An Triail During the winter "term", we'll be focusing most of our attention on the play An Triail, by Máiréad Ní Ghráda. This separate section of the site will allow you to quickly see what you have missed on any given night.

Caitlín Maude

Maude was a poet, playwright, actress, and sean-nós singer who had a considerable impact on an entire generation.

She played the part of Máire, the heroine/victim of the play, in the very first production in 1964. (Due to illness, Fionnuala Ní Fhlannagáin took over for her, after a while.)

Poetry

Géibheann | Aimhréidh | Treall | Na Blátha | Impí

Géibheann (Jan. 31)

"Captivity" is narrated from the point of view of a beautiful wild animal now behind bars. The poem ends with the observation that thousands of people come to see the animal, and would "do anything for me . . . except let me out".

Is that Máire's situation? Would all her friends and relatives do anything for her, but let her free?

Aimhréidh (Feb. 14)

We listened to Maude read this poem, in which the voice of a drowning victim speaks to his (?) lover, from the bottom of the sea. He says to forget about the grave on the mountain and come to the sea. And she does, walking into the sea until she is swallowed up, and reunited with her lover at the bottom of the ocean.

We talked about this theme in Irish lore, the very real fear that your deceased lover will return to claim you. And Entanglement, leading to death, certainly seems an apt description of what happens in this play.

Treall (March 14)

This poem is one a lot of Irish kids are studying for the Leaving Cert exam this year.

It is of interest to us because it was written in 1963, about the time Ní Ghráda finished the play (first production, with Maude in the lead, 1964).

It is a short poem -- the poet flies into a fit, she's just had it. Give me a hammer or axe and I'll tear down this old house, drop the lintels to thresholds and the walls to floors. Then hand me the nails and boards I'll need to make a new one. She ends by noting that she is terribly tired -- but is she tired after attempting this, or too tired to even start?

The poet might well be speaking about getting fed up with the society that our protagonist, Máire, found herself in, wanting to tear down that way of doing things and create a new one.

Na Blátha (May 9)

A story of lost innocence:

Chuas amach an mhadin sin
i mo pháiste
folaithe, do-ghonta --

tháinigeas isteach
i mo dhuine fásta . . .

( I walked out that morning a child, hidden, invulnerable, and came back in a grown person, my soul naked . . .)

She sees the pain that goes with beauty, looking at the flowers and thinking that each leaf could be a sharp blade of beauty. She grew up when she understood that beauty and affliction are both part of life in this world.

Impí (May 16)

The poet talks to a youth, imploring him not to speak words of love to her. She is drawn to him, but she cannot take the risk that things will turn out badly:

cén mhaith Neamh
mura mairfidh sé
go bráth?

What good is Heaven if it doesn't last forever?

We know the saying, "it is better to have loved and lost", but the poet certainly doesn't subscribe to that theory. She just won't take the risk of giving in to something that might not last.

ní Ifreann
go hIfreann
iar-Neimhe . . .

There is no Hell like the Hell that comes after Heaven.

Of course, in our play, Máire has loved and lost . . .

Song

We have talked about the importance of the song Siúil, a Ghrá, in setting the mood for this play. It is the first and last thing you hear, and it is an important moment, early in the play, when Máire sings this song at the dance at the school house. More details about this song are on the main Triail page.

Maude was a well-known singer herself, and certainly would have known what to do with this song. We listened to her sing Liam Ó Raghallaigh, a sad song, in which the bride-to-be laments the drowning of her fiance just before the wedding.

Maude learned that from the singing of Darach Ó Catháin, and we learned a little bit about him, as well:

• Born in Conamara, and moved, as a boy, with that Gaeltacht community that was transplanted into Rath Cairn. Died in 1987.
• A very influential sean-nós singer. A singing contest in Rath Cairn was named after him, and he was a good friend of Seán Ó Riada.
• I only know of one album of his singing available in the States (Shanachie label), but he seems to have recorded things that were available in Ireland, years ago.
• An elaborate style -- we listened to him sing a song, and could hear the similarities in his rendition and Maude's (of different songs).

Finally, there was a nice bit from a past article in Beo in which Cathal Ó Searcaigh reflected a couple of memorable TV programs that influenced him, programs that highlighted Darach Ó Catháin and Caitlín Maude.

Any questions or comments, drop me an e-mail.