Irish women: uncovering their language of power.

Publication: Journal of International Women's Studies

Publication Date: 01-MAY-03

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COPYRIGHT 2003 Bridgewater State College

Abstract

In this paper I discuss my experience as an older student studying in Ireland. I connect my encounter in Ireland with a preeminent female Irish poet, Nuala Ni Dhomhnaill, to research I was conducting on the social evolution of women in Ireland for which I interviewed seven Irish women who came from very different socio-economic and political backgrounds. As an Irish-American who had denied my heritage for most of my life, this experience revealed to me how native-born Irish women, who faced many of the same problems I had encountered as a sheltered suburban housewife, had dealt with repressive state and church rules that were set in place by a strong patriarchy. Throughout the paper I emphasize the important role language plays in Irish life and I demonstrate this by including samples of Ms. Ni Dhomtmaill's poetry and brief excerpts from interviews with the women. In addition, Ms. Ni Dhomhnaill writes her poetry in Irish, which sets her apart from many of her contemporaries, and I explore possible reasons for her choosing to do so. The paper looks back over a ten-year span and I discuss changes that took place in the life of the poet, in my life, and in Irish society in general during that time period.

Key Words: Irish Women, Language and Power, Social evolution of women

Introduction

During the summer of 1989, in a quest to explore the social evolution of Irish women since the advent of the feminist movement of the 1960s, I traveled to Ireland armed with a prepared questionnaire and a tape recorder. I chose this topic as my senior thesis for a Women's Studies tutorial in which I had enrolled in order to complete my undergraduate studies. Along the way, in addition to the women I interviewed, I discovered the renowned Irish poet, Nuala Ni Dhomhnaill, and I unearthed my own long-buried Irish roots. When I began writing my research paper, Nuala became the natural symbol for the contemporary women of Ireland who were undergoing significant changes in attitudes. Since her poetry is so in tune with every Irish woman's experience, I saw a distinct symbiotic relationship between the poet...

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