Spring Seaweed (Feamainn Bhealtaine)

Leagan Béarla de ‘Feamainn Bhealtaine’. Tabhair faoi deara gur i mBéarla amháin atá an t-eagrán seo, ainneoin teideal dátheangach an leabhair.

Arna aistriú go Gaeilge ag Mícheál Ó hAodha.

In Spring Seaweed Ó Direáin captures both the soul of the Aran Islands and an artist’s journey between two worlds.

Mícheál Ó hAodha’s translation remains faithful to Ó Direáin’s original vision, masterfully conveying the author’s gift for Irish conversation, particularly in the lightning-quick exchanges of traditional ‘agallamh beirte’. Through lyrical prose, Ó Direáin tells of island life: from shawled keening women whose voices carry ‘an ancient and mysterious beauty’ to the ‘wild, red flood of tide’ washing over the shore. He describes seaweed and kelp drying into a ‘multi-coloured quilt’ beneath the ‘spiralling music’ of larks. He weaves together memories of lost love and friendships with profound meditations on art and exile. The musical prose echoes centuries of Irish storytelling and explores the universal themes of belonging, memory, and artistic creation, while detailed footnotes expand cultural references for contemporary readers.

Spring Seaweed stands as both a vital record of Irish island life and a timeless collection of essays from a master stylist – one that rewards both first-time readers and those returning to discover new depths in Ó Direáin’s writing.

Máirtín Ó Direáin is regarded as one of the three major Irish language poets from last century, the others being Seán Ó Ríordáin and Máire Mhac an tSaoi, who lived well into this century. This book also contains twenty of his poems.

Contents:

• Foreword by Alan Titley
• Childhood
• The Challenge of Night
• Imagining a Future Across the Bay
• May Seaweed
• The Limestone Wall
• The Old Man’s Anger
• The Whirlpool
• Sticks and Briars
• The New House
• The Adults’ Failure
• The Youth Man at School
• The ‘Tans’ in the Aran Islands
• A Motor Car that came to the Aran Islands
• The Land War
• Coming to Grips with the World
• The Day of My First Communion
• Hugh Gore-Booth who is no longer with us
• The Races
• Letter to America
• The Pen and Brush Crowd
• Sick People
• The New Schoolmaster
• The Gloomy Person
• The Small Foolishness
• At One Time
• The Price of a Bullock
• The Irish-language Poet and Urban Life
• A Hundred Farewells to the Wonders
• Forgetfulness
• Letter to an Exile
• The Hermit’s Wife
• The Chekhov who doesn’t come to Ireland
• The Preparatory Work of the Novice Writer
• Hospital Patients
• Holidays by the Liffey
• Watchers and Sentries
• The Trials and Tribulations of a Big Man
• A Hundred Farewells to the Fire
• The Cave-Poet
• Páidín Thaidhg Dhomhnaill
• Seamadán
• Dracula’s Heir
• The Dockworkers
• Old Dick
• Taibhdhearc na Gaillimhe
• In the Post Office
• Death in Annaghdown
• A Day in Court
• The Price of Shoes
• Old Memories Resurfacing
• Hindsight is a Wonderful Thing
• My Small Cake of Joy and Wonder
• The Parting of Friends
• Are you Drawing Yourself on Me?
• A Safe Comparison
• Socialising
• Every Young Person
• Making Fun of the Language
• All Around Me
• The Disease of Perplexity
• Appendix: Selected Poems