Visit to Gallipoli, 25 May 1990

Publication Instance Details #436

Publication Overview

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

Details

Human Rights Issues	War
War / Genocide Referenced	War: First World War
Languages	English
Original Language	Irish
Original Poem	Cuairt ar Ghallipoli, 25 Bealtaine 1990
Original Author	Deirdre Brennan
Genre	Short Lyric
Medium	Print Collection
Notes	The first-person speaker of this poem visits a war cemetery at Gallipoli. The poem is dated 25 May 1990. She is overwhelmed by the sheer number of names listed on memorials. The names 'Johnny and Mehmet' are directly referenced in the poem - this is an allusion to a speech attributed to Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, a commander of Ottoman forces at the Dardanelles: 'There is no difference between the Johnnies and the Mehmets to us where they lie side by side here in this country of ours ... '. 'Johnny and Mehmet' have come to represent a kind of familiarity in death, despite their respective sides in the war. The tragedy and futility of war is underscored in this poem.