The Forbidden City

I was born in 1969 in Galway, Ireland. I come from a family of 6 people, being the eldest of 4 children. My father is Australian, and my mother is Irish. We emigrated to Australian in 1987 due to my father wanting to return home. We moved to Newcastle in New South Wales before finally settling in Launceston, Tasmania 6 months later.

My hobbies include science, music, photography and architecture. I'm always looking at broadening my experiences and developing new skills in these areas. I started writing poetry in 2022 as part of my isolation after having contracted COVID. I didn't have much that I could do, and isolating meant I couldn't go out and practice photography. I loved reading poetry throughout my life and decided I would try my hand at writing some to pass the time at home.

Some of my greatest inspirations have been poets such as Lord Byron, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Percy Bysshe Shelley and William Butler Yeats. I find myself gravitating to the style of romantic and modern poetry. My first book, The Illuminated Man was published on the 21/02/2025 by Austin Macauley publishing. I am currently refining a second book titled The Forbidden City with aims to get that published next. My next aim, after having these works published, is to begin entering my works into publications and competitions to have my work recognised and gain exposure for my poetry.