Can AI Write a Poem in Irish? Inside a Century-Old Poetry Court in Cork
Artificial intelligence is everywhere in 2025. Now a Cork Gaeltacht institution is asking a sharper question: could AI compose poetry - in Irish - with wit and sensitivity?
That test will play out at Dáimh Scoil Mhúscraí, a long-standing poetry court meeting this Sunday, 28 December 2025, in Áras Éamon Mac Suibhne, Cúil Aodha.
What is a Dáimh Scoil?
A Dáimh Scoil is a poetry court: poets gather, share the work they've written over the year, and the room listens. No judging. No prizes. Just laughter, applause, and space for laments when they're needed.
The tradition reaches back to the days when the file (poet) held rank at the court of the Rí. Locally, it was re-established in 1925 by three friends - Pádraig Ó Cruadhlaoich, Dómhnall Ó Ceocháin, and Pádraig Mac Suibhne - to welcome poets from across Múscraí, a Gaeltacht barony in County Cork. Earlier, a poetry court run by the O'Herlihy family met at Tigh na Cille near St. Gobnait's Cemetery in Baile Mhúirne; Aogán Ó Rathaille is said to have visited around 1700.
The format hasn't changed much in a century. The Uachtarán opens with a verse invitation; others answer in verse. This year, Seán Óg Ó Duinnín, a local secondary school headmaster and co-creator of two successful musicals, takes that role, following a family line of regular contributors.
A tradition that still creates hits
Dáimh Scoil Mhúscraí didn't just preserve poetry - it helped it travel. In the 1940s, Dómhnall Ó Mulláin first sang "An Poc ar Buile" at the gathering. About twenty years later, Seán Ó Sé and composer Seán Ó Riada recorded it, and the song climbed the Irish charts. Its chorus still lifts late-night sessions, and Ó Sé's nickname "An Pocar" stuck.
Other songs often heard in schools - "Táimse agus Máire," "Scoil Bharr d'ínse," "Na Táilliúirí," and more - were penned by Ó Mulláin and local poets for the Dáimh Scoil. Poets like Pádraig Ó Cruadhlaoich, Pádraig Mac Suibhne, and Proinsías Ó Ceallaigh earned prizes at An tOireachtas, and writers such as Peadar Ó Liatháin and Séamus Ó Céilleachair appeared on the Irish secondary-school syllabus.
At its peak in the 1940s-1960s, hundreds traveled to attend. Life had fewer distractions. People had time to wrestle with meter, rhyme, and structure - and it showed. The gathering even kept a tradition of "licensing" poets who proved consistent skill. You don't need a license to read, then or now; the point was craft.
The 2025 question: "Can AI write my poem?"
Each year, the cléireach poses a ceist to spark new work. Past prompts tackled the 1970s oil crisis, the Celtic Tiger, the rise of Donald Trump in 2016, and, last year, the assault on Gaza. This year's question: can AI, trained on what's been written, compose a poem in Irish? Would listeners hear the difference?
From this year's ceist (as Gaeilge):
Ag suí anseo cráite ag iarraidh ceist a scríobh,
Cad a fhéadfaidh mé a shlánú ó ghorta véarsaí?
An bhfuil uirlis nó app a thabharfaidh mé slán
Nó an féidir gur AI a scríobhfaidh mo dhán?
Machine translation:
Sitting here, struggling to write a question,
What can save me from a verse famine?
Is there a tool or app that will save me?
Or can AI write my poem?
The translation is fine as text - less so as poetry. Which is exactly the point. Can a model carry musicality, dialect, and intent under pressure?
Practical takeaways for writers testing AI in verse
- Set form first. Specify meter, rhyme scheme, line count, and a sample stanza. Constraints shape better output than open prompts.
- Feed a mini-lexicon. Include dialect, place names, idioms, and preferred metaphors to avoid generic phrasing.
- Use AI for scaffolding, not voice. Let it propose rhyme options, synonyms, or variations. You decide tone and cut weak lines.
- Iterate with rules. Ask the model to scan for syllable counts, internal rhyme, and alliteration. Then read it aloud and fix by ear.
- Beware translation flattening. Machine translation often loses music. Draft in Irish if possible; if not, back-translate and rework.
- Build a corpus. Paste 3-5 of your own poems as style examples. Ask for "revision in this style" rather than a fresh draft.
- Run a "spot-the-bot" test. Share a stanza without context. If readers call it clever but thin, revisit imagery and specificity.
- Credit and rights. Keep a record of prompts and edits. If collaboration matters to your audience, say so.
If you want structured workflows and prompt patterns for creative work, explore our prompt engineering resources.
Attend or listen in
The gathering takes place Sunday afternoon, 28 December 2025, at Áras Éamon Mac Suibhne in Cúil Aodha. Seán Óg Ó Duinnín serves as Uachtarán, opening with a verse invitation that others will answer - as they have for generations.
If you can't make it, the proceedings will be broadcast on RTÉ Ráidió na Gaeltachta early in the New Year.
AI can arrange syllables. Community makes poetry. The Dáimh Scoil keeps that balance honest.
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