An Géarchaoineadh, Sceilg Mhichíl

Publication Instance Details #1896

Publication Overview

Translation	Is Multilingual	Explicit Irish Context?	Ekphrasis	Has Paratext?	Reference to News, Media or Technology
No	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes

Details

Human Rights Issues	War
Irish Context	Specific Irish place or place-name mentioned Other
Languages	Irish
Genre	Short Lyric
Medium	Print Collection
Paratext Text	do Mhícheál Ua Ciarmhaic
Notes	The speaker of this poem is 'Bean an Uaill', a personification of Sceilg Mhichíl, an island off the coast of County Kerry. The 'caoineadh' or 'keening' Irish tradition of public grief is central to this poem. Bean an Uaill describes herself as ancient, genderless, and in the form of the rock itself. She keens many aspects of the world: the pilgrims, the erosion of her rocks by the sea, the actions of engineers on the rocks, and the fate of Jesus himself. Notably, she keens the 'other keening women' all around the world, who reach to the cameras, covering young dead people with flags. This is a reference, perhaps, to images of war-torn countries in which young people are frequently killed, such as Palestine, Syria, or Yemen. The media aspect of their keening is captured in the poem by mentioning the 'cameras' that take the pictures of these bereft women.