Sliabh Luachra

Sliabh Luachra (Irish pronunciation: [ʃlʲiəvˠ ˈl̪ˠuəxɾˠə]) is a region in Munster, Ireland by the River Blackwater and borders the counties Cork, Kerry and Limerick.

Sliabh Luachra has produced several Irish poets: Geoffrey Fionn Dálaigh, Aogán Ó Rathaille, and the charismatic Gaelic poet Eoghan Rua Ó Súilleabháin (1748–1784). This latter poet's many exploits live on in local folklore, as do his poetry and aislings (dramatic descriptions). His solo set dance, "Rodney's Glory," was composed in 1783 and follows his adventures after being forced to join the British Navy. Sliabh Luachra was also the birthplace of the folklorist, poet, and translator Edward Walsh (1805–1850), Patrick S. Dinneen, who compiled Dineen's Dictionary, viewed as the "bible" of Irish language, and Tomás Rathaille, Superior General of the Presentation Brothers 1905–1925 who wrote two books of Irish poetry: An Spideog and An Cuaicín Draoidheachta. This tradition of poetry continues to present day with Bernard O'Donoghue (now a lecturer in Oxford University) who won the prestigious Whitbread prize for a collection of poems in 1993/94. Professor Daniel Corkery, author of The Hidden Ireland wrote that Sliabh Luachra was the literary capital of Ireland.

This region has a unique musical style which makes heavy use of the polka and the slide. Musicians from the area include Denis Murphy, Julia Clifford, Paddy Cronin, Padraig O'Keeffe, Johnny O'Leary, Maurice O' Keeffe, Jackie Daly, Con Curtin and Donal Murphy.

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