ is available directly from the author wherever you find him or reach out via Facebook or Instagram.