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Mná na hÉireann

"Mná na hÉireann" () is a poem written by Irish poet Peadar Ó Doirnín (1700–1769), most famous as a song, and especially since set to an air composed by Seán Ó Riada (1931–1971).

Peadar Ó Doirnín lived in Forkhill in south Armagh, Ireland and is buried in Urnaí graveyard nearby in County Louth. He is best known for his song 'Úrchnoc Chéin Mhic Cáinte'. It was the editor of an anthology of his poems (1969), Dr. Breandan Ó Buachalla who gave the lyrics its title 'Mná na hÉireann'.

Poem

Context

The verses most often performed by modern singers are the first two and the last.

The song has been sung largely out of context by the majority of singers. While normally sung as praise of, or in solidarity with, women, Oriel song academic and Ó Doirnín expert Dr. Pádraigín Ní Uallacháin has pointed out that the lyrics disparage women and refer to the rape of a young virgin in a derogatory and offensive manner. In referring to various types of women and their availability, or otherwise, to the poet, he refers to a woman from his own locality near Forkhill, County Armagh:

<blockquote>There was a woman from the mountainside of Carrickedmond who used to laugh when she was drunk, Once was a virgin, it wasn't me Who forcibly spread her two legs apart.</blockquote>

It is accepted that most singers who have recorded this song did not fully understand the lyrics due to inaccurate translations, the exclusion of verses in previous recordings or the lack of understanding of the nuances and metaphorical usage of Irish language terminology.

Ní Uallacháin's 2023 translation and reference notes below reveals the true meaning of the lyrics.

Ní Uallacháin translation (2023)

Mná na hÉireann

Notes

  1. 'Léim' – to breed. (Léim ar leithligh = illegitimate child);
  2. 'Tárr' – lower belly/ genital area
  3. Carrickedmond townland in the author's home county, County Louth.
  4. 'Éignigh' – raped
  5. 'ó chomhar' – apart
  6. 'Tairnfeadh' – reduce/diminish/hide
  7. 'bró' = brú – belly as in Brú na Bóinne
  8. 'Cró' can mean many things including dowry/ironbar/children. Preceded by re le – can mean 'with dowry' or with 'children' (i.e. married)
  9. 'Gléas' = instrument i.e. penis. See also last verse of Ó Doirnín's poem Úrchnoc Chéin Mhic Cáinte with reference to 'gléas'
  10. 'Siúil' (le cailín) means to court (a girl)
  11. 'Go bhfaighinn an t-ór' - getting the gold in folksong can mean woman's honour or virginity
  12. 'Léine' means shift/nightdress

Translations in song

Michael Davitt translation

This translation (of the same three verses) is by Michael Davitt. Davitt plays with the second couplet of each verse, reversing the meaning and turning the poem into the song of a womanising drunkard, who favours no particular woman (second verse), resorts to drink instead of avoiding it (third verse—though this may be ironic in the original), and whom his lover wants dead (first verse).

Mná na hÉireann

Kate Bush translation

This is the translation for the version performed by Kate Bush on the album Common Ground – Voices of Modern Irish Music. No translator is given, but the song is credited as arranged by Bush with Dónal Lunny and Fiachra Trench.

Mná na hÉireann

Recordings

Use in film and television

"Women of Ireland" has been used in various film and television productions.

References