Constructions of the Irish Child in the Independence Period, 1910-1940 by Ciara Boylan & Ciara Gallagher

Author:Ciara Boylan & Ciara Gallagher
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9783319928227
Publisher: Springer International Publishing

The story was not included in the translated volumes either, even though the intended readership already had access to a ‘Gaelic’ version (although, of course, it should be noted that this retelling was not aimed at children).

Ó Moghráin self-censored in other instances; for example, some of the characters were altered in the translation: ‘The Devil with three golden hairs’ was translated as ‘Fathach na dtrí bhfionnaí óir’ 54 and another character was changed in ‘The poor man and the rich man’: rather than ‘In olden times, when the dear Lord himself was still wandering the earth among mortals’ 55 the Irish version begins, ‘Bhí naomh ann fadó’. 56 These choices of a giant rather than the devil, and a saint rather than the Lord, seem to be an attempt to depict the values of the stories as consistent with the norms of the public, in terms of the representation of religious beliefs and characters. Presumably, Ó Moghráin did not wish the stories to be seen by Church authorities, or indeed the Irish public, as ‘facetious or subversive’ in any way, to use Fr. Mac an Bháird’s expression. It seems, then, that great care was taken with stories which made reference to Christianity, or at least, with stories in which there were characters that were important to the Catholic faith.

‘Rapunzel’ was also among the stories that Ó Moghráin found unsuitable for children. Although he was asked to translate it, he declared, ‘I am still of the opinion that it wouldn’t be suitable. It isn’t much certainly, but it could not be changed without making nonsense of the story’. 57 This note seems to refer to the fact that Rapunzel is impregnated while she is in the tower. Again, moral and religious questions seem to be to the fore here rather than the quality of the story itself, and questions of sexual purity in ‘Rapunzel’ (as in ‘The Two Brothers’) are treated with more concern than other themes in the stories, such as death or violence, which might have been considered problematic for the young readership. No questions were raised regarding the suitability of ‘An Eisléine’ [The Shroud], for example, even though the dead main character in the story utters the following: ‘Och! a mháthair, stad den chaoineadh nó ní bheidh aon tsuaimhneas agam sa gcónra. Bíonn m’eisléine bheag fliúch i gcómhnaidhe le do dheora’ [Och, mother, stop crying or I won’t have any peace in the coffin. My little shroud is always wet with your tears]. 58 In the same way, ‘Bás na Circe Beaga’ [The Death of the Little Hen] and ‘An Bheatha Shíorraidhe’ [The Duration of Life] can both be seen in the Irish-language collection, stories in which all the characters die.

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