A Christmas Poem
This poem was written by Máire Mhac an tSaoi, one of the most prolific and influential Irish language poets of modern times. Mhac an tSaoi was born in 1922, and although she was raised in Dublin she grew up surrounded by the Irish language. Her mother was a well known Celtic scholar and teacher, and her uncle, Monsignor de Brún, a scholar of the Corca Dhuibhne dialect of Munster Irish, as spoken in the parish of Dún Chaoin (at the western tip of the Dingle Peninsula in Co. Kerry), where Mhac an tSaoi spent a lot of time in her youth.
A Trinity Of Poets
The poet Louis de Paor described Mhac an tSaoi as one of "a trinity of poets who revolutionised Irish language poetry in the 1940s and 50s." The other members of this trinity are Máirtín Ó Direáin and Seán Ó Ríordáin.
Oíche Nollag | Christmas Eve
This poem was published in Mhac an tSaoi's first collection of poetry Margadh na Saoire in 1956. According to Louis de Paor, however, the poem was written by Mhac an tSaoi when she was only 15 years old, and shows her mastery of the Irish language even at such a young age.
A Poem for All
On the face of it this is a religious poem in which the traditional Irish belief that Mary would stop by and visit the home on Christmas Eve is described. The door would be left ajar, the fire would be kept alight, food and generosity would be available to her.
Regardless of religious belief, this poem conveys the true meaning of Christmas in just a few short lines: the offering of hospitality and shelter to those in need.
Nollaig Shona.
