Padraic Fiacc was born in Belfast in the mid-1920s and migrated with his family to New York in search of a less violent society - unfortunately they found themselves in the notorious Hell's Kitchen area where social problems were rife and gang warfare raged. Coming back to Belfast later in his life, Fiacc recognised many of these social problems and was able to write about them with an outsider's eye. His straightforward language and spare, stark style marked him out from the more lyrical poets writing in the great Irish tradition, and for decades he has been cold-shouldered by the literary establishment. Brian Patten tells the story, illustrated with some of Fiacc's most poignant and sometimes disturbing poems.

The reader is Jonjo O'Neill.

Produced by Christine Hall. Show less