Canal Bench, Dublin

Patrick Kavanagh (Pádraig Caomhánach in Irish) (21 October 1904 – 30 November 1967) was amuch loved Irish poet and novelist. Kavanagh began writing poetry at a very young age and began submitting poems to local and national newspapers. he was first published in 1928 in the Dundalk Democrat and the Irish Independent.

Regarded as one of the foremost poets of the 20th century, his best known works include the novel Tarry Flynn and the poems Raglan Road and The Great Hunger. His work can best be categorised as accounts of Irish life and achieved a universal appeal through reference to commonplace.

Patrick Kavanagh is commemorated by a statue by Dublin's Grand Canal, inspired by the following lines from his poem "Lines written on a Seat on the Grand Canal, Dublin":
" O commemorate me where there is water,
canal water preferably,
so stilly greeny at the heart of summer.
Brother commemorate me thus beautifully."