A sunrise dip and poetry readings got the 11th annual Poetry Day off to a sparkling start in Co Wicklow, as swimmers and poets got together in Greystones.
Poetry Day Ireland is taking place across the country, with over 50 events organised, both in person and online.
This year's celebration, run by Poetry Ireland, has the theme "May Day" which is rooted in Ancient Traditions; including the fire festival of Bealtaine, and asks poets and participants to celebrate renewal, hope and abundance.
Poetry Ireland director Liz Kelly said "May Day" was chosen, as it marks the start of a month in which "nature seems to be bursting out of her skin, filling hedgerows and fields with wildflowers, the month of fire and light."
She said she believes "poetry is an important way to understand and empathise with the world around us, which, at this moment in history, is deeply meaningful."
The day's first event got under way bright and early in Greystones with a Sunrise Swim & Poetry morning at 5.50am.
Swimmers and poets gathered together to watch the sun rise, have a dip, and listen to poems read in all languages, both original and not.
Representatives from Poetry Ireland, Scríobh Arís, the local poetry group in Greystones, and Dave and Steve Flynn from the Happy Pear, led the charge this morning.
Frances Browner, a local poet in Greystones, a member of Scríobh Arís, and key in the organisation of the event, said the event has been going for four years now.
She said: "Initially it was just let's give them all a stone with some poetry on it when they go into the sea, and then people started spontaneously reading poetry when they came out".
It has now become a staple in the Poetry Day Calendar.
Deirdre McKernan Crosby is also a member of Scríobh Aris, which she joined through the Greystones Cancer Support group, and said: "I was writing [poetry] before I knew it and was successfully published early on in my journey."
She said poetry has been "very cathartic" for her.
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Also in attendance was Poetry Ireland's Poet in Residence, Anne Tannam. This is the last official event of her tenure.
She told RTÉ's Morning Ireland about the importance of the day and celebrating poetry.
"It is one day that we can all, for a moment stop, and really appreciate the incredible diversity of voices across the whole island of Ireland. So, its a really really special day where everybody can stop and share or read or write a bit of poetry and really celebrate our love of language."
There are a wide range of other events happening across the day, all around the country, including creative writing and poetry workshops, spoken word events, pop-up poetry performances, as well as online events and a podcast dedicated to poetry.
As part of this year's celebration Poetry Ireland has also selected 12 poems to be showcased.
They will be displayed across Iarnród Eireann's rail network, as well as in libraries nationally. Some of the poets chosen include, Lorna Shaughnessy, Rosamund Taylor, Othuke Umukoro, and Alan Titley.
Another feature of this year's festival is a series of special poetry readings by well-known Irish voices such as Manchán Magan, writer and broadcaster, Joe Duffy, RTÉ radio host, and Michael Darragh MacAuley, All-Ireland Gaelic Football Champion.
