Lives of the Saints by Mícheál McCann

“These accounts I peel over night after night, what can
they tell me? Someone lived. They tried to be good.”

Ahead of the Belfast Book Festival 2026, The Crescent is offering a taste of Festival events in a new series called Bookmarks. Join us to launch Lives of the Saints, the second collection of poems from poet Mícheál McCann.

What does it take to be a saint? And who gets to decide? Lives of the Saints brings canonical saints into the realm of ordinary people – Saint Francis drifts during a spin class, Saint Giles just wants to be left alone, Saint Bridget snoozes during Mass – to trouble the simplistic separation between saints and so-called ordinary people.

A youth worker rubs shoulders with Saint Teresa of Avila; an A&E doctor shoots the breeze with Saint Sebastian…

This event will be launched by Louise Nealon and violinist Zuzanna Edmonds. The event will be followed by a book signing. Lives of the Saints will be available to purchase on the night from No Alibis Bookshop.

Praise for Mícheál McCann:

[Mícheál McCann] certainly opens new windows in Irish poetry, while also inviting us inside its various rooms in all their depth and complexity. Julie Morrissey

Louise Glück with added wryness. A Patrick Kavanagh who’s done his homework on the ratty tables of the Enterprise train route, but who’s adept as reading spirit-shocking wonder into the black hills, rushes and stubbles. Tim MacGabhann

Mícheál McCann is a poet from Derry City. He has published two pamphlets of poems, and most recently a collection, Devotion, with The Gallery Press in 2024. Devotion was Highly Commended in the Forward Prizes for Poetry 2024 and named a book of the year by RTÉ and The Irish Times. He is a poetry critic for The Irish Times, and he lives and works as a secondary school teacher in Belfast.

Save the Date: Book lovers are invited to save the date for The Crescent's Belfast Book Festival which will run from 4–11 June 2026. The full programme and tickets will be announced in April 2026, with all events offered on a pay-what-you-decide basis.