Athy poet celebrates everyday heroines in  exhibition

ATHY poet, Denise Curtin, launched her exhibition ‘Ó Mnhá – Celebrating Women who Make a Difference’ at Athy’s Art House last weekend, which was opened by novelist Niamh Boyce.

The exhibition was first opened at Laois Arthouse in Stradbally, not far from where the poet resides in Portlaoise, and was opened on International Women’s Day this year.

The exhibition then moved to the poet’s proud homeland of Athy, and features encounters with some brilliant local Athy women, and women from elsewhere that have had an impact on their communities, and of course, the poet.

Denise found herself writing poems about women that inspired her, without any real intention of creating the Ó Mhná project.

She said: “The exhibition shows ordinary women who inspired me. A number of poems are about Athy women. Some stretch back to when I was a kid. Some are women I bumped into on the train, at events or in care services. All ordinary women, except for what they brought to their communities.” 

Denise recalled these women and their stories. She remembered the woman she had met on the train knitting wraps for babies in conflict zones, and the woman she who was creating a small museum in Abbeyleix Community Hospital where her mother was in care.

She remembered the teacher from Dublin who made her students “feel like they could shine,” and the Athy shopkeeper Mrs Hughes who “treated everyone like they were princess Grace.” 

She remembered her own mother, who raised her to be the woman she is today, even while she “didn’t have time to bless herself.” And she remembered all of the women who shaped both the poet and their communities with the wonderful ways they interact with the world around them.

Denise recounted growing up in Athy, surrounded by strong women, and how that impacted and shaped her: “We grew up in an estate where women were in charge of everything,” she laughed.

“Everything I do is shaped by growing up in Athy. It comes everywhere with me. When I think of Athy I think people in Athy are fearless. If they really believe in something they wanted to do, they would do it!” 

While each woman exhibited at Art House are uniquely different, they all had the same effect on Denise.

“These poems are about women who wouldn’t usually be written about. They’re ordinary women, but what they bring is so hugely important. I want to honour them. I felt I need to write about them.” 

“I’m honouring them for the type of people they are, for doing something for no gain. That’s what I’m celebrating,” she concluded.

The exhibition will run until 22 May.