Ulster History Circle blue plaque to be unveiled for Belfast poet Padraic Fiacc
An Ulster History Circle blue plaque is to be unveiled today in honour of Belfast-born poet Padraic Fiacc (1924-2019).
The plaque will be placed on the Falls Road Library, not far from where he was born.
According to organisers, Fiacc “won widespread acclaim but was criticised at home for his stark portrayal of violence and suffering”.
The Ulster History Circle added: “His subjects range from his boyhood as an exile in New York’s Hell’s Kitchen to the bloody mayhem that erupted on the streets of his native city in the years after his return."
President of Ireland, Michael D Higgins, is an admirer of Fiacc’s work, and visited the poet in the care facility where he was being looked after, shortly before his death in January 2019.
Chris Spurr, chairman of the Ulster History Circle, said: “Padraic Fiacc, born in the Falls of Belfast, began his poetical journey in the melting pot of New York, then returning to his home city he engaged robustly in verse with the tumult he found there.
"The Ulster History Circle is delighted to commemorate this acclaimed poet with a blue plaque close to his birthplace.”
Dr Jim O’Hagan, Libraries NI chief executive, said Fiacc’s work “captured the reality of life in Belfast during some of its most difficult times and it’s fitting that his contribution is recognised on a building that continues to serve the local community in the area where he was born”.
The plaque to Padraic Fiacc will be unveiled today at 2pm at Falls Road Library.