| Mná na hÉireann (Women of Ireland) | |
| Language: | English/Irish |
| Genre: | Folk song (Irish rebel music), Aisling |
| Composer: | Seán Ó Riada (most popular tune setting) |
"Mná na hÉireann" (English: Women of Ireland) is a poem written by Ulster poet Peadar Ó Doirnín (1700–1769), most famous as a song, and especially since set to an air composed by Seán Ó Riada (1931–1971).
Peadar Ó Doirnín lived in Forkhill in south Armagh, Ireland and is buried in Urnaí graveyard nearby in County Louth. He is best known for his song 'Úrchnoc Chéin Mhic Cáinte'.[1] It was the editor of an anthology of his poems (1969), Dr. Breandan Ó Buachalla who gave the lyrics its title 'Mná na hÉireann'.
Tá bean in Éirinn a bheadh ag éad liom mur' bhfaighfinn ach pógÓ bhean ar aonach, nach ait an scéala, is mo dháimh féin leo;Tá bean ab fhearr liom nó cath is céad dhíobh nach bhfagham go deoIs tá cailín spéiriúil ag fear gan Bhéarla, dubhghránna cróin.
Tá bean i Laighnibh is nios mhiste léithe bheith láimh liom ar bord,Is tá bean i bhFearnmhaigh a ghéabhadh bhéarsai is is sárbhinne glór,Bhí bean ar thaobh cnoic i gCarraig Éamoinn a níodh gáire ag ólIs tráth bhí ina maighdean ní mise d'éignigh dá chois ó chomhar.
Tá bean a leaghfadh, nífeadh is d'fhuaifeadh cáimric is sról,Is tá bean a dhéanfadh de dh'olainn gréas is thairnfeadh an bhróTá bean is b'fhearr leí ag cruinniú déirce nó cráite re cróIs tá bean 'na ndéidh uile a luífeadh lé fear is a máthair faoi fhód
Tá bean a déarnadh an iomad tréanais is grá Dia mór,Is tá bean nach mbéarfadh a mionna ar aon mhodh is nach n-ardódh glór;Ach thaisbeáin saorbhean a ghlacfadh lé fear go cráifeach cóirNach mairfeadh a ghléas is nach mbainfeadh léithe i gcás ar domhan.
Tá bean a déarfadh dá siulfainn léi go bhfaighinn an t-ór,Is tá bean 'na léine is fearr a méin ná táinte bóLe bean a bhuairfeadh Baile an Mhaoir is clár Thír Eoghain,Is ní fheicim leigheas ar mo ghalar féin ach scaird a dh'ól
The verses most often performed by modern singers are the first two and the last.
The song has been sung largely out of context by the majority of singers. While normally sung as praise of, or in solidarity with, women, Oriel song academic and Ó Doirnín expert Dr. Pádraigín Ní Uallacháin has pointed out that the lyrics disparage women and refer to the rape of a young virgin in a derogatory and offensive manner. In referring to various types of women and their availability, or otherwise, to the poet, he refers to a woman from his own locality near Forkhill, County Armagh:
There was a woman from the mountainside of Carrickedmondwho used to laugh when she was drunk,Once was a virgin, it wasn’t meWho forcibly spread her two legs apart.
It is accepted that most singers who have recorded this song did not fully understand the lyrics due to inaccurate translations, the exclusion of verses in previous recordings or the lack of understanding of the nuances and metaphorical usage of Irish language terminology.
Ní Uallacháin's 2023 translation and reference notes below reveals the true meaning of the lyrics.
Mná na hÉireann
There’s a woman in Ireland who would be jealous of me if I were only to get a kissFrom a woman at the fair, how odd is that, and me inclined to them both;There’s a woman I’d prefer than a battalion and a hundred women that I’ll never haveAnd an ugly black-nosed man with no English has a pretty girl
There’s a woman in Leinster who wouldn’t mind being in hand along with meAnd there’s a woman in Farney who would recite verses with the sweetest of voiceThere was a woman on the side of a hill in Carrickedmond who used to laugh when she drankOnce was a virgin, it wasn’t me who forced (raped) her two legs apart.
There’s a woman who would soak, wash and sew cambric and satinAnd there’s a woman who would make as much knitted wool as would hide the swelling bellyAnd there’s a woman who would rather go begging or tortured with offspring (?),And there’s a woman who after all that would lie with a man and her mother dead.
There’s a woman who would do too much abstinence and too much God lovingAnd there’s a woman who wouldn’t swear in any way or raise her voice;But one fine woman who would receive a man piously and with proprietyShowed that his 'instrument' wouldn’t sustain it, so wouldn’t meddle with her under any circumstance.
There’s a woman who says that if I were to court her I’d get the gold;And there’s a woman in her shift and her beauty is worth more than herds of cattle Of the woman who would disturb Ballymoyer and the plains of Tyrone.And there’s no cure for my disease but a slug of drink.
This translation (of the same three verses) is by Michael Davitt. Davitt plays with the second couplet of each verse, reversing the meaning and turning the poem into the song of a womanising drunkard, who favours no particular woman (second verse), resorts to drink instead of avoiding it (third verse—though this may be ironic in the original), and whom his lover wants dead (first verse).
Mná na hÉireann
There's a woman in Eirinn who'd be mad with envy if I was kissedBy another on fair-day, they have strange ways, but I love them all;There are women I'll always adore, battalions of women and moreAnd there's this sensuous beauty and she shackled to an ugly boar.
There's a woman who promised if I'd wander with her I'd find some goldA woman in night dress with a loveliness worth more than the womanWho vexed Ballymoyer and the plain of Tyrone;And the only cure for my pain I'm sure is the ale-house down the road.
This is the translation performed by Kate Bush on the album Common Ground – Voices of Modern Irish Music. No translator is given, but the song is credited as arranged by Bush with Dónal Lunny and Fiachra Trench.
Mná na hÉireann
There's a woman in Ireland who'd envy me if I got naught but a kissFrom a woman at a fair, isn't it strange, and the love I have for themThere's a woman I'd prefer to a battalion, and a hundred of them whom I will never getAnd an ugly, swarthy man with no English has a beautiful girl
There's a woman who would say that if I walked with her I'd get the goldAnd there's the woman of the shirt whose mien is better than herds of cowsWith a woman who would deafen Baile an Mhaoir and the plain of TyroneAnd I see no cure for my disease but to drink a torrent
"Women of Ireland" has been used in various film and television productions.