| Tuireamh na hÉireann | |
|---|---|
| Ireland's Lament | |
| bySeán Ó Conaill | |
| Original title | Tuireaḋ na h-Eireann |
| Translator | Michael Clarke |
| Written | c. 1655–59 |
| Country | Ireland |
| Language | Early Modern Irish |
| Subject | History of Ireland |
| Genre(s) | History,lament |
| Media type | Manuscript |
| Lines | 496 |
| Metre | Caoineadh |
"Tuireamh na hÉireann" ([ˈt̪ˠɪɾʲəwn̪ˠəˈheːɾʲən̪ˠ], "Lament for Ireland", archaic spellingTuireaḋ na h-Eireann), also called "Aiste Sheáin Uí Chonaill" ("Seán Ó Conaill's Essay") is anIrish-language poem of the mid-17th century.[1] The poem gives ahistory of Ireland from theGreat Flood to theCromwellian war.[2] Its composition is dated to 1655–59, and it was written bySeán Ó Conaill of theIveragh Peninsula, a dependent ofMacCarthy Mór. Some accounts described him as CatholicBishop of Ardfert, but there is no evidence that he ever held that office.[3][4]
Piaras Béaslaí considered "Tuireamh na hÉireann" to be an inferior imitation of "An Síogaí Rómhánach."[3]
The hour I reflect on the nobles of Erin
The devastation of the country, and the want of the clergy
The destruction of the people, and the melting of her wealth,
My heart in my breast is tearing.
The poem refers to the Cromwellian conquest as ‘an cogadh do chríochnaigh Éire’ (the war that finished Ireland).[3]
On "Tuireamh na hÉireann," Vincent Morley wrote that it was "arguably one of the most important works ever written in Ireland. Composed in simplemetre, easily understandable and capable of being learned by heart, this poem supplied an understanding of Irish history for theCatholic majority (monoglot speakers of Irish who could neither read nor write for the next two hundred years)."[5] It was significantly shorter and easier to understand thanForas Feasa ar Éirinn (c. 1634).[6] In the mid-18th century, Fr Francis O'Sullivan noted that the poem was "repeated and kept in memory on account of the great knowledge of antiquity comprehended in it."[7]
The first English translation was published by Michael Clarke (1750–1847) in 1827.[3]
Cecile O’Rahilly translated it inFive Seventeenth Century Political Poems (1946).[8]
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