St John’s author Vona Groarke, whose work has long been ‘a cornerstone of Irish contemporary literature’, is to be the next Ireland Professor of Poetry.
She is the tenth Ireland Professor of Poetry, a prestigious role awarded every three years to a poet of honour and distinction to represent the Ireland Chair of Poetry.
Vona, who is the St John’s College Writer-in-residence, takes over from the current Ireland Professor of Poetry Paul Muldoon from September 2025 to November 2028. She said: “I’m really looking forward to my term as Ireland Professor of Poetry. Paul Muldoon has been an exemplary Professor, and he’ll be a hard act to follow, but I hope to continue his excellent work in broadening and deepening the appreciation of contemporary Irish poetry.”
The Ireland Chair of Poetry was set up in 1998 following the award of the Nobel Prize of Literature to Seamus Heaney and is jointly held between Queen’s University Belfast, Trinity College Dublin, University College Dublin, the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, and the Arts Council / An Chomhairle Ealaíon.
During her professorship, Vona will spend a year attached to each of the three universities. The Professor of Poetry gives informal workshops or readings, spends time working with students and performing outreach work and makes one formal presentation a year, usually a lecture.
Vona is a poet, essayist, reviewer, and editor, and since 2022 she has been Writer-in-residence at St John’s, where she holds informal reading and discussion groups for College students and staff, mentors St John’s students wishing to develop their own creative writing skills, and organises literary events.
Made a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 2024, Vona has published 15 books and been described in Poetry Ireland Review as ‘one of the best writers in Ireland today’. Her ninth poetry collection, Infinity Pool, was published in May 2025 by The Gallery Press.
She won the 2024 Michel Déon Prize for non-fiction for her book Hereafter: The Telling Life of Ellen O’Hara (New York University Press) – a poetic account of a young Irish woman emigrant to New York in the late 19th century, which arose out of her time as a Cullman Fellow at the New York Public Library 2018-2019.
Maura McGrath, Chair of the Arts Council / An Chomhairle Ealaíon, and incoming Chair of the Ireland Chair of Poetry Trust, said: “The appointment of Professor Vona Groarke as the next Ireland Professor of Poetry is a moment of celebration for poetry in Ireland. Vona’s work, marked by precision, insight and emotional depth, has long been a cornerstone of contemporary Irish literature.
“Her appointment recognises not only her outstanding poetic achievements but also her ongoing contribution to the life of the arts in Ireland and beyond. The Arts Council is proud to support the Ireland Chair of Poetry Trust in this important role and looks forward to the ways in which Vona’s tenure will inspire readers, students, and fellow poets alike.”
Vona, who lives in County Sligo in the West of Ireland outside of the University term, said: “Ireland prides itself on its cultural standing in the world, especially in literature – I hope to continue to expand within that a space for the poets and poems of today, which offer such a significant contribution to the artistic and cultural landscapes of our time.
“To have been selected to do so is a great honour and delight and I greatly look forward to whatever the next three years shall bring.”
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