Hurray for Hopkins

The     The Lord’s blessing was invoked on the first day of the 23rd Gerard Manley Hopkins Festival. Fergus O’Donoghue SJ marked the spot  where the poet is laid to rest in the Jesuit plot in Glasnevin and an international gathering attended the short ceremony there. The 7-day festival, organised by Desmond and Viv Egan and Elaine Murphy, was the biggest yet.  The Newbridge Dominicans  hosted many of the sessions. Next year’s event will include a visit to Clongowes, where Hopkins spent more time outside Dublin than anywhere else, and where he wrote some important poems.