Text: John Fitzgerald
Photos Pat Shortall
A triumph of the human spirit was celebrated in the heart of the City last week. People flocked from all parts of the county for the launch of ‘Poetry and Pictures’, by local men Daithi Holohan and Jim Murray.
The long-awaited collection is the culmination of decades of creative endeavor and the result of their efforts will absorb and inspire many a reader, but their achievement is all the more remarkable given that, in addition to the struggles familiar to every artist, they had to work within the oppressive confines of mental illness.
The book was launched to a packed Butt’s Hall in St. Canice’s Parish by Ger Cody, actor and former Manager of the Watergate Theatre.
Ger was flanked on the night by Brendan Corcoran and Claire Henriques, Callan’s “Variety Princess.”
They did supreme justice to the collection as they took turns reading, rendering each poetry selection with a studied pathos and a carefully calibrated attunement to the themes.
EXCEPTIONAL JOURNEY
Ger Cody hailed the two artists, recalling the long and exceptional journeys that had taken them to that poignant gathering in Butt’s Hall. He has known both of them since the early 1960s.
He highlighted some of the milestones of Daithi Holohan’s artistic career: his goldsmith apprenticeship with Rudolf Heltzel following secondary school at Kilkenny CBS, his study of Irish language and culture in Connemara, a pre-diploma course in the National College of Art and Design and his studies in the Fine Art Department; his scholarship to Minneapolis College of Art and Design, and teaching of Life Drawing in Liberties Vocational School; the multiple exhibitions of his work in Kilkenny pubs and clubs that drew critical and popular acclaim, his poetry that explores the hidden depths of the human psyche and the eternal themes of love , loss, war, and liberation.
Daithíachieved all this and more while battling the ravages of Bipolar Disorder. He refused to let it get the better of him, and struggled though the darkest of dark days, giving expression to an ordeal that for many of us is unimaginable via both his drawing and poetry. Some of Daithí’s finest drawings were on display at the hall during the book launch and his artwork is interwoven ornately with the poetry in the book, lending the volume an aesthetically pleasing appearance even before you read the poems.
Jim Murray’s progression had a different starting point to Daithí’s.
In his youth Jim excelled in athletics. He was the envy of all the lads in his classes at St. John’s School. He showed great promise when he came a close second in an under-12s junior All-Ireland athletics championship half-mile race despite running in lane eight and without spikes.
He was also a keen soccer player, and his command of the field with the Assumption Place under -16 Flashbacks in particular was so impressive that a roving talent scout enquired if he might be interested in playing at First Division level in England. A career in athletics looked all but certain.
But then illness intervened to wreck his dreams, not just on the fields of gold but academically too. His passion for sport unaccountably waned…leaving teachers and friends distraught. And when he successfully sat an exam for the Civil Service, he tore up the acceptance letter without knowing why.
He was diagnosed with Schizophrenia and severe depression and there followed a seemingly endless round of treatment in psychiatric hospitals. He faced a constant battle to stay afloat in a murky sea of fear, darkness, doubt, and disorder. But, like Daithi, he held his ground and didn’t let the illness win.
In a prose piece in the collection, Scenes from a Catastrophe, Jim recalls a hellish period of his life. But he found solace and healing in literature, and then took to writing poetry and short stories, all the time keeping the “enemy” that sought to conquer and occupy his mind, at bay.
The result was an outpouring of compelling works, such as Orchestra of Poems and his short story collection Digging a Hole on the River,
THIN LINE
Ger Cody praised Poetry and Pictures, noting that a thin line has always existed between genius and mental illness. He cited examples of this, including international celebrities like Edvard Munch, painter of The Scream, and the legendary Vincent Van Gogh.
Munch was diagnosed with depression, anxiety and bipolar disorder, his works providing clues to his suffering, and Van Gogh wrestled with Bipolar Disorder, Psychosis, and Insomnia, among other ailments, even as he painted glorious works of art.
Ger recalled how mental illness was stigmatized and widely misunderstood up to recent times, adding to the already crushing burden of those afflicted by it.
He also lamented the fact that many artists fail to receive the kind of grant aid from the State that tends to benefit larger projects. He wished Jim and Daithi well in their creative journeys. They had faced many obstacles along the way, he reminded, but their indomitable spirits had got them through.
He cited the book as an example of a project worthy of wholehearted support, recognition, and appreciation.
Pictures and Poetry is available from Kilkenny bookshops. Price €15.
