Celebrating 709 Nights of Poetry: Ó Bhéal Marks 18 Years with a Milestone Gathering
On Sunday 14th April, Ó Bhéal will mark its 18th anniversary with a landmark evening of poetry, performance, and community — a celebration that also serves as a poignant finale to one of Ireland’s most enduring literary series. After 709 unforgettable nights, this event brings to a close nearly two decades of weekly gatherings that have helped shape the cultural and poetic fabric of Cork and beyond. More than just a milestone, it is a farewell filled with reflection, creativity, and connection. At the heart of the evening is the launch of Five Words Volume XVIII and the announcement of the winners of the 12th Five Words International Poetry Competition — a fitting tribute to Ó Bhéal’s legacy of championing new voices and nurturing poetic exchange.
The highly anticipated occasion will be hosted in the Hayloft Bar, upstairs in the Long Valley on Cork’s Winthrop Street, and will also be accessible online via a hybrid setup. The digital audience, limited to 100 Zoom participants, will be able to tune in through Ó Bhéal’s usual streaming platforms — Vimeo, Facebook, YouTube, and obheal.ie/live. As with all hybrid events in the series, the evening’s readings and open-mic contributions will remain available for future viewing on these platforms.
The centrepiece of the night is the presentation of awards to this year’s Five Words competition winners, selected from a robust international field by judge Lauren O’Donovan. First prize has been awarded to Lucie Pereira, with Dean Gessie placing second and Em Egan Reeve securing third. The top three poets, along with shortlisted contributors, will read from their work featured in the new volume.
Lucie Pereira, originally from California and now based in Cobh, is a writer and educator whose poetry has appeared in Honey Literary, Yes Poetry, and Stanchion Zine. Her debut chapbook From Here to the Ocean is forthcoming from Finishing Line Press. With fellowships from Kearny Street Workshop and Rooted & Written, Pereira is also the co-founder of the San Francisco-based series Kitchen Table. In Ireland, she has become a familiar voice at Cork open mics including Litreacha and the Underground Loft, and is currently pursuing a master’s in creative writing at University College Cork.
Second-place winner Dean Gessie, based north of Toronto, is no stranger to international acclaim. His long list of accolades includes the Aesthetica Creative Writing Award (UK), the UN-aligned Poetry Competition (Finland), and Ireland’s Allingham Arts Festival Poetry Contest. His work has twice been selected for Black Mountain Press's The Best 64 Poets and was featured in the Poetry Archive NOW! World View anthology in England.
Em Egan Reeve, this year’s third-place recipient, hails from West Cork and currently resides in Cork City. A graduate of UCC with a BA in English and an MA in Creative Writing, Reeve is co-creator of the queer creative initiative Litreacha and a guest editor for Good Day Cork in the first half of 2025. Their fiction has appeared in Swerve, while their poetry has featured in Smashing Times. Reeve continues to shape the Cork literary scene with both creativity and community focus.
Beyond the award presentations, Ó Bhéal’s anniversary evening includes a four-part programme. Beginning at 7:00pm with a selection of poetry-films from Ó Bhéal’s archives (not streamed), the evening transitions to the beloved Five Word Challenge at 8:30pm, a live-writing segment limited to 30 participants. From 9:30pm, winners and contributors to Five Words Volume XVIII will read from their work. The final act of the night, beginning at 10:45pm, is an open-mic session with a twist: all poems read must be written by other poets, inviting readers to celebrate their literary influences.
To participate via Zoom, attendees are asked to email info@obheal.ie with a short statement on why they wish to join. The Zoom link will then be sent out the evening of the event. As always, attendance — whether online or in person — promises a warm, inclusive environment that celebrates poetry in all its forms. Whether attending in person or online, participants will be part of a unique moment in Irish literary history — the last word in a long and lyrical story that began nearly two decades ago.