The Irish Byron Society

The Annual General Meeting took place at the United Arts Club on Friday 26 January. Thirty-three members attended and apologies were received from a further five. Our secretary, Geraldine Semper, agreed to continue in her role until a suitable replacement was found. The present committee was unanimously re-elected and met on six occasions during the year. We maintained the Irish Byron Society’s policy of organising at least one function per month.

On Friday 24 February we welcomed the prize-winning Nottingham poet Clive Brooks to Dublin to give his paper entitled ‘Byron in the Twenty-First Century’. The lecture was interspersed with readings from his latest collection of poems. Clive was then the society’s guest at dinner following the lecture.

On Sunday 27 February eighteen of our members traveled to London to meet up with our friends from the Newstead Abbey Byron Society. We spent a very pleasant evening together at the Santorini Greek restaurant in Bayswater. The following morning we boarded a coach for Harrow School where we had arranged to meet Peter Hunter, House Master at Harrow and former Chairman of the London Byron Society. When we arrived at Harrow we visited the church where Allegra, Byron’s daughter, is buried and the tomb of John Peachey where Byron is reputed to have written some of his earliest poetry. We then visited Park House where Peter made everyone feel welcome as he extended his invitation to a glass of wine and lunch. Following lunch Peter gave a talk about the history of Harrow School and its famous former pupils. We then visited the old school where Byron carved his name in the wood panelling and had an extensive tour around the new Byron museum. In the evening we travelled by coach to the palace of Westminster, to the Cholmondsey suite within the House of Lords, where the Earl of Lytton would create an evening of history by reading Byron’s Maiden Speech. The views along the river Thames from the Cholmondsey suite balcony were quite stunning, and we left the House of Lords feeling we had been part of something historic and unforgettable.

Our Patrick Kavanagh Spring Literary Lunch was held on Saturday 31 March. Our special guest was Monsignor Tom Stack who, following lunch, spoke most enthusiastically about his best selling book entitled No Earthly Estate. Byron Society members followed with readings of their favourite Kavanagh Poems.

Our April proceedings were held on Friday 27 when Allan Gregory gave a lecture on Satire. He reflected on the satirical influence of the great Latin poet Juvenal on Byron, particularly in Don Juan, and the Juvenalian preponderances apparent in the works of Jonathan Swift. A canapés and wine party for members followed the lecture.

On Friday 25 May, our president Rosemarie Rowley gave her lecture on ‘Byron and Nature’ in which she outlined the great affinity Byron had with the natural world and followed this up by giving examples with extracts from the poet’s letters and poems. Rosemarie was then the committee’s guest of honour for dinner in the Arts Club dining room.

The Bloomsday literary lunch was held on Saturday 23 June, when we also held the raffle for Pockets and Ali, the beautiful painting in oil, kindly donated to the society by John Shortall. The first ticket out of the hat was that of our president Rosemarie Rowley. Congratulations were in order. Former chairman Pat McCormack led the afternoon’s entertainment in poetry, music and song.

On Sunday 16 September, Irish Byron Society members travelled to Headford House in the historic town of Kells, County Meath as guests of the Kells Arts Society. Following an address by Chairperson Eileen Morgan and former headmaster Lingard Goulding, lunch was served in the sumptuous surroundings of the aula maxima, which has now been magnificently restored to its former glory. After lunch, Allan Gregory gave a lecture on Ireland’s sadly neglected national bard, and great friend of Lord Byron, Thomas Moore. This was followed by a most interesting lecture entitled ‘Byron and the Midlands’ by renowned politician and historian Ruth Illingsworth. A guided...