The Summer Talks at lunchtime will take place every Tuesday and Thursday 1-2pm in the National Library of Ireland. Thursday the 11th of August welcomes 

Nuala Ni Dhomhnaill

"The Selkie's Skin"

How Irish oral traditions preserve family and local history

Thursday August 11th

Irish cultural traditions are intertwined with the Irish language. Ni Dhomhnaill's poetry compares the Irish people to a mermaid who has lost her 'seal skin', and is cast adrift, forgetful of origins and heritage.

Venue: National Library of Ireland 

Time: 1.00PM

Born in Lancashire, England in 1952, of Irish parents, she moved to Ireland at the age of 5, and was brought up in the Dingle Gaeltacht and in Nenagh, County Tipperary.  She studied English and Irish at UCC in 1969 and became part of the 'Innti' school of poets. 

Dedicated to the Irish language she writes poetry exclusively in Irish and is quoted as saying ‘Irish is a language of beauty, historical significance, ancient roots and an immense propensity for poetic expression through its everyday use’. Ní Dhomhnaill also speaks English, Turkish, French, German and Dutch fluently.

Ní Dhomhnaill’s writings focus on the rich traditions and heritage of Ireland and draw upon themes of ancient Irish folklore and mythology combined with contemporary themes of femininity, sexuality and culture. Her myth poems express an alternative reality and she speaks of her reasons for writing about myths as those that are an integral part of the Irish language and Irish culture. ‘Myth is a basic, fundamental structuring of our reality, a narrative that we place on the chaos of sensation to make sense of our lives’