An Evening of Poetry & Storytelling with former pupil - Jim McElroy

First published in 2018, Jim’s poetry has been recognised by a series of major awards that include the Seamus Heaney Award for New Writing, the Francis Ledwidge Poetry Award, the Mairtín Crawford Poetry Award, the Poetry Business International Book and Pamphlet Competition, selection for Poetry Ireland’s Introductions series and prize winner at the Bridport Poetry Awards and the National Poetry Competition. The recipient of two Individual Artist Awards from Arts Council NI, his poetry has been featured on both the BBC and RTE and in 2023 his poem Unmaking His Chair was nominated for Irish Poem of The Year.

His award-winning chapbook, We Are The Weather, is published by Smith|Doorstop; a Portuguese edition, O Clima Somos Nós, was launched at the Irish ambassador’s residence in Lisbon in 2025.

School Principal, Mrs Oonagh McNally said, ‘Jim wrote his first poem as a tribute to Dechomet Primary school. We’re delighted to be welcoming him back and look forward to hearing Jim's reflections on his years at the school, and to the story of his journey from that first poem to internationally recognised poet.’

Tickets are free of charge. On the night voluntary donations can be made to SMART (NI), a charity founded following the untimely death of Jim’s nephew and former school pupil, Stephen McElroy. With the generous support of the local community, SMART (NI) has funded the construction of Stephen’s Green - a sports pitch built for use by the pupils at Dechomet Primary, and the wider community.