Michael Connaughton was born and grew up in the Rise in Glasnevin in the 50s. His mother was a teacher in Killester National School, and Michael got his leaving certificate from the Vincentians in 1964 in St. Paul’s College in Raheny.
He studied architecture at Bolton Street and design in the National College of Art and Design in Kildare Street, but moved to London, then the centre of the ‘hippy cult’.
He had a varied career, still pursuing art in one form or another. He founded a dance band in the University of East Anglia and performed with Steam Hammer and the Third Ear Band.
Onwards to Aberdeen, where he connected to a Buddhist society, and spent time in a Christian community, Findhorn, and a Buddhist meditation centre, Samye-Ling.
He linked up with a crowd called the Rainbow Gypsies, healing through the arts of theatre and dance in London and Amsterdam.
Like many hippies of the day, he took off for the caves of India, yogis in France, then back to Great Britain to study spiritual science at Emerson College, eventually resettling in Sutton.
As an artist, Michael was exhibiting his work in the UK and Ireland from 1975 onwards. He has also published six books of poetry, and is launching his seventh book, ‘Peregrine’, at noon on 7 July at Ardgillan Castle in Balbriggan, accompanied by an exhibition of 69 of his recent watercolours– his 44th exhibition.
Michael has a great interest in nature– he likes to paint birds, fruit, vegetables– and his poetry reflects his observations from a rockface with a seat cut into it, on the lower Cliff Road in Howth, where he now lives.
“I wouldn’t say I have a style– I paint to the best of my ability to express myself,” he says.
After some difficulties, Michael was diagnosed in 1980 with schizophrenia. “I have been taking tablets for this for 30 years, but it has never held me back in my work,” Michael says. In fact, the only arts grant Michael ever got was from “Disability Arts Limited of Belfast, because I had been diagnosed.”
From 1982-1984, Michael was a member of the Howth Poetry Workshop, and two of his poems were published in their anthology, ‘Stepping Stones’. “I learned a lot, especially from the criticism of Frank Callery, who founded the group, and Des Fitzgerald, a blind poet who wrote and read from Braille– he was the president of Rehab.”
Michael is perhaps best known in Dublin for the generous support and encouragement he has given over the years to many other poets, beginning with his founding of a Poetry Festival called Voicefree, in September 1984 in the Academy Theatre in Pearse Street.
“This attracted about 20 poets. We continued, booking different venues every Monday until we were given the use of the theatre upstairs in the International Bar in Wicklow St.
This lasted every Monday for four years, and we produced and sold a broadsheet of poetry and short stories– for 50p, about every two months.
Altogether, we produced 10 broadsheets, an anthology in 1985, four festivals of poetry and two 90-minute cassettes of the 1988 festival. We were on Irish radio, ‘Rattlebag’, and toured the country as far as Wexford, Waterford, Limerick, and Newcastle West, with readings and workshops. Maurice Scully, Peter Sirr, Brigid McLoughlin, Philip Casey, Rosita Boland, Ulick O’Connor, John F. Deane, and others now recognised as poets were part of this process.”
Sinead O’Connor also performed one of her early gigs there, in a group called Ton Ton Macoutes, before going on to solo success on the international scene.
Voicefree folded finally when Michael got ill and could not continue to carry all of the administrative work. Michael published his first poetry book, ‘Listening with Eyes’ in 1987, followed by ‘In Good Spirits’ in 2000. In 2003, he launched two collections, together, ‘The Clairvoyant’ and ‘Creed’, at the Irish Writers Centre.
Afterwards in 2003 he launched another poetry festival, Flying Colours, in the Westin Hotel and the Focus Theatre. As no Arts Council money was forthcoming, Michael had to finance the festival himself– he always made sure participants got paid. The event was very successful in literary terms, and he produced a special broadsheet for the festival in a limited edition of 200 copies.
In 2004, he published a collection, ‘Silken Lasso’ and in 2006, ‘Wild Gold’.
Last year Michael held another festival, Whisper, in Howth, which actually sold out. Jenny Brady, another Howth poet, helped him with that. He believes in writers groups, and is currently in the Bayside writers group, coordinated by John O’Malley, and is included in their recent anthology, ‘Migrating Minds’.
Michael joined the Irish Writers Union in 2003, and the United Arts Club the same year. He always sought Arts Council support for his books, but it was never forthcoming, and he didn’t let that stop him.
He stayed in the writers retreat at Annamakerrig (also at his own expense) to work on his book and exhibition in 2003 and other times. He published a book of his bird paintings in March 2010, ‘Curlew Collections.’ He has sold quite a few of his paintings over the years.
Poets he likes and admires are Maurice Scully, Seamus Heaney, Gabriel Rosenstock, Paula Meehan, and Theo Dorgan. Paula encouraged him to keep writing. “My writing deals with inner evolvement, beauty, wonder, awe and reverence, truth, goodness. Writing poetry for me clears my head and my soul of a lot of rubbish. It puts me on a different level, a higher level of consciousness. I write nearly every day. My advice to aspiring poets? Write, and write blindly, until they see the light.”