Poem
Na Murúcha agus Galair Thógálacha
| Title | Na Murúcha agus Galair Thógálacha |
|---|---|
| Author | Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill |
Instances of Publication
A published appearance of this poem.
| Collection/Anthology | Year of Publication | Medium | View Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cead Aighnis | 1998 | Print Collection | View Details |
| Feis agus Cead Aighnis | 2015 | Print Collection | View Details |
| The Fifty Minute Mermaid | 2007 | Print Collection | View Details |
Publication Instance Details #845
Collection/Anthology Details
| Collection/Anthology | The Fifty Minute Mermaid |
|---|---|
| Date of Publication | 2007 |
| Publisher | The Gallery Press (Ireland) |
| Page Number(s) | 60, 62 |
Publication Overview
| Translation | Is Multilingual | Explicit Irish Context? | Ekphrasis | Has Paratext? | Reference to News, Media or Technology |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
No |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
No |
No |
Details
| Human Rights Issues | |
|---|---|
| Irish Context | |
| Languages | |
| Genre | Part Of Lyric Sequence |
| Medium | Print Collection |
| Notes | This sequence of poems, 'Na Murúcha a Thriomnaigh', makes use of the international folk tale of the mermaid to construct an allegorical world in which the merpeople have left the water and now live uneasily among humankind on earth. In this poem, the speaker describes the various diseases and ailments which carry off a significant portion of the population of the merfolk. They are described as a 'virgin population' having no immunity against certain diseases in the host culture such as tuberculoisis, mumps, measles, malaria, and cholera. (This is reminiscent of certain Native peoples' susceptibility to Western diseases which decimated their populations). i.e. smallpox in Native American peoples. Numerous references to folk beliefs regarding disease. The Great Famine and Irish cultural loss is often understood to be implicit in this sequence. |
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