The Merfolk on Breastfeeding

Publication Instance Details #776

Publication Overview

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

Details

Human Rights Issues	Displacement/Forced Migration Gender-based violence Health
Irish Context	Emigration (from Ireland) Irish Language/Culture Great Famine (Ireland)
Languages	English
Original Language	Irish
Original Poem	Na Murúcha agus Bainne Cíche
Original Author	Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill
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 land. In this poem, the speaker describes the merpeople's reluctance to breastfeed their children, and the inappropriate diet that they feed them. There is mention of high infant mortality, despite the apparent fecundity of the mermaids themselves. According to the speaker of the poem, the female mermaids had much more autonomy in their sea realm; on land they lead a more subservient lifestyle. Notable mention of their failure to fully assimilate into the host society at the end of the poem. The Great Famine and Irish cultural loss is often understood to be implicit in this sequence of poems, although other international contexts could also be imagined.