Failte Award For Barney Sheehan

White House Poet and organiser of one of the most successful poetry reading in the country Barney Sheehan has been given a special award by Failte Ireland for his work in promoting tourism in the city.

"I just called in one night and there was a letter waiting for me from the Chief Executive of Failte Ireland Shaun Quinn telling me that I have been awarded a Certificate of Merit" explained Barney. The award was given as a mark of recognition for the valuable contribution he has made to the tourism industry in Limerick.

The poetry takes place every Wednesday night at 9pm. "We started up two and a half years ago in an attempt to revive the literary culture of the famous old world bar" said Barney. "They said it would'nt last two weeks but it has been going since" he said. Along with the weekly reading they have also published an anthology of the work performed at the White House, 'Microphone On' contains 100 poets from Ireland and abroad who have read at the venue.

"The hotels and bed and breakfasts are aware of the night and we have got hundreds of tourists calling to listen to the poetry" said Barney. "Tourists want different types of entertainment. Some are happy to go to music venues and the theatre and we at the White House provide a very significant contribution to poetry".

Photo caption. Barney pictured above with poet Cristoir O Flynn one of the many guest published poets who have read at the White House Poetry Revival.