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On today’s show, the last of 2024, we talk to Keith Payne about his recent  boat building and poem writing project. Currachs and naomhógs are among the only sea craft built upside down, and the expertise dates back generations. Keith learned all of this and a. lot more when he found himself working on a Dunfanaghy currach over 16 weeks. He was Cork City Library eco-poet in residence from 2022 to 2023 when he was drawn to the work of Meitheal Mara. He learned about carpenters' marks and pigtails and how to row with Naomhóga Chorcaí. His latest work, Building the Boat, records his experiences with Meitheal Mara in verse, and it has just been published by Badly Made Books. He also talks to us about Whales and Whales, his recent translations of a powerful Galician poet, Luisa Castro.

The second half of today’s show is a look back at some highlights from our podcast in 2024, with contributions from Michael Agustin, Dermot Bolger, Kerry Hardie, Aoife Lyall, Victoria Kennefick, Mary Costello, Paul Muldoon, Neil Astley, Gormfhlaith Ní Shíocháin Ní Bheoláin, Noel Monahan and Christine Dwyer Hickey.

This episode is supported by a Project Award from the Arts Council/An Chomhairle Ealaíon.
Intro/outro music: Colm Mac Con Iomaire, ‘Thou Shalt Not Carry’ from The Hare’s Corner, 2008, with thanks to Colm for permission to use it.

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