Following the success of the Fermoy International Poetry Festival in August, Cork County Council Arts Office requested the festival committee to officially organise an event for North Cork to celebrate Cultural Night. With the experience he has gained over the last decade, festival chairman Gene Barry requested his committee to set about organising an event that would be world class, and that's just what they did.

It led to an exciting Culture Night in Fermoy as the International Poetry Festival managed a World first by broadcasting live readings by Irish and international poets. Irish poets Eileen Sheehan, Micheál Kearney, John W Sexton, Gene Barry, Fred Johnston and Polly Munnelly read live at the Wagon Tavern and their performances were seen by viewers in over 30 countries. They additionally linked up live with Holland, England and the USA and broadcasted an additional nine poets. All of the readings were viewed by the audience on a large screen accompanied by crystal clear sound, courtesy of the high-tech equipment available at Tom Aherne's popular venue.

"In between the Irish poet’s readings we broadcasted live Dutch poets Saskia Stehouwer, Tsead Bruinja, Thomas Möhlmann, Nyd de Vries and Elmar Kuiper reading from various locations in Holland," Gene Barry explained. "From England we then hosted poets Ben Johnson and Kim Moore, who read in Fermoy earlier this year at the festival and the final international live broadcast was of poets Michael Clay and Johnny Olson, who were reading at Mad Swirl in Dallas, Texas."

Gene told The Avondhu that the committee worked closely with Tom and all of the crew at the Wagon Tavern in setting up the complex equipment necessary for the live broadcast. Tom and his technical guru Timmy Flynn worked closely with Gene, who is himself an engineer, for many hours before the 8pm deadline. Members of the Fermoy Poetry Group and the North Cork group, Poetry From The Heart, were also in attendance.

"The generosity, professionalism and sheer determination of Tom, and in fact all of his staff played a major part in the night being the complete success it was. We are all still on a high as e-mails and Facebook messages are pouring in from all over the World. We have had requests to facilitate numerous poets from as far away as Australia and many poetry venues around the World, so another broadcast is already being planned by the committee," Gene said.

Anyone who missed last Friday night's event can view it via the group's website on computer, laptop or smartphone anywhere in the World.

A poetry workshop was held the following morning by Galway based poet Fred Johnston in the library in Blackwater Castle in Castletownroche. There are plans to hold a similar workshop at the castle following the next live broadcast.

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