By Eoin Meegan
Wingspan by Eithne Cavanagh, with photographs by Colum Clarke, published by Orla Kelly Publishing (2024).
A hybrid of poetry and photos of an ornithological nature. This collection contains 27 beautiful poems with accompanying superb photographs of birds, plus one oil painting, Goldcrests, by Susan Flynn. The main theme is birds with their beauty and powers and their magic.
So many of our winged friends are here such as Oystercatchers, Brent Geese, the Lyrebird, the Goldcrest, Corncrake, that Christmas favourite, the Wren, the Wheatear, and the Little Egret, which just happens to be my favourite bird at the moment (which I enjoy seeing on the Dodder on my way to work). The author tells me it’s hers also, and that they are plentiful in Booterstown Marsh too. You can enjoy a sample of poems from Wingspan on page 25.
