Towards the House of Freedom

Publication Instance Details #3155

Publication Overview

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

Details

Human Rights Issues	HR & Colonisation/Colonial Legacies Death Penalty/Unlawful Detention/Incarceration Indigenous Rights (incl. culture & language) State Violence
Languages	English
Original Language	Irish
Original Poem	Go Teach na Saoirse
Original Author	Pearse Hutchinson
Genre	Short Lyric
Medium	Print Collection
Notes	The speaker of the poem describes an interaction between a Basque prisoner and his Galician visitor. The Galician speaks to the prisoner in Basque, but is rudely interrupted by the guard, who demands that they speak Spanish. Incensed, the visitor realizes that he is Galician, and reprimands him in Galician. The mention of the dictator in the poem is likely Franco, who reigned until 1975. Under Franco, Castillian Spanish became the only accepted official language of the country, and other languages, such as Catalan, Basque, and Galician, were banned or their use frowned upon. 'Colonial legacy' has been marked due to references to the Spanish Empire and overseas islands.