Five poems Contemporary Irish Poetry Index
Michael J. Whelan. photograph by Emily Whelan.
Michael J. Whelan is a soldier-poet and historian. Michael joined the Irish Defence Forces in 1990 and served on tours of duty as a United Nations Peacekeeper during the conflicts in South Lebanon and with the Peace-Enforcement mission to Kosovo. He is curator of the Irish Air Corps Military Aviation Museum Collection at Baldonnel. He is author of two books, The Battle of Jadotville: Irish Soldiers in Combat in the Congo 1961 (2006) and Allegiances Compromised: Faith, Honour and Allegiance – Ex British Soldiers in the Irish Army 1913-24 (2011). Michael’s debut poetry collection, Peacekeeper (Doire Press, 2016), is the first of its kind in Ireland to examine the role of Irish citizens on international peace support missions. He was selected for the Poetry Ireland Introductions Series and his poetry has been published in Ireland, Mexico, Paris, Indonesia, the UK & USA and is included in The Hundred Years’ War –Anthology of Modern War Poems edited by Nick Astley (Bloodaxe UK, 2014). Awards for Michael’s writing include 2nd Place and two Commendations in the Patrick Kavanagh Poetry Awards, 3rd Place in the Jonathan Swift Creative Writing Awards, a short listing in the Over the Edge –New Writer of the Year and the Red Line Book Festival Awards. He holds a Master of Arts Degree in Modern History from National University of Ireland, Maynooth
Peacekeeper (2016) is available from Doire Press: http://www.doirepress.com/writers/m_z/michael_whelan/
Michael J. Whelan’s Blog: https://michaeljwhelan.wordpress.com/
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