Slimming for the Beach

I’ve just read on Pat Boran’s new Dedalus Press blog that Peter Kavanagh, brother of the poet Patrick Kavanagh, died yes­ter­day in New York. May he rest in peace.

I quote from Pat:

His death will no doubt revi­talise the dis­cus­sion and debate which sur­rounds not so much his rela­tion­ship to his famous poet brother, but his rela­tion­ship to so many oth­ers of Patrick’s liv­ing friends and admirers.

RTÉ reports that Peter Kavanagh will most likely be buried in Inniskeen, his native place and where Patrick is buried.

Kather­ine Kavanagh is also buried there, with her hus­band Patrick, but her rest­ing place was des­e­crated by a per­son or per­sons unknown, as I wit­nessed with Mac­Dara Woods when we were in Iniskeen, and when the Pres­i­dent of Ire­land made a speech over the grave to mark Kavanagh’s cen­te­nary in Novem­ber 2004.

See Mac­Dara Woods’ pow­er­ful Remem­ber­ing Kavanagh speech at the Kavanagh seat on the Grand Canal, 17th March 2005, which in part reads:

The same grave that has been des­e­crated, the head­stone with Katherine’s name on it bro­ken up and thrown in a field. Any and all record of Kather­ine excised from the area. The rear­rang­ing of the grave and sur­round to make it appear that Kavanagh alone is buried there.

I haven’t been back to Inniskeen since then, so I don’t know if amends have been made, but if not per­haps this out­rage will come to pub­lic notice amidst the pub­lic­ity sur­round­ing Peter Kavanagh’s funeral.

Kather­ine Kavanagh also deserves to rest in peace.