07/10/2024
It was with great sadness that Manchester Irish Writers learned of the death of one of their members, Stella-Marie Hinchcliffe. RIP.
Stella joined the group in the late nineties and in later years she moved away from Manchester but still kept in touch. We were pleased to hear of her return to Prestwich again and we were greatly honoured to have her in attendance at the launch of ‘Life and Soul’ at the end of May, when we celebrated our 30th anniversary.
During her time with us she made an outstanding contribution both with her writing and in a supportive role where spent her generous time encouraging other writers and co-editing two publications.
We were never sure where Stella called home as her biography in the publications always stated that she lived somewhere between poetry and the pages of her first novel.
She was always proud of her Irish ancestry and her Dublin born grandfather. Her love of writing started in childhood and remained with her throughout life. She studied Art and was awarded a degree in Graphic Design. She taught creative writing and music and was twice winner of the Manchester Library Literary Prize. She was a founder member of ‘Never Bury Poetry’ prior to joining the Manchester Irish Writers.
Following Stella’s death, I revisited her poetry and stories and once again I was enveloped in the same enjoyment and stimulation that I experienced when she first shared them. Her artistic talents are evident in her vivid imagery, her creative awareness of experience, relationships and feelings which she seamlessly conveys in a choice and arrangement of strong, interesting words where her language paints a stimulating picture into which one is immediately and emotively drawn.
I have included below one of her poems; 'Change of Place' from the ‘Retting Dam’ collection which we published in 2001 and which she co-edited. She actually chose the title for that collection from one of my poems, of that name, as she imagined the book as a pool holding many interesting pieces of writing below its surface, into which one could dip and retrieve some wonderful gems from the treasury of the Manchester Irish Writers.
Stella will be sadly missed by all her fellow writers, but we will have touching memories of her and her great legacy of creative work will remain with us in our collections to revisit and enjoy.
Stella’s funeral and celebration of life will be held at St Margaret’s Church, Bury Old Road, Prestwich on Thursday 10th October at 10.30 am. The family have invited all her friends to join them there and suggest that they wear bright clothes and bring along any memories or writings that they my wish to share.
The Manchester Irish Writers offer their sincere condolences to Stella’s husband, Robert, and all the family.
Ar dheis Dé go raibh a hanam.
Change of Place
I knew that it had ended
the day we drove back,
knew instinctively.
An unmistakeable chill lingered,
airless, as the sun climbed the outhouse
roof, in a deep blue flax of sky which
didn’t wait for the storm to break. Instead
of gardening I wandered the farm; a
mare had birthed in one of the barns,
there had been difficulty. Now she
slept, as her foal pressed against
her breathless silence.
Soon would be parting, a reason,
you may think, for me to know,
sooner or later that I should leave.
Sunflowers, soldier tall, withered
in the fields, dying as they stood;
they told me that’s how they did things here:
you had to wait for death before a harvest.
Stella-Marie Hinchcliffe.
The picture below was taken in 2001 at the official launch of the 'The Retting Dam' by Polly Devlin. OBE, joined here with the group members including Stella who is first right in the front row.
Posted by Rose Morris.
Irish World Heritage Centre Kevin McMahon Martha Ashwell Consulate General of Ireland, Manchester Alrene Hughes St Margaret Prestwich Mary Mc Gonaglejohnson
