O Searcaigh confronted by student at recital
Friday November 13 2009
A rare public appearance by controversial Irish language poet Cathal O Searcaigh turned into a farce last night when he was confronted as he tried to leave a theatre.
O Searcaigh had already come under a brief, angry verbal attack in an NUI Galway lecture hall, but when he finished his recital he was confronted by a post-grad student who then had to be removed.
The Donegal native was in the campus last night as a guest of the NUI Galway Literary and Debating Society to recite poetry and prose from his own collection.
After O Searchaigh had spoken for just over an hour, a male post-graduate student stood up and verbally attacked him over his relationship with teenage boys in Nepal.
At the end of his recital, the man made his way towards the poet and confronted him.
O Searcaigh became notorious after RTE aired 'Fairytale of Kathmandu' in March 2008, in which he appeared to have inappropriate relationships with Nepalese teenage boys. He has since admitted to having sexual relationships with local men but said there was never any coercion involved.
- Colin Bartley
Irish Independent
