Having garnered ample support from a crowdfunding initiative on GoFundMe, one of Ireland’s prominent poetry publishers, Salmon Publishing, is relocating their base to a historic pub situated in North Clare this weekend. This move comes after they successfully raised a significant number of euros last year, rescuing the publisher from a possible close-down.
Salmon Publishing’s founder and director, Jessie Lendennie, expressed her extreme gratitude towards those who contributed towards their cause. She claims this act of kindness is evidence of the embedded support for arts within Irish society.
Managed by Lendennie for over four decades, Salmon Publishing has published over 700 works since the 1980s. The company accommodated names such as Elaine Feeney, Eithne Hand, Fred Johnston, Julian Gough, Gerald Dawe, Rita Ann Higgins, and Michael D Higgins, the President of Ireland.
In 2012, Lendennie opened The Salmon Bookshop & Literary Centre in Enistymon which swiftly grew to become both a dynamic cultural centre for the local people and a location for writing workshops, residencies and events.
Faced with eviction from her previous premises, as the owners had plans to repurpose the space, Lendennie commenced the GoFundMe campaign with the goal of procuring a permanent residence for the centre, last September.
Establishing a crowdfunding campaign wasn’t the easiest of choices, as Lendennie confessed earlier this week, but it was vital due to the lack of required funds to both purchase and refurbish the new place.
On the launch of the campaign, they received overwhelming monetary support. “We could easily have lost our important location in North Clare without this immense support,” Lendennie acknowledged. She hinted that this public backing signifies that in an era where materialistic pursuits dominate, poetry is still valued.
The €60,000 funds collected were enough to finance the cost of moving and refurbishing their new building, which is a former pub dating back to 1870. “Whilst we’ve managed to retain the 19th-century theme, we do not have a bar,” she added, alluding to the new home’s previous function.
Rather than beer, verses will now be the main offer of the erstwhile Dalys pub. This transformation means everything to Ms Lendennie and her tight-knit team which includes Siobhán Hutson and Eleanor Cummins. [This week’s poem: Surfin’ by Jessie Lendennie]
The perks of this change are monumental. Being owners of the property allows Salmon to concentrate on forthcoming tasks without the incessant worry of lease renewal,” she articulated.
“We’re able to organise year-long events and establish a hub for not only our book releases, but also for others’—thereby solidifying Ennistymon’s place in the literary sphere. Our prior book store and literary centre amassed an outstanding reputation within its decade-plus one-year existence, and all of that prestige, and even more, will now be housed within our very own premise,” she further added.