''Cathleen ni Houlihan'' is a
one-act play
A one-act play is a play that has only one act, as distinct from plays that occur over several acts. One-act plays may consist of one or more scenes. The 20-40 minute play has emerged as a popular subgenre of the one-act play, especially in writi ...
written by
William Butler Yeats
William Butler Yeats (13 June 186528 January 1939) was an Irish poet, dramatist, writer and one of the foremost figures of 20th-century literature. He was a driving force behind the Irish Literary Revival and became a pillar of the Irish liter ...
and
Lady Gregory
Isabella Augusta, Lady Gregory (''née'' Persse; 15 March 1852 – 22 May 1932) was an Irish dramatist, folklorist and theatre manager. With William Butler Yeats and Edward Martyn, she co-founded the Irish Literary Theatre and the Abbey Theatre, ...
in
1902
Events
January
* January 1
** The Nurses Registration Act 1901 comes into effect in New Zealand, making it the first country in the world to require state registration of nurses. On January 10, Ellen Dougherty becomes the world's f ...
. It was first performed on 2 April of that year and first published in the October number of ''
Samhain
Samhain ( , , , ; gv, Sauin ) is a Gaelic festival on 1 NovemberÓ hÓgáin, Dáithí. ''Myth Legend and Romance: An Encyclopaedia of the Irish Folk Tradition''. Prentice Hall Press, 1991. p. 402. Quote: "The basic Irish division of the year ...
''. Lady Gregory wrote the naturalistic peasant dialogue of the Gillane family, while Yeats wrote Cathleen Ni Houlihan's dialogue.
Maud Gonne
Maud Gonne MacBride ( ga, Maud Nic Ghoinn Bean Mhic Giolla Bhríghde; 21 December 1866 – 27 April 1953) was an English-born Irish republican revolutionary, suffragette and actress. Of Anglo-Irish descent, she was won over to Irish nationalism ...
portrayed Cathleen ni Houlihan in the play's first performances at the
Abbey Theatre
The Abbey Theatre ( ga, Amharclann na Mainistreach), also known as the National Theatre of Ireland ( ga, Amharclann Náisiúnta na hÉireann), in Dublin, Ireland, is one of the country's leading cultural institutions. First opening to the pu ...
. The play centres on the
1798 Rebellion
The Irish Rebellion of 1798 ( ga, Éirí Amach 1798; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ''The Hurries'') was a major uprising against British rule in Ireland. The main organising force was the Society of United Irishmen, a Irish republicanism, ...
. The play is startlingly
nationalistic
Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...
, in its last pages encouraging young men to sacrifice their lives for the heroine
Cathleen ni Houlihan
''Cathleen ni Houlihan'' is a one-act play written by William Butler Yeats and Augusta, Lady Gregory, Lady Gregory in 1902 in literature#New drama, 1902. It was first performed on 2 April of that year and first published in the October number of ...
, who represents an independent and
separate Irish state. The title character first appears as an old woman at the door of a family celebrating their son's wedding. She describes her four "beautiful green fields," representing the
four provinces, that have been unjustly taken from her. With little subtlety, she requests a
blood sacrifice
Sacrifice is the offering of material possessions or the lives of animals or humans to a deity as an act of propitiation or worship. Evidence of ritual animal sacrifice has been seen at least since ancient Hebrews and Greeks, and possibly ex ...
, declaring that "many a child will be born and there will be no father at the
christening". When the youth agrees and leaves the safety of his home to fight for her, she appears as an image of youth with "the walk of a queen," professing of those who fight for her: "They shall be remembered forever, They shall be alive forever, They shall be speaking forever, The people shall hear them forever."
The premiere of ''Cathleen ni Houlihan'' initially confused Dublin audiences who had expected a comedic play due to the actor Willie Fay's prior association with comedies.
However, Gonne's reputation as an ardent nationalist helped them to understand the “tragic meaning” of her role, as described by Yeats.
By the third night the theatre was so crowded that customers had to be turned away.
Yeats later expressed reservations about the play's nationalistic rhetoric of blood sacrifice, asking in a later poem, "The Man and the Echo," "Did that play of mine send out / Certain men the English shot?"
Characters
* Peter Gillane, a farmer
* Michael Gillane, his eldest son
* Patrick Gillane, his youngest son
* Bridget Gillane, Peter's wife
* Delia Cahel, Michael's fiancée
* The Poor Old Woman
* Neighbours
Synopsis
![Scene From Cathleen Ni Houlihan - Project Gutenberg eText 19028](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/ba/Scene_From_Cathleen_Ni_Houlihan_-_Project_Gutenberg_eText_19028.jpg)
The play is set in Killala in 1798. The Gillane family are discussing the upcoming marriage between their son Michael and his fiancée Delia. Peter and Bridget are concerned with obtaining Delia's dowry. They hear cheering outside but are unconcerned with its cause. Michael enters and tells his parents that he has visited the priest to arrange the wedding ceremony for the following day. He gives the dowry to his parents. The family is visited by a mysterious old woman. She tells them that her "four beautiful green fields" have been stolen from her. She sings about patriots who have died for Ireland and reveals herself as Cathleen Ni Houlihan. She tells them that many men have died for her and that more must make sacrifices in order to help her regain her fields and banish the strangers who stole them. Neighbours enter the house and Patrick tells his family that the French ships have landed at Killala bay. The
1798 Rebellion
The Irish Rebellion of 1798 ( ga, Éirí Amach 1798; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ''The Hurries'') was a major uprising against British rule in Ireland. The main organising force was the Society of United Irishmen, a Irish republicanism, ...
is taking place. Michael is enchanted by Cathleen's words and vows to join the French army, abandoning his parents and his fiancée despite their pleas. Cathleen leaves, saying that "They shall be speaking for ever, / The people shall hear them forever."
Peter asks his son Patrick if he saw an old woman leaving, but Patrick tells him that he saw a young girl who had "the walk of a queen."
Themes
The play has themes of nationalism and blood sacrifice. Colm Tóibín describes Michael as an "idealistic, inspirational" male hero in the tradition of Lady Gregory's plays
The Rising of the Moon and Gaol Gate, and the Irish mythological hero
Cuchulainn, because he is willing to sacrifice his life for his newfound nationalistic beliefs, unaffected by the "land-hunger" which occupies his family. Susan Cannon Harris contrasts the play's depiction of the "male patriot" who makes a blood sacrifice which "symbolically regenerates" Ireland, with the female peasant characters who face the arduous tasks of economic reality which make this regeneration possible.
Michael abandons the everyday concerns of dowries, wedding clothes and land purchases in order to follow Cathleen and give up his life for the nationalist cause.
Cannon Harris describes the significance of Maud Gonne's performance as Cathleen ni Houlihan in expressing the play's nationalist themes. Gonne's reputation as a nationalist campaigner and public speaker added to the play's popular appeal. Her disguise as an elderly woman illustrates that the Poor Old Woman is only a veneer who conceals the "uncorrupted essence" of Irish freedom.
Nicholas Grene examines the trope of "strangers in the house" which is used in different contexts throughout the play.
The British invaders have stolen Cathleen Ni Houlihan's land and exiled her, forcing her to wander the roads in search of help. The French invaders are seen as "necessary catalysts" for the banishment of the British, while Cathleen herself is a disrupting presence when she visits the Gillane family's home and presents them with a past vision of Irish independence which could be achieved in future.
References
External links
Literary Encyclopedia: ''Cathleen ni Houlihan''The National Library of Ireland's exhibition on Yeats features many manuscript drafts of this play and photographs from the 1902 production featuring M Gonne.
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{{W. B. Yeats
1902 plays
One-act plays
Plays by W. B. Yeats
Works by Augusta, Lady Gregory