Oíche Arabach

Publication Instance Details #173

Publication Overview

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

Details

Human Rights Issues	War Terrorism/War on Terror HR & Weapons of Mass Destruction (incl. nuclear) Poverty/Deprivation/Lack of Sustenance State Violence
War / Genocide Referenced	War: Gulf War War: Global War on Terrorism War: Iraq War and Insurgency
Irish Context	Specific Irish place or place-name mentioned Other
Languages	Irish
Genre	Short Lyric
Medium	Print Collection
Paratext Text	(Fabhalscéal nua-aoise)
Notes	This poem is written as a 'modern fable', and deals with the history of conflicts in the Middle East, more specifically, those of Iraq. The speaker of the poem speaks in an allegorical way in the poem, although the pointed references to the Gulf War and the contemporary War on Terror and Invasion of Iraq (2003) are notable. The American greed for oil is pointed out, as is the renewed War on Terror in the aftermath of 9/11, and the bind that Iraqi citizens find themselves in - oppression under Saddam, or destruction under the United States. The characters of war are portrayed as the Khalif (likely Saddam Hussein); The King of the West (George H.W. Bush); the young king (George W. Bush); Thor (Tony Blair). Additionally, the speaker of the poem uses Irish mythological themes and characters to portray some aspects of the invasions: the American invaders are known as 'Dubhghaill and Fionnghaill', often thought to be Viking invaders in Irish myth. Skellig Michael is also referenced in the poem, as being one of the locations over which American war planes fly on their way to Iraq.