We were delighted to welcome Irish poet Maeve O’Sullivan to our school for a special Haiku workshop with our first-year students. Maeve is based in her hometown of Dublin, and since the mid-1990s, her poetry and haikai (haiku and related forms) have been widely published, anthologised, and translated. She is the author of six collections of poetry with Alba Publishing, including her latest, Where All Ladders Start (2024), which features long-form poems alongside Japanese forms such as senryu (human-nature haiku) and haibun, a form combining prose with haiku.
This workshop, offered through Poetry Ireland, was designed to help students craft their own Haiku poems for the upcoming Duais Basho competition. Maeve began her workshop by explaining the structure and beauty of Haiku poetry, sharing inspiring examples to deepen students’ understanding. She then took the students on a nature walk around the school grounds to encourage observation and connection with their surroundings—an essential part of Haiku writing.
Back in the classroom, students crafted their own Haiku poems, with Maeve on hand to offer guidance, help edit, and enrich their work. As a generous gift, Maeve donated a complimentary copy of her latest poetry collection, Where All Ladders Start to our school library, where it is now available for students to enjoy.
The workshop was a fantastic opportunity for our first years to engage creatively with poetry and nature, and we look forward to seeing their entries in the Duais Basho competition.