Antoine Ó Raifteiri
Encyclopedia
Antoine Ó Raifteiri (1779–1835) was an Irish language
poet
who is often called the last of the wandering bard
s.
in County Mayo
. His father was a weaver. He had come to Killedan from County Sligo to work for the local landlord, Frank Taaffe. Raftery's mother was a Brennan from the Kiltimagh area. She and her husband had nine children. Anthony was an intelligent and inquisitive child. Some time between 1785 and 1788, Anthony Raftery's life took a huge turn. It all started with a cough. Soon two of the children began suffering from headaches. Another child had a high fever. A rash appeared on Anthony's hand. It caused severe itching. Soon the children were covered in that same rash. They had contracted smallpox. Within three weeks, eight of the nine children had died. One of the last things young Anthony saw before going blind was his eight siblings laid out dead on the floor.
As Raftery's father was a weaver, he had not experienced the worst of that era's poverty, but it would be much more difficult for his son to escape hardship. He lived by playing his fiddle and performing his songs and poems in the mansions of the Anglo-Irish
gentry. His work draws on the forms and idiom of Irish poetry
, and although it is conventionally regarded as marking the end of the old literary tradition, Ó Raifteiri and his fellow poets did not see themselves in this way. In common with earlier poets, Antóin had a patron in Taffe. One night Frank sent a servant to get more drink for the house. The servant took Antóin with him, both of them on one of Franks's good horses. Whatever the cause (said to be speeding) Antóin's horse left the road and ended up in the bog, drowned or with a broken neck. Frank banished Antóin and he commenced the life of an itinerant. According to An Craoibhín (Douglas Hyde) one version of the story is that Antóin wrote Cill Aodáin (as DH Kileadan, County Mayo, his most famous work apart from Anach Cuan, to get back in Frank Taffe's good books. Taffe however was displeased at the awkward way Antóin worked his name into the poem, and then only at the end. Another version has it that Antóin wrote this poem in competition to win a bet as to who could praise their own place best. When he finished reciting the poem his competitor is reported to have said "Bad luck to you Rafftery, you have left nothing at all for the people of Galway" and refused to recite his own poem. None of his poems were written down during the poet's lifetime, but they were collected from those he taught them to by Douglas Hyde
, Lady Gregory and others, who later published them. Raftery was lithe and spare in build and not very tall but he was very strong and considered a good wrestler. He always wore a long frieze coat and corduroy breeches. Ó Raifteiri is buried in Kileeneen Cemetery, near Craughwell
, County Galway
.
|- bgcolor="CCCCCC"
! "Eanach Dhúin"!! English Translation
|-
|Má fhaighimse sláinte is fada bheidh trácht
Nár mhór an t-íonadh ós comhair na ndaoine
||If my health is spared I'll be long relating
What wild despair was on all the faces
|}
Irish language
Irish , also known as Irish Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people. Irish is now spoken as a first language by a minority of Irish people, as well as being a second language of a larger proportion of...
poet
Irish poetry
The history of Irish poetry includes the poetries of two languages, one in Irish and the other in English. The complex interplay between these two traditions, and between both of them and other poetries in English, has produced a body of work that is both rich in variety and difficult to...
who is often called the last of the wandering bard
Bard
In medieval Gaelic and British culture a bard was a professional poet, employed by a patron, such as a monarch or nobleman, to commemorate the patron's ancestors and to praise the patron's own activities.Originally a specific class of poet, contrasting with another class known as fili in Ireland...
s.
Biography
Anthony Raftery was born in Killedan, near KiltimaghKiltimagh
' is a town in County Mayo, Ireland. It was referred to in the popular Irish song 'Horse it into ya Cynthia' by Conal Gallen.-Transport:The rail link is closed, but is pending re-opening as part of the Western Railway Corridor. Kiltimagh railway station opened on 1 October 1895 and finally closed...
in County Mayo
County Mayo
County Mayo is a county in Ireland. It is located in the West Region and is also part of the province of Connacht. It is named after the village of Mayo, which is now generally known as Mayo Abbey. Mayo County Council is the local authority for the county. The population of the county is 130,552...
. His father was a weaver. He had come to Killedan from County Sligo to work for the local landlord, Frank Taaffe. Raftery's mother was a Brennan from the Kiltimagh area. She and her husband had nine children. Anthony was an intelligent and inquisitive child. Some time between 1785 and 1788, Anthony Raftery's life took a huge turn. It all started with a cough. Soon two of the children began suffering from headaches. Another child had a high fever. A rash appeared on Anthony's hand. It caused severe itching. Soon the children were covered in that same rash. They had contracted smallpox. Within three weeks, eight of the nine children had died. One of the last things young Anthony saw before going blind was his eight siblings laid out dead on the floor.
As Raftery's father was a weaver, he had not experienced the worst of that era's poverty, but it would be much more difficult for his son to escape hardship. He lived by playing his fiddle and performing his songs and poems in the mansions of the Anglo-Irish
Anglo-Irish
Anglo-Irish was a term used primarily in the 19th and early 20th centuries to identify a privileged social class in Ireland, whose members were the descendants and successors of the Protestant Ascendancy, mostly belonging to the Church of Ireland, which was the established church of Ireland until...
gentry. His work draws on the forms and idiom of Irish poetry
Irish poetry
The history of Irish poetry includes the poetries of two languages, one in Irish and the other in English. The complex interplay between these two traditions, and between both of them and other poetries in English, has produced a body of work that is both rich in variety and difficult to...
, and although it is conventionally regarded as marking the end of the old literary tradition, Ó Raifteiri and his fellow poets did not see themselves in this way. In common with earlier poets, Antóin had a patron in Taffe. One night Frank sent a servant to get more drink for the house. The servant took Antóin with him, both of them on one of Franks's good horses. Whatever the cause (said to be speeding) Antóin's horse left the road and ended up in the bog, drowned or with a broken neck. Frank banished Antóin and he commenced the life of an itinerant. According to An Craoibhín (Douglas Hyde) one version of the story is that Antóin wrote Cill Aodáin (as DH Kileadan, County Mayo, his most famous work apart from Anach Cuan, to get back in Frank Taffe's good books. Taffe however was displeased at the awkward way Antóin worked his name into the poem, and then only at the end. Another version has it that Antóin wrote this poem in competition to win a bet as to who could praise their own place best. When he finished reciting the poem his competitor is reported to have said "Bad luck to you Rafftery, you have left nothing at all for the people of Galway" and refused to recite his own poem. None of his poems were written down during the poet's lifetime, but they were collected from those he taught them to by Douglas Hyde
Douglas Hyde
Douglas Hyde , known as An Craoibhín Aoibhinn , was an Irish scholar of the Irish language who served as the first President of Ireland from 1938 to 1945...
, Lady Gregory and others, who later published them. Raftery was lithe and spare in build and not very tall but he was very strong and considered a good wrestler. He always wore a long frieze coat and corduroy breeches. Ó Raifteiri is buried in Kileeneen Cemetery, near Craughwell
Craughwell
Craughwell is a village and townland in County Galway, Republic of Ireland. The name is also used as a surname, properly Ó Creachmhaoil, though often anglicised as Craughwell and Crockwell...
, County Galway
County Galway
County Galway is a county in Ireland. It is located in the West Region and is also part of the province of Connacht. It is named after the city of Galway. Galway County Council is the local authority for the county. There are several strongly Irish-speaking areas in the west of the county...
.
Poetry
Ó Raifteiri's most enduring poems include Eanach Dhuin and Cill Aodain which are still learned by Irish schoolchildren.Eanach Dhúin
{| class="wikitable"|- bgcolor="CCCCCC"
! "Eanach Dhúin"!! English Translation
|-
|Má fhaighimse sláinte is fada bheidh trácht
- Ar an méid a bádh as Eanach Cuain.
- 'S mo thrua 'márach gach athair 's máthair
- Bean is páiste 'tá á sileadh súl!
- A Rí na nGrást a cheap neamh is párthas,
- Nar bheag an tábhacht dúinn beirt no triúr,
- Ach lá chomh breá leis gan gaoth ná báisteach
- Lán a bháid acu scuab ar shiúl.
Nár mhór an t-íonadh ós comhair na ndaoine
- Á bhfeicáil sínte ar chúl a gcinn,
- Screadadh 'gus caoineadh a scanródh daoine,
- Gruaig á cíoradh 's an chreach á roinnt.
- Bhí buachaillí óg ann tíocht an fhómhair,
- Á síneadh chrochar, is a dtabhairt go cill.
- 'S gurb é gléas a bpósta a bhí dá dtoramh
- 'S a Rí na Glóire nár mhór an feall.
||If my health is spared I'll be long relating
- Of that boat that sailed out of Anach Cuain.
- And the keening after of mother and father
- And child by the harbour, the mournful croon!
- King of Graces, who died to save us,
- T'were a small affair but for one or two,
- But a boat-load bravely in calm day sailing
- Without storm or rain to be swept to doom.
What wild despair was on all the faces
- To see them there in the light of day,
- In every place there was lamentation,
- And tearing of hair as the wreck was shared.
- And boys there lying when crops were ripening,
- From the strength of life they were borne to clay
- In their wedding clothes for their wake they robed them
- O King of Glory, man's hope is in vain.
|}
Cill Aodáin
These are the opening two verses of "Cill Aodáin";| "Cill Aodáin" | English translation |
|---|---|
Anois teacht an earraigh
Ó chuir mé I mo cheann é
I gClár Chlainne Mhuiris
Go Coillte Mách rachaidh
|
Now coming of the Spring
Since I put it into my head
In Claremorris’ family
to Kiltimagh (Magh’s Woods) I shall go
|
Legacy
- In tribute Seán Ó CeallaighSeán Ó CeallaighSeán Ó Ceallaigh may refer to:*Seán T. O'Kelly , second President of Ireland .*Seán Ó Ceallaigh , Irish Fianna Fáil politician from County Clare...
wrote the poem "Mise Raifteirí an File" in AmericaUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
toward the end of the 19th century. The first four lines of "Mise Raifteiri an File" appeared on the reverse of the Series CSeries C Banknotes (Ireland)The Series C Banknotes of the Republic of Ireland were the final series of notes created for the state before the advent of the euro; it replaced Series B Banknotes. The series gradually entered circulation from 1992 and remained in circulation until 2002....
Irish five pound note."Mise Raifteirí an File" English Translation Mise Raifteirí, an file, - lán dóchais is grá
- le súile gan solas,
- ciúineas gan crá
Dul siar ar mo aistear,- le solus mo Chroidhe,
- Fann agus tuirseadh,
- go deireadh mo shlighe
Feach anois mé- mo aghaidh ar bhalla,
- Ag seinm ceoil
- le pocaibh falamh.
I am Raftery the poet, - full of hope and love
- Having eyes without sight,
- lonely I rove.
Going on my journeying- by my heart's light
- Weary and tired
- of unending night.
Take a look at me now- with my back to a wall
- Singing and playing
- for nothing at all
- An annual festival, Féile Raiftéirí, is held in Loughrea, Co. Galway each year on the last weekend in March. Raftery spent most of his later years in townlands close to the town. The festival features a contemporary Irish language poet and promotes the native arts of Ireland. The festival ends with a visit to Raiftéirí grave in neighbouring Craughwell.
- Kiltimagh town square features a granite memorial in honour of Anthony Raftery erected in 1985, in that same year Kiltimagh twinned with Craughwell, the final resting place of the blind Gaelic poet.
- Scoil Raifteirí, an All-Irish Primary School in Castlebar, County Mayo is named in honour of the poet.
- The Raftery Room Restaurant is located in Kiltimagh Main Street *
- Raftery's Rest Public House is located in Kilcolgan,County Galway near his resting place.
- Raftery is mentioned in passing by Irish freedom fighter Liam DevlinLiam DevlinLiam Devlin is a protagonist and recurring character in the novels of Jack Higgins. "Liam Devlin" is a pseudonym and his real name is never revealed.-Background:...
in Jack HigginsJack HigginsJack Higgins is the principal pseudonym of UK novelist Harry Patterson. Patterson is the author of more than 60 novels. As Higgins, most have been thrillers of various types and, since his breakthrough novel The Eagle Has Landed in 1975, nearly all have been bestsellers...
's 1975 novel The Eagle Has LandedThe Eagle Has LandedThe Eagle Has Landed is a book by Jack Higgins set during World War II. It first published in 1975. It was made into a film of the same name in 1976 starring Michael Caine...
.
- In 2011 a feature film documenting the life of Raftery was produced by Sonta Teo for TG4, and featured Irish actor Aindrias de Staic in the lead role as Raftery.
- A street on the Ballymagroarty estate in Derry, Raftery Close, is named after Anthony Raftery. All the streets in the estate are named after Irish writers.
External links