Year of Yeats

This item appears on page 68 of the March 2015 issue.

Ireland is celebrating poet William Butler Yeats in 2015, the 150th anniversary of his birth.

The celebrations center on the town of Sligo, where Yeats spent his formative years. In Hargadon, one of Sligo’s oldest pubs, a poem of Yeats will be read at 1 p.m. every day, as well as at 6 p.m. on Sunday, in 2015. Sligo will also commemorate Yeats’ birthday, June 13, with a 4-day festival, June 11-14, which will include poetry, drama, music and crafts.

Other events include showings of films about Yeats dating back to the 1920s and backstage tours of the Abbey Theatre, cofounded by Yeats. Visit www.yeats2015.com.