Michael Davitt

MUNSTER LITERATURE CENTRE
IONAD LITRÍOCHTA an DEISCIRT

MLC books

Welcome to the Munster
Literature Centre

Founded in 1993, the Munster Literature Centre (Ionad Litríochta an Deiscirt) is a non-profit arts organisation dedicated to the promotion and celebration of literature, especially that of Munster. To this end, we organise festivals, workshops, readings and competitions. Our publishing section, Southword Editions, publishes a biannual journal, poetry collections and short stories. We actively seek to support new and emerging writers and are assisted in our efforts through funding from Cork City Council, Cork County Council and the Arts Council of Ireland.Originally located in Sullivan's Quay, the centre moved to its current premises in the Frank O'Connor House (the author's birthplace) at 84 Douglas Street, in 2003.

In 2000, the Munster Literature Centre organised the first Frank O'Connor International Short Story Festival, an event dedicated to the celebration of the short story and named for one of Cork's most beloved authors. The festival showcases readings, literary forums and workshops. Following continued growth and additional funding, the Cork City - Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award was introduced in 2005, coinciding with Cork's designation as that year's European Capital of Culture. The award is now recognised as the single biggest prize for a short story collection in the world and is presented at the end of the festival.In 2002, the Munster Literature Centre introduced the Seán Ó Faoláin Short Story Prize, an annual short story competition dedicated to one of Ireland's most accomplished story writers and theorists. This too is presented during the FOC festival. The centre also hosts the Cork Spring Literary Festival each year, at which the Gregory O'Donoghue International Poetry Prize is awarded (established 2010).

Workshops are held by featured authors in both autumn and spring, allowing the general public to receive creative guidance in an intimate setting for a minimal fee. In addition, the centre sponsors a Writer in Residence each year. We invite you to browse our website for further information regarding our events, Munster literature, and other literary information. Should you have any queries, we would be happy to hear from you.

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MICHAEL DAVITT

Michael Davitt

Born Cork, 1950. Irish language poet, reporter, editor, Aosdana member. Sharing a name with an influential early 20th century political figure, Davitt is a widely published and collected contemporary Irish poet. Educated at UCC, he edited Innti, one of Ireland’s premier Irish-language poetry journals. Davitt conducted the Slogadh Youth Festival in his twenties, and briefly worked at RTE as a reporter and presenter. In 1994, he won the Butler Prize for Literature. His collections include Gleann ar Ghleann (Baile Átha Cliath, Sáirséal Ó Marcaigh, 1982), Bligeard Sráide (Baile Átha Cliath, Coiscéim, 1983), An Tost a Scagadh (Coiscéim, 1993), Selected Poems/Rogha Dánta 1968-1984 (Dublin, Raven Arts Press, 1987), Scuais (Gallimh, Cló Iar-Chonnachta Teo, 1998), and Freacnairc Mhearcair/The Oomph of Quicksilver (Cork University Press, 2000). He died suddenly in June 2005.

Author Links

Michael Davitt Biography (Irish Writers Online)

Michael Davitt Biography (Eirdata)

Michael Davitt (Cló Iar-Chonnachta Page)