{"id":153,"date":"2014-07-19T13:01:06","date_gmt":"2014-07-19T13:01:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/?p=153"},"modified":"2014-08-15T05:28:52","modified_gmt":"2014-08-15T05:28:52","slug":"poets-principles-and-personalities-the-biggins-of-the-poetry-world-spouts-forth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/poets-principles-and-personalities-the-biggins-of-the-poetry-world-spouts-forth\/","title":{"rendered":"Poets, Principles and Personalities – The Biggins of the Poetry World Spouts Forth"},"content":{"rendered":"

The principled “writer” Kevin Higgins, well, he is at it again. Readers of these pages will remember the “principled” campaign he ran to cause a pro life left winger (me!) to not run for the AAA in Offaly.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I can hear you yawning. So am I!<\/strong><\/p>\n

His latest posting triumphalist akin to the Orange Order gloating about protesting at a blocked parade -and about as anti Catholic in nature and about as pleasant in tone – about his campaign and the AAA running scared in the face of his bullying tactic (of which he accuses far left parties including the Socialist Workers Party of being guilty of).<\/p>\n

Apperantly I am \u00c2 the worst poet in Ireland<\/a>, in a highly original smear (not!!!), I’m the McGonagall of Offaly. Well, as I wrote in a verse on the Bard of Dundee<\/a>, he is remembered when a lot of us are forgotten, including thankfully, the Egregius Idiot of Galway<\/a>.<\/p>\n

That is what he is. Every town has one!<\/strong><\/p>\n

Id have ignored his attention seeking blog post, only to set a few records straight<\/strong><\/em>.<\/p>\n

While I may not agree with their positions on the choice \/ life issue, the campaigners who assisted Higgins in the pressure to which the AAA capitulated did so out of what they genuinly believe, be they right, or as I contend, be they wrong.<\/p>\n

Higgins however is different.<\/em><\/p>\n

In the wake of the tragic Savita case<\/a>, he and I debated on various venues throughout Facebook and similar sites on the issue. And then, while not compomising on his position, he was rspectful enough to respect others opinions, while arguing his, and well enough at that. I have no reason to make him look bad to make myself look good, he’s not a bad chap as such, just a slave to his own ego, as you will see below.<\/p>\n

Initially there was no problem, and no campaign, as the news broke of the Offaly AAA cadidature. Abortion was not an issue for the AAA as a movement – it being an alliance – being a broad church, and containing both positions within its ranks.<\/p>\n

Another Galway writer Fred Johnstone of the Western Writers Centre has been having trouble with our friend Biggins, sorry, Higgins, due to a dispute from when they worked together down in F\u00c3\uf181S.<\/p>\n

Higgins alleges bullying on Johnstones behalf, and in a horrific lapse of good judgement, even Clare Daly wasted valuable D\u00c3\u00a1il time asking a question of the minister about how Johnstone – though not mentioned by name – could “abuse” state resources making specified posts about our friend Mr Higgins.<\/p>\n

Now, Clare Daly I respect so much as to immediately forgive her lapse in judgement, she is too loyal to her friends, has too much spine for her own good, which has led her into trouble over standing by Wallace, and the Airport Car Parking fiasco among others. She is only human, and a damn decent one at that, though on the life issue, Id not 3 agree with her, me being pro life.<\/p>\n

But that’s not the crux of this sorry mess, just a sliver of the background.<\/p>\n

Fred Johnstone made a post about how he was not listed or mentioned on C\u00c3\u00bairt Festival literature, and either in that post or in another one, he made the assertion that Biggins night “Over the Edge” was a rip off of sorts of his “On the Edge” nights that he used to run.<\/p>\n

Johnstone got shafted from the C\u00c3\u00bairt festival he started in a similar fashion to what is happening to Gene Barry in Fermoy<\/a>, bar in Fermoy they are starting a rival gig, with the town now having two, Barry keeping the running of the Fermoy International Poetry Festival.<\/p>\n

Whether Higgins was directly behind that or is by accident one of the current organizers, I’m not sure, its between the two of them, and the truth is possibly between the two positions, though Id believe more of Johnstone than Biggins.<\/p>\n

Three Little Words<\/strong><\/p>\n

I shared the post – as you do, with the fateful three little words of “Quills at dawn”<\/em>, meaning its a terror how writers fueds disrupt what should be a fantastic Irish arts scene. Johnstone – by reputation the more belligenrant of the two – passed no remarks…. Higgins sent me a message on Facebook:<\/p>\n

\"Kevin
Kevin Higgins Facebook Message<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

You can see my reply, and THEN, and only then, did he rganise the campaign, which I satired in my verse, also called “Quills at Dawn<\/a>“.<\/p>\n

The rest is a sad and sorry history for the Irish left in general, and the AAA in particular, who cant stand up to bullys on their own side, and show themselves as a movement – not taking from the proven skills of Joe Higgins, Paul Murphy or Ruth Coppinger in particular – a poor match for real politicians from the aligned ranks of Fianna F\u00c3\u00a1il, Fine Gael and the Labour Party.<\/p>\n

So here we see the real motivation of Higgins, not a principled pro choicer, but an egotist with a grudge against Fred Johnstone to such a degree he would stoop so low as to that. Sad case really.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

All went quiet apart from a salvo of skits of each other (one probably as sad as the next!!!), but then, out of the blue, I got an EMAIL…<\/p>\n

\"How
How excited I was to get this out of the blue email from Kevin Higgins, and find hes now against me after all to spite my pro life views!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Unfortunately I cant find the attachment to which he refers in the original email, it seems to have been deleted.<\/p>\n

However, I replied, as did he to my reply…<\/p>\n

\"Back
Back chatting again, the fued seems to have cooled a tad, how cute!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Now, the\u00c2 item in particular intrest here is Claire Dalys D\u00c3\u00a1il question<\/a> about a personal spat between two Galway poets, the writers equivalent of a bar room brawl being brought to the national stage, and in the face of all our crises, I dont think Enda Kenny will be able to solve this one, nor would the AAA, SF and other anti austerity parties have a position on it as its not a national issue.<\/p>\n

Our new found love for each other finished with this exchange of emails:<\/p>\n

\"The
The passion just aint there anymore!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

So there you have it, the twin motivation of trying to be a knight in shining armour for his missus – how Romantic!!!! and to get the knife into Johnstone led to the campaign against the AAA and I – not a principled status that only pro choicers should be accepted as left wing.<\/p>\n

An Egregious Idiot<\/a> indeed!<\/p>\n

I wonder does he write these emails while paid for by the state in his capacity in Galway City Library, or the couses he runs with the old people (imagine having a love for poetry having being reared with the likes of Pauric Colum, Samuel Fergusson, William Wordsworth and Robert Burns as your diet of literature, and in your old age being served the tripe of Kevin Biggins! What old folk deserve that cruelty?) or his function in that college he teaches in or taught in?<\/p>\n

I wonder would Clare Daly ask a D\u00c3\u00a1il question about it if I asked her to?<\/strong>“,”Poets, Principles and Personalities – The Biggins of the Poetry World Spouts Forth”,,”publish”,”open”,”open”,,”poets-principles-and-personalities-the-biggins-of-the-poetry-world-spouts-forth”,,,”2014-07-19 14:04:54″,”2014-07-19 14:04:54″,,”0″,”http:\/\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/?p=3412″,”0″,”post”,,”0″<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The principled “writer” Kevin Higgins, well, he is at it again. Readers of these pages will remember the “principled” campaign he ran to cause a pro life left winger (me!) to not run for the AAA in Offaly. I can hear you yawning. So am I! His latest posting triumphalist …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[234,194],"tags":[2357,431,237],"class_list":["post-153","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-abortion","category-blog","tag-abortion","tag-abortion-debate","tag-kevin-higgins","column","twocol"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7EI4f-2t","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":358,"url":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/quills-at-dawn-poets-piques-and-politics\/","url_meta":{"origin":153,"position":0},"title":"Quills at Dawn – Poets Piques and Politics","author":"Tom\u00e1s \u00d3 C\u00e1rthaigh","date":"14th April 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Poets and their piques when pickled in politics Makes a soup sour to the taste Explosions of emotions cause rages on pages As movements are torn to waste. Humour risque not understood today As being what it is - tongue in cheek... Freedom of expression under political correctness repression Allegations\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Abortion"","block_context":{"text":"Abortion","link":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/category\/abortion\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Kevin Higgins is a keyboard warrior - not even his poetry night is origional, a rip of of the Western Writers Centres \"On The Edge\"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/keyboard-warrior.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/keyboard-warrior.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/keyboard-warrior.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":158,"url":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/egregious-idiot\/","url_meta":{"origin":153,"position":1},"title":"Egregious Idiot","author":"Tom\u00e1s \u00d3 C\u00e1rthaigh","date":"21st June 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Back then David Conway used to regularly bait the Labour councillors at council meetings by making mention of \"the egregious Mr Higgins\". Kevin Higgins talking about the Conservative Deputy Leader of Enfield Council back in the early 1990s From the flock he stands out, grazing alone, Walks his own path,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Abortion"","block_context":{"text":"Abortion","link":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/category\/abortion\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":177,"url":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/ethics-official-images-artists-egos-and-the-funding-issue\/","url_meta":{"origin":153,"position":2},"title":"Ethics, Official Images, Artists Ego’s and the Funding Issue","author":"Tom\u00e1s \u00d3 C\u00e1rthaigh","date":"9th July 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Writers often make their living from festival readings, and sales of their books at events. To gain such access to earn such a living, it begs the question, should an artist compromise the format of their work, to appease the ideal of those who provide the funding? To a purist\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blog"","block_context":{"text":"Blog","link":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/category\/blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"From Cuirt in Galway, to the International Poetry Festival in Fermoy, official funding and involving officials seems to court trouble, feuds and strife!","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/Artists-Writers-and-their-Temperments.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/Artists-Writers-and-their-Temperments.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/Artists-Writers-and-their-Temperments.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/Artists-Writers-and-their-Temperments.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/Artists-Writers-and-their-Temperments.jpg?resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3929,"url":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/reading-the-works-of-the-poets-higgins\/","url_meta":{"origin":153,"position":3},"title":"Reading the works of the Poets Higgins","author":"Tom\u00e1s \u00d3 C\u00e1rthaigh","date":"8th September 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"I have recently become the happy owner of the book on Cloncoose poet Pat Higgins, a folk poet of the time when people wrote poetry for the joy of it as opposed to making a career out of it or a reputation, with them often being known as a poet,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blog"","block_context":{"text":"Blog","link":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/category\/blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3454,"url":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/the-new-politics-much-like-the-old-politics-getting-blocked-on-facebook-by-ken-smollen-blog\/","url_meta":{"origin":153,"position":4},"title":"The New Politics – much like the old politics – Getting blocked on Facebook by Ken Smollen – Blog","author":"Tom\u00e1s \u00d3 C\u00e1rthaigh","date":"4th January 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"The homeless crisis is the issue of the day, with occupations in Dublin, and all sorts of groups offering all sorts of alternatives. One quite active group of late are the Offaly based Irish Democratic Party. Offaly is part of the former Laois - Offaly, home of the Oliver J.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Austerity"","block_context":{"text":"Austerity","link":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/category\/austerity\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Ken Smollen of the Irish Democratic Party","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/Ken-Smollen-of-the-Irish-Democratic-Party-300x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":328,"url":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/dignified-silence\/","url_meta":{"origin":153,"position":5},"title":"Dignified Silence","author":"Tom\u00e1s \u00d3 C\u00e1rthaigh","date":"18th August 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Dignified silence on the broad issue of abortion is not something that I am known for, has led to accusations of sexism and the usual blah blah blah from the pro choice brigade. Folk who are often well meaning, but are wide of the mark on the implications for free\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Abortion"","block_context":{"text":"Abortion","link":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/category\/abortion\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/153","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=153"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/153\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":155,"href":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/153\/revisions\/155"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=153"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=153"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=153"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}