Angela Graham considers progress in the last two years. In December 2020, in a blog I wrote for the Irish Literary Society, I asserted that in contemporary creative writing (that is, in the general run of mainstream publications) Ulster-Scots was all but invisible, A language without a lively, multi-genre, modern literary and cultural presence is one that is struggling. The …
Under This Slab / Faoi Lár na Lice seo
Presented below is the latest in the series of translations by ILS member Brian O’Connor of the great Irish poet of the late 17th and early 18th century, Aodhagán Ó Rathaille (c.1670–1726). O’Connor’s earlier translations for us from Ó Rathaille are also available on the ILS blog. For those without Irish it is worth reading the original to appreciate the complexity of …
On Kinsella’s The Dual Tradition
by BERNARD O’DONOGHUE 1986 was a dramatic year in the history of anthologies of Irish poetry in English. There were several well-regarded anthologies already, by Donagh MacDonagh and Lennox Robinson (Oxford), by Derek Mahon and Peter Fallon (Pan), by John Montague (Faber) and Brendan Kennelly (Penguin). But two of these four publishers produced new anthologies in 1986, each of them …
Gile na Gile
Presented below is the latest in the series of translations by ILS member Brian O’Connor of the great Irish poet of the late 17th and early 18th century, Aodhagán Ó Rathaille (c.1670–1726). O’Connor’s earlier translations for us from Ó Rathaille are also available on the ILS blog. Found in a 1725 manuscript, Gile na Gile (literally “Brightness of Brightness”) is one of …
Tonn Toime - new translation from Ó Rathaille
The Wave of Toime is the latest in a series of translations for the ILS by Brian O’Connor of the great Irish poet of the late 17th and early 18th century, Aodhagán Ó Rathaille (c.1670–1726). ‘Tonn Toime’ describes the disturbed sleep of the poet and his appeal to the chieftains of the past for respite and a return to the …
Cabhair ni Ghoirfead, a new translation.
A new translation is presented here of ‘Cabhair ni Ghoirfead’ (Poem XXI) by the great Irish poet of the late 17th and early 18th century Aodhagán Ó Rathaille. Patrick Dinneen, lexicographer and translator of Ó Rathaille, considered it the pinnacle of his work. The verse dates from late in the poet’s life (c.1670–1726) and is included in the excellent Dánta Aodhagáin …
Writing Today in Ulster Scots
By ANGELA GRAHAM Why is it so hard to find writing in Ulster Scots among contemporary publications? Has it gone for good or is it poised to make a come-back? Up to the mid-twentieth century it was commonplace to find Ulster Scots poetry and prose in literary magazines or in newspapers but now it is exceptional. Although there is a …