John McGrath is a poet, writer and publisher who lives in North Kerry with his wife Kate. He is a founder-member of the Seanchaí Writers’ Group in Listowel and was a member of the Listowel Writers’ Week committee for 15 years. He is co-founder and current Chairperson of The Ballydonoghue Bardic Festival. His first poetry collection, Blue Sky Day, was published by Moybella Press in 2007. His second, Closing the Circle, was published in 2015. John’s work has previously been included in The Ballydonoghue Parish Magazine, Still in The Dreaming, The Malpais Review Santa Fe, and elsewhere. Also online in The First Cut. His latest collection, After Closing, appeared in November 2021.

Selected poetry from his many compositions also appear in this International Art and Literary eZine "Pencil Stubs Online," where one poem "Cullatinny" in the July 2023 issue shows a photo of the long-abandoned home there. The author stated, "Cullatinny is one of my oldest poems, written well over 30 years ago! Here’s a picture – my birthplace and one of the last houses in the village to be closed up."