La Coupole (Béarla)

Publication Instance Details #424

Publication Overview

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

Details

Human Rights Issues	War Death Penalty/Unlawful Detention/Incarceration HR & Weapons of Mass Destruction (incl. nuclear)
War / Genocide Referenced	War: Second World War
Languages	English
Original Language	Irish
Original Poem	La Coupole
Original Author	Dairena Ní Chinnéide
Genre	Short Lyric
Medium	Print Collection
Notes	La Coupole was a WW2 Bunker in Northern France used by the Germans to launch V-2 Rockets towards London. However due to Allied attacks, the complex was never finished. The speaker of the poem is horrified by the bunker in which the rockets were to be housed. She mentions the starving prisoners who had to construct the dome - French citizens and Russian prisoners of war were forced to work on the building. The 'smiling faces' in the photographs may refer to the German soldiers and architects who oversaw the project. The speaker of the poem is affected by the scene, and turns tail, saying a prayer for all those who have died.