Kenmare | Arts Festival | 2026
2 to 16 August 2026
Poets Meet Painters - Anthology Launch
Free Admission
8 August 6pm at the Carnegie Arts Centre, Kenmare
Poets Meet Painters 2026 comes to the Carnegie for an evening where poetry and visual art meet. Shortlisted poets will read from the new Poets Meet Painters Anthology 2026, with the artworks that inspired them shown on screen, offering a vivid, intimate encounter between image and word.
Event will be about 1 hour
The judging is complete for Poets Meet Painters 2026, and we’re delighted to share the shortlist below. Every poem was read anonymously and judged by ID number. Our three independent judges—Pamela Muller, John W. Sexton, and Eileen Sheehan—each selected 20–28 poems to form a longlist, from which our head judge, Dr Robert Mohr, chose the final shortlist. If your poem didn’t progress this time, please don’t be discouraged: rejection is often a redirection, and your work was read with care.
Thank you for being part of this year’s Poets Meet Painters. The 44-page anthology will launch at the Carnegie Arts Centre, Kenmare, on 8 August at 6pm (price €10), with shortlisted poets reading alongside the artworks that inspired them.
Eileen Sheehan will also lead an afternoon workshop at Mill Cove Gallery—details and booking are available online. Click here -
https://www.millcovegallery.com/workshops-2026/p/eileen-sheehan
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Red Mona – Siobhan Campbell - First Place
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A Half-Dried Riverbed in Ventimiglia – Frank Farrelly - Second Place
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Limited Edition – Margaret Rochford - Third Place
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Moments – Teresa Preziosi
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Painting Home – Kay Liston
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Sailor – James Anthony
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How To Bury the Living – Kate Durrant
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What Will Not Hold – Aidan O’Leary
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The White Dress – Paul McMahon
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No Small Thing – Mary Aspinwall
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Still Field
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Tide Table – John Goode
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Blue Wings – Paudrig Lee
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The Maids of Elfen-Mere – Deirdre Hines
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The Sea, The Sea – Lynn Caldwell
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How Does Her Garden Grow? – Eileen Curran
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Findings – Lorraine Carey
Anthology launch & readings: 8 August 2026 - 6pm - at the Carnegie Arts Centre, Kenmare - Free Admission
Please note: Due to the volume of submissions received, entrants will not be contacted individually regarding the outcome of their entry.
For all enquiries, please email: millcovegallery@gmail.com