Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill
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Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill (; born 1952) is a modern Irish poet whose works have been described as having a "major influence in revitalizing the Irish language in modern poetry".


Biography

Born in
Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...
,
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
, of Irish parents, she moved to Ireland at the age of 5 and was brought up in the Corca Dhuibhne
Gaeltacht A ( , , ) is a district of Ireland, either individually or collectively, where the Irish government recognises that the Irish language is the predominant vernacular, or language of the home. The districts were first officially recognised ...
and in
Nenagh Nenagh ( ; , or simply 'the Fair') is the county town of County Tipperary in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Nenagh used to be a market town, and the site of the East Munster Ormond Fair. Nenagh was the county town of the former county of Nort ...
,
County Tipperary County Tipperary () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. The county is named after the town of Tipperary (tow ...
. Her uncle,
Monsignor Monsignor (; ) is a form of address or title for certain members of the clergy in the Catholic Church. Monsignor is the apocopic form of the Italian ''monsignore'', meaning "my lord". "Monsignor" can be abbreviated as Mons.... or Msgr. In some ...
Pádraig Ó Fiannachta of
Dingle Dingle ( or ''Daingean Uí Chúis'', meaning "fort of Ó Cúis") is a town in County Kerry in the south-west of Ireland. The only town on the Dingle Peninsula (known in Irish as ''Corca Dhuibhne''), it sits on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coa ...
, was an authority on Munster Irish. Her mother brought her up to speak English, though she was an Irish speaker herself. Her father and his side of the family spoke very fluent Irish and used it every day, but her mother thought it would make life easier for Nuala if she spoke only English instead. She studied English and Irish at UCC in 1969 and became part of the ' Innti' group of poets. In 1973, she married Turkish
geologist A geologist is a scientist who studies the structure, composition, and History of Earth, history of Earth. Geologists incorporate techniques from physics, chemistry, biology, mathematics, and geography to perform research in the Field research, ...
Doğan Leflef and lived abroad in
Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...
and
Holland Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former provinces of the Netherlands, province on the western coast of the Netherland ...
for seven years. One year after her return to
County Kerry County Kerry () is a Counties of Ireland, county on the southwest coast of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. It is bordered by two other countie ...
in 1980, she published her first collection of poetry in Irish, ''An Dealg Droighin'' (1981); She later became a member of
Aosdána Aosdána ( , ; from , 'people of the arts') is an Irish association or academy of artists, each of whom must have produced a distinguished body of work of genuine originality. It was created in 1981 by the country's Arts Council on the initiati ...
. Ní Dhomhnaill has published extensively and her works include poetry collections, children's plays, screenplays, anthologies, articles, reviews and essays. Her other works include ''Féar Suaithinseach'' (1984); ''Feis'' (1991), and ''Cead Aighnis'' (1998). Ni Dhomhnaill's poems appear in English translation in the dual-language editions ''Rogha Dánta/Selected Poems'' (1986, 1988, 1990); ''The Astrakhan Cloak'' (1992), ''Pharaoh's Daughter'' (1990), ''The Water Horse'' (2007), and ''The Fifty Minute Mermaid'' (2007). Her poem ''Dubh (ar thitim Shrebenice, 11ú Iúil, 1995)'', known in English as ''Black (on the fall of Srebrenica, 11 July 1995)'' and reflecting her reaction to the 1995
Srebrenica massacre The Srebrenica massacre, also known as the Srebrenica genocide, was the July 1995 genocidal killing of more than 8,000 Bosniak Muslim men and boys in and around the town of Srebrenica during the Bosnian War. It was mainly perpetrated by unit ...
, was translated to English by Paul Muldoon are included in '' An Leabhar Mòr'' (2008). ''Selected Essays'' appeared in 2005. Her poem, 'Mo Ghrá-Sa (Idir Lúibini)', is part of the Leaving Certificate curriculum for Irish. She played a minor role as the Irish oral examiner in the 1997 film, ''How to Cheat in the Leaving Certificate''. She writes poetry exclusively in Irish and is quoted as saying that the "Irish is a language of beauty, historical significance, ancient roots and an immense propensity for poetic expression through its everyday use". Ní Dhomhnaill also speaks English, Turkish, French, German and Dutch fluently. Ní Dhomhnaill's writings focus on the rich
oral tradition Oral tradition, or oral lore, is a form of human communication in which knowledge, art, ideas and culture are received, preserved, and transmitted orally from one generation to another.Jan Vansina, Vansina, Jan: ''Oral Tradition as History'' (19 ...
and heritage of Ireland and particularly draw upon ancient stories from
Irish folklore Irish folklore () refers to the folktales, balladry, music, dance and mythology of Ireland. It is the study and appreciation of how people lived. The folklore of Ireland includes banshees, fairies, leprechauns and other mythological creatures, ...
and
Irish mythology Irish mythology is the body of myths indigenous to the island of Ireland. It was originally Oral tradition, passed down orally in the Prehistoric Ireland, prehistoric era. In the History of Ireland (795–1169), early medieval era, myths were ...
, in combination with contemporary themes of
feminism Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...
, sexuality, and culture. Her
mythopoeia Mythopoeia (, ), or mythopoesis, is a subgenre of speculative fiction, and a theme in modern literature and film, where an artificial or fictionalized mythology is created by the writer of prose fiction, prose, poetry, or other literary forms. T ...
poetry expresses an alternative reality and she often speaks about her reasons for both retelling and reimagining myths that are an integral part of
Irish literature Irish literature is literature written in the Irish, Latin, English and Scots ( Ulster Scots) languages on the island of Ireland. The earliest recorded Irish writing dates from back in the 7th century and was produced by monks writing in ...
and
Irish culture The culture of Ireland includes the Irish art, art, Music of Ireland, music, Irish dance, dance, Irish mythology, folklore, Irish clothing, traditional clothing, Irish language, language, Irish literature, literature, Irish cuisine, cuisine ...
. Ní Dhomhnaill has stated that "Myth is a basic, fundamental structuring of our reality, a narrative that we place on the chaos of sensation to make sense of our lives".


Personal life

Ní Dhomhnaill's husband died in 2013. She lives near
Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
and is a regular broadcaster on Irish radio and television.


Awards and honours

Ní Dhomhnaill has received many scholarships, prizes, and
bursaries A bursary is a monetary award made by any educational institution or funding authority to individuals or groups. It is usually awarded to enable a student to attend school, university or college when they might not be able to, otherwise. Some awar ...
. She has also won numerous international awards for works which have been translated into French, German, Polish, Italian, Norwegian, Estonian, Japanese and English. She is one of Ireland's most well-known Irish language writers. She was Ireland Professor of Poetry from 2001 to 2004, and the first Professor of Irish (language) Poetry. Her papers are collected at Boston College's Burns Library. In March 2018, she received the Zbigniew Herbert International Literary Award for her achievements in poetry.


Publications


Poetry: main collections

* ''An Dealg Droighin'' (Cló Mercier, 1981) * ''Féar Suaithinseach'' (Maigh Nuad, 1984) * ''Feis'' (Maigh Nuad, 1991) * ''Pharaoh's Daughter'' (1990) * ''The Astrakhan Cloak'' (1992, Translated by Paul Muldoon) * ''Spíonáin is Róiseanna'' (Cló Iar-Chonnachta, 1993) * ''Cead Aighnis'' (An Sagart, An Daingean, 1998) * ''The Water Horse: Poems in Irish'' (Gallery, 1999, Aistriúcháin le
Medbh McGuckian Medbh McGuckian (born as Maeve McCaughan on 12 August 1950) is a poet from Northern Ireland. Biography She was born the third of six children as Maeve McCaughan to Hugh and Margaret McCaughan in North Belfast. Her father was a school headmaste ...
agus Eiléan Ní Chuilleanáin) * ''The Fifty Minute Mermaid'' (Gallery, 2007, translated by Paul Muldoon) * ''Northern Lights'' (Gallery Press, 2018)


Poetry: selected editions

* ''Rogha Dánta''/Selected Poems (Raven Arts, 1986, Translated by Michael Hartnett)


Essay Collections

* Selected Essays (New Island, 2005) * Cead Isteach / Entry Permitted (University College Dublin Press, 2017)


Plays

* ''Jimín'' (Children's drama, Dublin, 1985) * ''Na Peirsigh'' (translation of Aeschylus, Amharclann na Péacóige, Dublin, 2024)


References


Notes


Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ni Dhomhnaill, Nuala 1952 births 20th-century Irish-language poets Alumni of University College Cork Aosdána members Irish women poets Living people People from Dingle Writers from Lancashire People from Nenagh