Poet and UCC lecturer Ailbhe Ní Ghearbhuigh featured on BBC’s In The Studio

29 Jun 2026

• Award-winning poet and UCC lecturer in Modern Irish Ailbhe Ní Ghearbhuigh featured on BBC World Service's In the Studio.
• Celebrated Irish poet explores creative process, mythology, and motherhood.

Ailbhe Ní Ghearbhuigh, one of Ireland’s most celebrated contemporary poets and senior lecturer in Modern Irish in University College Cork, will feature in BBC’s acclaimed arts series In the Studio on Tuesday, 30 June.

From Kitchen Table to the Underworld: The Poetry of Ailbhe Ní Ghearbhuigh offers a rare insight into the creative process of the award-winning Irish-language poet as she composes a new work, tracing its journey from the first notes written in Cork to its first public reading.

Writing exclusively in Irish, Ailbhe Ní Ghearbhuigh is recognised as one of the most distinctive literary voices of her generation. Her work is deeply rooted in the Irish-language literary tradition while engaging with contemporary themes in fresh and original ways.

The programme centres on a new poetic triptych inspired by Ailbhe's nine-year-old daughter's fascination with Greek mythology. Through intimate audio diaries recorded during the writing process and conversations captured in Cork, listeners are invited into the poet's creative world as she reflects on childhood imagination, motherhood and the craft of writing.

The documentary also explores the art of literary translation through conversations with Ailbhe’s husband, acclaimed poet Billy Ramsell, whose English translations of Ailbhe's work have introduced her poetry to international audiences. As he translates her new poem, Ramsell offers a fascinating perspective on how poetry transforms as it moves between languages, revealing both the possibilities and complexities of translation.

Ailbhe Ní Ghearbhuigh's poetry has been translated into English, French, Spanish, German, Greek, Macedonian, Czech and Galician, reaching readers far beyond Ireland while remaining firmly anchored in the Irish language.

Reflecting on the recording process, Ailbhe Ní Ghearbhuigh, UCC School of Irish Language Learning, said: “It was a joy and an honour to participate in this documentary for the BBC World Service. I really appreciated the opportunity to reflect on my own creative process and on creativity in general. I’m especially grateful to the producer, Dualtagh Herr, for being such a capable and supportive guide as we made the documentary. Credit is due, too, to my husband, Billy Ramsell, who lends his own poetic flair to the documentary through translation, and to our daughters for supplying constant inspiration!”

In The Studio: From Kitchen Table to the Underworld: The Poetry of Ailbhe Ní Ghearbhuigh will air on BBC World Service on Tuesday 30 June at 13.30 BST.