Arias of Consolation

Across eight movements, Arias of Consolation by John Liddy is an epic poem. Beautifully embellished with work by the renowned artist John Shinnors, it is, arguably, the most important poem written about Limerick since the publication of Bard Hogan’s ‘Drunken Thady and The Bishop’s Lady’ in 1861.  Given the city’s long tradition of musicality, stretching from its smoky dancehalls on the Ballysimon Road and Mulgrave Street to the sean-nos inflected voice of  The Cranberries’ Dolores O’Riordan; from its many musical societies to the Hip Hop of the Rusangano Family; from the Plain Chant recitals led by Professor King Griffin to the sublime voice of Denise Chaila,  it is entirely fitting that Liddy has used the term ‘Aria’ and the ghost voices of many singers surface in the poem. (from the Foreword by Eoin Devereux)