Fermanagh poetry and spoken word event ‘The Thing Itself’ to return

The Thing Itself.

Following a hiatus, organisers are bringing The Thing Itself back for its 13th event next week.

Hosted at Mulhern’s Cellar Bar, Enniskillen, the night will begin at 7.30pm with the poetry open mic, where those in attendance will have an opportunity to perform their own work if they so wish. This will be followed by performances from Stephen and Cat.

Described by President Michael D. Higgins as “a splendid, courageous, and gifted young poet”, Stephen has also previously been called “the highlight” of the Electric Picnic by The Irish Times.

Stephen Murphy.

The Leitrim-born poet has performed his work to hundreds of thousands of people, and while he has featured across a broad range of print and broadcast media, millions more have watched videos of his poetry online.

He’s a former All-Ireland Slam Poetry champion who distances himself both from the terms ‘Slam Poet’ and ‘Spoken Word’, believing instead in the cultural revolution that is bringing poetry back to its original bardic roots as an oral narrative tradition.

Cat is a poet, educator, host and producer from Omagh. She has performed at festivals (including Latitude, Electric Picnic, LFest), won Slams (BBC Edinburgh Fringe, Belfast Poetry Cup), has been published (The Golden Shovel, Dedalus) and has featured on BBC and RTE.

Cat Brogan.

Published

Poetry education is the subject of her TEDx Talk and she has presented at academic conferences and published in journals. On a British Council-funded programme in Malaysia, she met her partner, and co-founded a LGBT+ social centre in Kuala Lumpur regularly programming cultural events. Currently based in Inishowen, she co-founded the first Omagh Pride in 2021.

Events will take place once a month on a Friday night. Upcoming dates will be released in due course.