Celebrating Poet Gerard Fanning

Collected Poems Book Launch

Gerard Fanning, was a distinguished poet and civil servant. A UCD graduate, he spent time in Barcelona before joining the Irish Civil Service, where he worked for nearly 40 years until his retirement in 2012. He published three major poetry collections: Easter Snow (1992), Working for the Government (1999), and Water & Power (2004). He also released a chapbook, Canower Sound (2003), and Hombre: New and Selected Poems (2011). His work was featured in The Wake Forest Series of Irish Poetry Volume III (2013).

His contributions to Irish literature were recognized with the inaugural Brendan Behan Award and the Rooney Prize for Irish Literature in 1993, along with two major Arts Council of Ireland bursaries. His poetry was also adapted by composer Ian Wilson for the Harbouring Suite (2008). He was preparing his fourth collection when he passed away in 2017. Wake Forest University Press will publish his Collected Poems in 2024.