The Poetry of Dunquin | Irish Language, Poetry & Place
The most popular puicture of Dunquin by far
There is a famous picture of Dunquin filled with a herd of sheep. I drove there hoping to see that. Instead I discovered the real poetry of the area. It’s the views. The stunning gorgeous views; the tranquility of it’s remoteness and meeting a poet who is using it all to further a Gaelic Revival.
Iain O’Leochain comes from a long line of poets. HIs father, Sean O’Leochain, is a renowned modern Irish Language poet who’s work spans from ancient history to contemporary arts. In fact he’s published 19 books of poetry himself.
Now his son is adding his own poetry about Ireland to spectacular photographs he takes. Iain prints his poems on the matts of the artwork written in Irish. And then he puts the english translation on the back of the photograph. Each is a celebration of the stunning world he sees around him.
And he has a lot of photos and a lot of poems. He lives in a house on the bluff above this lane. And he spends his days doing his part to help bring back the Irish language.
“This revival is real. We are all working toward bringing back the Irish language through music and poetry and everyday life, through music, through dance and awareness,” he says.
Ireland has special areas called Gaeltachts where Irish is the primary language. Many areas are bilingual with both Irish and English. For instance, Galway is bilingual. Traffic signs etc are all shown in both Irish and English. And Irish is taught in the schools. But to really bring it back you need to use it. So Iain does.
And you can see his work, and talk to him about it, most days in Dunquin.
Iain arranging his artwork in Dunquin
You can hear his story and his poetry in this episode of Erin’s Isle.