The poem, Fifteen Contacts, composed by Macdara Woods in response to Clare Island, arising out of time he spent there, serves to complement the photographs taken by both Jim Vaughan and the Islanders.

Macdara Woods was born in Dublin in 1942. He has published sixteen books, thirteen of them poetry, translated from a number of languages, edited The Kilkenny Anthology in 1991, and in 2006, Present Tense: Poems and Photographs from Co Mayo, with Jim Vaughan.

 
A founder editor of Cyphers, he has traveled widely, but now lives mostly in Dublin, and in Umbria when he can. He is married to the poet Eiléan Ní Chuilleanáin, they have one grown up son, Niall a musician.

His most recent collection is Artichoke Wine, published by Dedalus Press, 2006. He is a member of Aosdána, the Irish Arts Council's affiliation recognizing outstanding contribution to the arts in Ireland.
 
Download a PDF of Fifteen Contact, by Macdara Woods.