Renowned Irish poet Paul Durcan dies aged 80
Kenneth Fox
The renowned Irish poet Paul Durcan has died at the age of 80.
His family said he would be “sadly missed by (his wife) Nessa, his daughters Sarah and Síabhra, his son Michael, his sons in law, Mark and Blaise, his daughter in law, Linden and his nine grandchildren”.
His death took place on Saturday morning.
His daughter Síabhra said her father’s passing was “very sudden” but “he had been unwell in recent years, so he had spent the last several years in a nursing home in Dublin”.
She said that funeral arrangements will be announced at a later date.
Mr Durcan turned 80 on October 16th, 2024. A collection of his work, 80 at 80, was released to mark the occasion. The book was edited by Niall MacMonagle and featured an introduction from writer Colm Tóibín.
In his introduction, Mr Tóibín said that Mr Durcan’s work was “daring, directly personal as well as directly political”.
“It is hard to think of another poet in these islands who has written such searing poems against violence and cruelty and the politics of hate,” Mr Tóibín wrote.
“It is also difficult to think of another male poet who has written such brave works of self-examination.”
Speaking on Saturday, his daughter Sarah said her family is grateful that 80 at 80 was published so recently, as it provides an important overview of her father’s work.
Mr Durcan was born in Dublin in 1944.
He published more than 20 books, including The Berlin Wall Café (1985), Daddy, Daddy (winner of the Whitbread Award for Poetry in 1990), Praise in Which I Live and Move and Have My Being (2012), and The Days of Surprise (2015).
On X, Tánaiste Simon Harris called him "one of Ireland's best poetic voices".
Paul Durcan was unflinchingly honest, witty and one of Ireland’s best poetic voices.
With his passing, Ireland has lost one of its most distinctive and authentic voices - and his work, which often turned the mundane into the extraordinary, will live on for generations. pic.twitter.com/Fuo7bg9FTx
— Simon Harris TD (@SimonHarrisTD) May 17, 2025
