On an Irish Island
Page 33
48 I never took much notice: Thomson to Joan V. Robinson, Jan. 1, 1939, King’s College Archives, JVR/7/444.
49 George left us today: Ní Loingsigh, Sept. 30, 1923, RuthTransl.
50 Picture slipped out. Ibid.
51 He was in Bodley’s Court: King’s College Archives; site visit.
52 I went to the Blasket: George Thomson, “Irish Language Revival,” p. 7.
53 Ten or eleven years: Ibid. See also Raidió na Gaeltachta Collection, Blasket Centre, CD 0945 (02), RuthTransl.
54 Gifts: Muiris Ó Guithín, in Eighty.
55 George had better Irish: Quoted in Enright, p. 146. See also Seán Ó Criomhthain interview, in Memories, p. 93.
56 Up to the fire: Seán Ó Guithín interview, in Eighty.
57 Fistful of dirt: Seán Pheats Team Ó Cearnaigh, interview by Mícheál de Mórdha, 1993, Blasket Centre, RuthTransl.
58 Seven sons to America: George Thomson, The Human Essence, p. 68.
59 Poetic lament: Thomson to Pádraig Ó Fiannachta, Oct. 29, 1975, Thomson Archives.
60 That was the first fiddle of their own: Seán Ó Criomhthain, in Memories, p. 82.
61 They had little else to do: Ibid., p. 84
62 Many other activities: Ibid., p. 85
63 The room would be lit: Account follows Síle Flower, interviewed in Another.
64 The sharp sounds: Marstrander, p. 17.
65 In their naked feet: Synge, Travels, p. 102.
66 Rise up now: Robin Flower, The Western Island, p. 47.
67 An island with a population of wreckers, smugglers: Synge, “Idea for play,” in reworked version of original notebook, in “Notes in Ballyferriter.”
68 While life … there was little talk: Seán Ó Criomhthain, in Memories, p. 45.
69 Boccaccio: See Almqvist, “The Mysterious Mícheál Ó Gaoithín, Boccaccio and the Blasket Tradition”; James Stewart, Boccaccio in the Blaskets.
70 On our way back: Synge, Travels, p. 98.
71 The girls are shouting: Marstrander, p. 17.
72 Might hop in over a fence: Seán Ó Criomhthain interview, in Memories, p. 135.
73 There were lots of young people: Thomson, in Eighty.
74 Dancing steps in Paradise: Quoted in Jean Pace [Katharine Thomson’s older sister], “George Thomson, 1903–1987,” unpublished typescript, Thomson Archives.
75 As unmusical as he seemed: Margaret Alexiou, interview.
76 Pipes hanging: Breandán Feiritéar, at Blasket Commemoration No. 4, Ruth Transl.
77 He could step it out: Eighty.
78 Secret smile: Ibid.
79 There was one girl in particular: Ibid.
80 Mary Kearney: McGrath, “The Nun of the Blaskets: Biuso, “The Poet’s Ring”; records furnished by Sister Mary Justin, Sisters of Providence, Holyoke, Mass.; reminiscences, private papers, and photographs furnished by family members Seán Cahillane and Kathleen Arduini; Breandán Feiritéar, interview; photographs, Blasket Centre; Seán Ó Cearnaigh, interview by Mícheál de Mórdha, Blasket Centre; Mary Kearney and her sister, interview by Ray Stagles, Blasket Centre; Leslie Matson, “Blasket Lives,” account of Muintir Cheárnaigh; visit to site of family home on the island.
81 Tee-hee: Kathleen Arduini, interview.
82 Lively young thing: Seán Pheats Tom, Irish-language account, in McGrath, “The Nun of the Blaskets,” translated by Dáithí de Mórdha and Ruth Uí Ógáin.
83 Fresh, strong, and youthful: Stagles, audiotape interview.
84 I remember: Stagles, audiotape interview.
85 Bronze medal: On display at Blasket Centre.
86 No patience with the frivolous or mediocre: Jean Pace, “George Thomson, 1903–1987,” unpublished typescript, Thomson Archives.
87 Deeply serious: Obituary, unknown source, King’s College Archives.
88 Old studio portrait: Thomson Archives.
89 I’d say he was in love: Eighty.
90 It’s not me that will marry you: Seán Pheats Tom Ó Cearnaigh, interview by Mícheál de Mórdha, 1993, Blasket Centre, RuthTransl.
91 1926 is as good a guess: At several junctures in the relationship between George and Mary we know something happened but cannot say just when. Máire Mhac an tSaoi remembers the meeting between George and her uncle at her uncle’s house, An Cill, which he occupied only after 1925. In a telephone interview, she estimates her age at the time as between four and ten, which seems to fix the earliest possible date for the meeting as 1926.
92 I remember him coming to our house in An Cill: Eighty.
93 Paddy Browne: See Corish; MacGreevy; Máire Cruise O’Brien, The Same Age as the State; Meehan; Titley, pp. 313–15.
94 As refuge: M. C. O’Brien, Same Age as the State, p. 49. The house stands today, with the same magnificent views but as a sad relic and wreck.
95 Maverick … altogether uninhibited: Meehan, p. 456
96 From the knees down: Máire Mhac an tSaoi, telephone interview.
97 My uncle Pádraig: Eighty.
98 The merest episode: Hardy, p. 197.
99 Dissolved into an uninteresting outer dumb-show: Ibid., p. 198.
100 It struck me suddenly: Thomson, China journal, May 18, 1955, Thomson Archives.
5. INISHVICKILLAUN
1 White streaks: Twenty, p. 231.
2 No plants could survive: Richard M. Barrington.
3 Inishvickillaun had distinctive character: See Ó Dubhshláine, Inisvickillane.
4 The whole island … sense of loneliness: Robin Flower, The Western Island, p. 115.
5 The most pleasant and mysterious: George Thomson, Island Home, p. 67.
6 Song of the Fairies: See Mac Amhlaoíbh, both bibliographical entries.
7 Jigs and reels … hurrying tunes: Robin Flower, The Western Island, p. 116.
8 Before long: Twenty, p. 234.
9 The magic waters: Robin Flower, Eire and Other Poems.
10 What do you see?: Twenty, p. 234.
11 I looked west: Ibid., p. 235.
12 Ever travelled through the empty lands: Letter to the editor, Irish Statesman, July 9, 1927, p. 423.
13 A rough place, but a fine nurse of men: George Thomson, Island Home, p. 71.
14 A nursery for raising human beings for export: Seán Ó Dúbhda, in Schrier notebooks, vol. 1407, p. 201, Delargy.
15 Nearly all the characteristics … near to penury: Synge, Travels, p. 145.
16 Arnold Schrier: The Schrier notebooks are located at the Delargy Centre, Dublin, vols. 1407–11, from which much of this account is drawn.
17 Inspired dissatisfaction: See Miller, especially chap. 8, sect. 3.
18 I have a great mind: Twenty, p. 216.
19 A mournful look: Ibid. p. 218.
20 Oh, Mirrisheen: Ibid., p. 219.
21 Western peasants: Miller, p. 425.
22 Springfield, Massachusetts: Seán Cahillane and Kathleen Arduini, interviews.
23 Of nothing but America: Twenty, p. 216.
24 This place … drowned vessel: Ní Loingsigh, entry for Sept. 30, 1923.
25 There’s a curse on America: Cross, p. 40.
26 A vicious, materialistic: Miller, p. 456.
27 Rosy-faced. Ibid.
28 Having had … good-natured ways: Schrier notebooks, vol. 1407, Delargy.
29 Listen here: Twenty, p. 236.
30 There was the reluctance of the world: Ibid., p. 235.
31 ’Tis the fine, rich Irish: Ibid., p. 238.
32 I give you my blessing: Ibid., p. 241.
33 Journey to Dublin: Following account is adapted from Twenty, pp. 240–70.
34 The Prometheus Trilogy: Thomson’s thesis, with acknowledgments, may be seen in King’s College Archives.
35 As soon as I read it: Ibid., appendix.
36 Craven Studentship: King’s College Archives.
37 Only 235: King’s College Council, March 9, 1928, in ibid.
38 Leeson Street: Twenty, p. 282.
39 I was blinded by the hun
dred thousand lights: Most of the following is adapted from Twenty, pp. 271–77.
40 Capitol Theatre: See Frederick O’Dwyer, Lost Dublin (Dublin: Gill and Macmillan, 1981). See also George Kearns and Patrick Maguire, The A to Z of All Old Dublin Cinemas (self-published, 2007). The Capitol was also the site for the screening of Ireland’s first talking picture, on April 21, 1929. The Fianna Fail meeting is marked by a stone plaque.
6. THE LAST QUIET TIME
1 Boys played football: Seán Ó Criomhthain interview in Memories, p. 132.
2 The pressure: Seán Ó Criomhthain, in Memories, p. 63.
3 Hardly any of … close clustering: Hockings, p. 145.
4 You’d have a drink: Seán Ó Criomhthain interview, in Memories, p. 105.
5 I was young and light-hearted: Nóra Ní Shéaghdha interview, in Memories, p. 154.
6 Even if a gale of wind: Ibid., p. 150.
7 They’d shake it off like ducks: Ibid.
8 Very keen on English: Ibid., p. 151.
9 We were thinking … life beyond the Island: Seán Ó Criomhthain interview, in Memories, p. 120.
10 It was our business: Islandman, p. 243.
11 The naomhógs: See, for example, Memories, chap. 4; Creedon; naomhógs on display at Blasket Centre.
12 Would laugh at this little toy: Marstrander, p. 7.
13 A census counted: “A Socio-Economic Study of Fisheries in Counties Cork, Donegal, Kerry and Galway,” Marine Institute, Dublin, Aug. 2000, p. 50.
14 Huddled in a lump: Patrick Flower, in Bláithín, p. 34.
15 Rabbit pelts: Seán Ó Criomhthain interview, in Memories, p. 101.
16 Demonstrate for the cameras: McCarty and Hockings documentary.
17 Wreckage and wood: Matson, Méiní, p. 142.
18 The world … every twenty years: Seán Ó Criomhthain, in Memories, p. 43.
19 One and a half hours: See Robert Cresswell, Une Communauté rurale de l’Irlande (Paris: Institut d’Ethnologie, 1969).
20 A rabbit might jump out: Seán Ó Guithín interview, in Memories, p. 173.
21 Were certainly poor: Nóra Ní Shéaghdha interview, in ibid., p. 154.
22 My two eyes: O’Guiheen, p. 76.
23 They had dancing and music: Seán Ó Criomhthain interview, in Memories, p. 93.
24 They can’t speak English: Almqvist, “C. W. von Sydow agus Éire,” p. 14, RuthTransl.
25 Talk Irish to Barbara: Tomás to Flower, Aug. 12, 1912, in summary of Tomás-Flower correspondence, Delargy.
26 We have a real boy … of disposition angelic: Flower to Best, July 3, 1921, NatLib.
27 The girls: Flower to Best, April 23, 1929, NatLib.
28 We children had the most idyllic time: Patrick Flower, “My Father,” in Bláithín, p. 35.
29 Sheer rock precipice: Photo in Ní Ghaoithín, p. 28.
30 It was an incredibly primitive life: In Another.
31 Lost in reverie: Raidió na Gaeltachta Collection, CD 0895, Blasket Centre.
32 Happiest times: Celtic, p. 100.
33 Roasted mackerel: Raidió na Gaeltachta Collection, CD 0895, Blasket Centre, RuthTransl.
34 Too preoccupied: Osborn Bergin, review, Irish Statesman, July 9, 1927, p. 423.
35 Has all the freshness: Tadhg Ó Dúshláine, “Robin Flower: The Creative Cataloguer,” in Blaíthín, p. 143.
36 In the Blaskets: Celtic, p. 100.
37 Marie-Louise Sjoestedt: See Celtic, chap. 6; Marie-Louise Sjoestedt (1900–1940); Pierre-Yves Lambert entry, Dictionary of Irish Biography; correspondence kindly made available by Bo Almqvist. See also Davis.
38 Her solidity of thought: Vendryes, in Marie-Louise Sjoestedt, p. 17.
39 Seán an Chóta: See Celtic, chap. 8; Ní Chuilleanáin; Seán O Lúing files on Seán an Chóta, MS. 24,596, NatLib.
40 Sexual jaunts: Ní Chuilleanáin, p. 10.
41 A prize-fighter’s face: Ibid., p. 53.
42 Fanai: Excerpt from Sean Óg Ó Caomhánaigh, Fanai, RuthTransl. See also O’Leary, p. 193; Celtic, p. 153.
43 In response to the undefined promptings: Celtic, p. 153.
44 He was from the first day … my kind, loyal teacher: Quoted in Ó Lúing, Seán an Chóta, trans. by Dáithí de Mórdha.
45 Clogher Head: Niall Ó Brosnacháin, sect. 1.9, p. 33, RuthTransl.
46 Only sea-birds: Ibid.
47 Engagement ring he had for her into the Seine: Ó Lúing, Seán an Chóta; also Bo Almqvist to Pierre-Yves Lambert, Sept. 24, 2004, courtesy of Bo Almqvist.
48 Did Marie-Louise merely use Seán: Marie-Louise would be remembered by a friend who knew her for more than twenty years, Marie-Jeanne Durry, as fiercely independent, reserved, a woman who kept her distance even with friends. “It’s only the work that counts,” she’d say. Marie-Louise Sjoestedt, p. 33.
49 An artist in life: Celtic, p. 152.
50 Record of Kerry Irish: As a way of getting across Seán an Chóta’s preoccupation with fine shades of Kerry Irish meaning in his dictionary, Bo Almqvist imagines him parsing the color blue into every conceivable shade and variant of blue, bluish, sort-of-blue, trace-of-blue, etc.
51 Counted vignettes: Niall Ó Brosnacháin, sect. 1.9, p. 33.
52 Was neither very remote: Sjoestedt, Celtic Gods and Heroes, p. xiv.
53 I cannot help but feel: Celtic, p. 114.
54 Parisian coiffure: Ní Ghaoithín, pp. 62–64.
55 Sound-info: Ibid.
56 English’s influence: This and subsequent discussion follows Sjoestedt’s paper, “L’Influence de la langue anglaise sur un parler local irlandais.”
57 A literature … for love of Irish: Sjoestedt, review of Tomás Ó Criomhthain’s An tOileánach and Allagar na hInise, 212.
7. GORKY’S PEASANTS
1 Plain, straightforward: Islandman, p. x.
2 St. Thomas’s day: Ibid., p. 1.
3 In and out … untidy-haired babbler: Ibid., p. 2.
4 A great mug: Ibid., p. 21.
5 Couldn’t keep a glass of whisky: Ibid., p. 68.
6 the shining glory: Ibid., p. 45.
7 Gathering her skirts: Ibid., p. 23.
8 A field is only described: McGahern, “An tOileánach,” p. 56
9 Has a flavour … almost taste: Máire Cruise O’Brien, “An tOileánach,” p. 26.
10 Hemingwayesque quality: Kiberd, in Reflections.
11 There’s an authenticity: Ó Coileáin interview.
12 More ambitious work: An Seabhac, “Tomás Ó Criomhthain, Fisherman and Author,” RuthTransl.
13 Ó Siochfhradha: Pádraig Ó Siochfhradha, interview (nephew bearing the same name who supplied news reports, census records, and other materials).
14 I don’t believe he ever spoke a word of English: Ibid.
15 Sign his name in English: “An Seabhac Had to Sign Name in English,” Irish Independent, Dec. 29, 1952.
16 Backs bent: McMahon, p. 120.
17 Fresh story?: Account follows An Seabhac, “Tomás Ó Criomhthain, Fisherman and Author,” RuthTransl.
18 Time after time: Loti, p. 28.
19 Endemic plague: Gorky, vol. I, “My Childhood,” p. 11.
20 I declare to the devil: Seán Ó Criomhthain interview, in Memories, p. 114.
21 Knut Hamsun: Ibid. See also Jeffrey Frank, “In From the Cold: The Return of Knut Hamsun,” New Yorker, Dec. 26, 2005.
22 Tomás was offered: Hidden, p. 124.
23 The cornerstone: Ibid., p. 172.
24 Brian did not have an easy life: An Seabhac, “Tomás Ó Criomhthain, Fisherman and Author,” RuthTransl.
25 May have been homosexual: Ó Coileáin interview.
26 I could use them: An Seabhac, “Tomás Ó Criomhthain, Fisherman and Author,” RuthTransl.
27 Entirely innocent in their naiveté: Sjoestedt, review of Tomás Ó Criomhthain’s An tOileánach and Allagar na hInise, p. 213.
28 Big lumps of girls: Reflections, p. 36.
29 Often simply arbitrary: Sjoestedt, review of Tomás �
� Criomhthain’s An tOileánach and Allagar na hInise, p. 213.
30 Preserves the odd earthy expression: Máire Cruise O’Brien, “An tOileánach,” p. 35.
31 Recognise that repetition inhered: Hidden, p. 127.
32 Anyone at all: O’Leary, p. 135.
33 Textual tampering: James Stewart, “An tOileánach—More or Less,” p. 241.
34 I may as well give some brief account: Islandman, p. 26.
35 If King George: Ibid., p. 29.
36 The swell would be rising: Ibid., p. 243.
37 Untrained in the craft: Fitz Gerald, p. 288.
38 The greatest humourous writer: Beaslai.
39 Were made to save face: Stewart, “An tOileánach—More or Less,” p. 235.
40 He said he never regretted: Pádraig Ó Siochfhradha (nephew of An Seabhac), interview.
41 Made clear that he was being asked to write: Hidden, p. 124.
42 With perfect frankness: Robin Flower, foreword, Islandman, p. vii.
43 I would not have left: Cited in Hidden, p. 125.
44 Emerged with a little help from his friends: In “The (Original) Islandman?,” p. 252, John Eastlake offers an attractively broad-minded view of these and related issues: “The pursuit of the original,” he writes, “is much like chasing a mirage. It recedes before us as we track it through the process of [literary] production. It quickly becomes apparent that the original is not located in the published text; so, we look for manuscripts and drafts. At this point, we determine that there are factors at work that challenge the integrity of the working drafts, if integrity means ‘uninfluenced’ or ‘produced in perfect isolation.’ Now the original has receded beyond the recoverable text to an inchoate pre-textual stage.” The original and authentic, in other words, are apt to prove elusive, even in principle.
45 It was a wonder: Enright, introduction, Cross, p. 1.
46 Still lingers … silver bell: Binchy, “Two Blasket Autobiographies,” p. 547.
47 The effects of oral states: Ong, p. 30.
48 Preamble … reciting Ossianic lays: Robin Flower, The Irish Tradition, p. 105.
49 Built around admiration: Kiberd, in Reflections.
50 Inborn genius for speech: Quoted in Binchy, “Two Blasket Autobiographies,” p. 552. See also Thomson to Pádraig Ó Fiannachta, Oct. 29, 1975, Thomson Archives: “There is no reason to doubt that [in Allagar na hInise] Tomás is reproducing faithfully what they [the islanders] actually said, and they spoke in the same style. This is true of all of them, though naturally some were more eloquent than others. They differed from Tomás in only one respect, that they were unable to write. Some people seem to think that, interpreted in this way, Tomás’s stature as a writer is diminished. It seems to me, on the contrary, that it is enhanced; for it means that Tomás speaks not only for himself but for his people, and not only for his contemporaries but for his ancestors.”