Live Encounters Poetry & Writing September 2026
300th Celebration of GULLIVER’S Travels, poem by Noel Monahan.
300th Celebration of GULLIVER’S Travels
Lilliput made me a prisoner,
Arms and legs fastened,
My hair tied down,
Human creatures
Not even the size of your finger,
Climbed ladders to reach me
“Quinbus Flestrin / “Man Mountain”
They called me.
“Qui / Quid” / “Who / What”
Didn’t I put out the fire
By unusual means …
“Le Jour Est á Nous, Mes Enfants
What are you all talking about anyway?
Mouthing away in Liliputian:
About Lilliput and me a giant,
Given the “Freedom of the City”
And now I’m charged with treason
For urinating in public
And I have no alternative
But to escape …
© Noel Monahan
Noel Monahan is a native of Granard, Co. Longford, now living in Cavan. He has published seven collections of poetry with Salmon Poetry. An eight collection, Celui Qui Porte Un Veau, a selection of French translations of his work was published in France by Alidades, in 2014. A selection of Italian translations of his poetry was published in Milan by Guanda in November 2015: “Tra Una Vita E L’Altra”. His poetry was prescribed text for the Leaving Certificate English, 2011- 2012.
His play: “Broken Cups” won the RTE P.J. O’Connor award in 2001and Chalk Dust, a long poem of his, was adapted for stage and directed by Padraic McIntyre, Ramor Theatre, 2019.
During the Covid-19 lockdown, Noel had to reinvent his poetry readings and he produced a selection of Short Films: “Isolation & Creativity”, “Still Life”, “Tolle Lege” and A Poetry Day Ireland Reading for Cavan Library,2021. Recently, he edited “Chasing Shadows”, a miscellany of poetry for Creative Ireland. His ninth poetry collection, “Journey Upstream” was published by Salmon Poetry in April 2024.