John Millington Synge's Aran Islands
Plus, IRISH EYES Giveaway!
Last week, I sat down with Yoga Mind and Cherries in Winter author
to chat about the story behind the story of my historical novel Irish Eyes. (As I’ve mentioned before in this newsletter, getting the book published took… a while). We touched on lots of good “stuff,” including the power of persistence and owning your truth, which pretty much applies to all Life’s endeavors, writerly or otherwise. If you missed that interview, catch up here.BONUS: if you leave a comment, you’ll be entered to win a free copy of Irish Eyes! The catch, and there really isn’t one, is the giveaway is only open to Suzan’s paid subscribers. For a modest/measly $5/month, less than the cost of my Starbucks grande caramel latte, you get access to ALL Suzan’s amazing content, including her medKNITation posts. The deadline to enter is tomorrow, January 26.
Now onward to history…!
On January 25, 1904, John Millington Synge’s (1871 - 1909) play “Riders to the Sea” premiered in Dublin. An Anglo-Irish playwright, poet, and writer, Synge was a key figure in the Celtic Literary Revival and a co-founder of the Abbey Theatre in Dublin. Though born in Dublin to well off Protestant parents, Synge was deeply concerned with the plight of working class Catholics in rural Ireland, as reflected in his writings.
Many of us will recognize Synge as the playwright of “Playboy of the Western World” and not much else. I fell into that camp, too, until I started researching Irish Eyes, specifically the Aran Islands, the trio of islands off the coast of Galway where my heroine, Rose is born and raised.
From 1898 to 1902, Synge spent summers on Inis Meáin (anglicized as Inishmaan), Irish Gaelic for Middle Island. At the time, the remote island’s population was about 35. Today it is closer to 160.1
During these stays, always in the same limestone and thatched roof cottage, Synge dedicated himself to learning and documenting all he could about the islanders and their culture, including the very specific version of Irish Gaelic most still spoke as their primary language.
“With this limestone Inishmaan I am in love, and hear with galling jealousy of the various priests and scholars who have lived here before me . . .” - J.M. Synge2
Along with providing creative inspiration for his plays,3 Synge’s ethnographic explorations led to a nonfiction book, The Aran Islands, completed in 1901 and published in 1907, which I am proud to say I read cover-to-cover. Recounted as a diary, the book offers a fascinating firsthand (albeit outsider’s) insight into how the Aran islanders lived at the turn-of-the-century, a ferry ride away from the Irish mainland and yet a world apart. From Synge, I learned about poteen (a potent liquor distilled from potatoes often called “Irish Moonshine”), curraghs (traditional fishing boats with a wickerwork frame and covered with animal skins or tarred canvas) and many more vivid details that I used to help bring Rose and her family to life.
Always in poor health, Synge died young, of what we now know as Hodgkin’s disease. But his legacy lives on in the dozen plays, poetry collections, and nonfiction works he left us. Certainly, I’m immensely grateful to him for helping enliven my novel.
Enjoy this short scene from Irish Eyes and don’t forget to pop over to Suzan’s and enter the giveaway!
I sought out Adam before bed Saturday evening. “We’ll take the currach over to Inis Meáin, the next isle over,” I whispered as we passed one another in the narrow upstairs hallway. “There’s a writer fellow from Dublin, Mr. John Synge, who lets a room in one of the cottages there,” I added, shamelessly rolling out my bait. Though the future playwright of The Playboy of the Western World had yet to publish aught beyond literary criticisms, he was by far the most celebrated personage in our midst.
Adam’s eyes lit. Dared I hope it wasn’t only the prospect of conversing with a fellow man of letters that brightened them so? “Any ideas what he’s working on?”
I paused, for encountering Mr. Synge was in no way assured. Once autumn arrived, his habit was to decamp to Paris where he bided most of the year.
“A book, I suppose, same as yourself. He’s keen on taking down our folklore and customs as well as learning Irish. But should we… miss him, there’s a dun set upon a summit not far from the pier. On a clear day, you can see all the way back to the mainland. Oh, and the Temple of the Seven Kings and Diarmuid’s Grave,” I added as further enticement.
Back braced against the wattle wall, Adam studied my face, his own wearing a worried look. “Shouldn’t we ask someone along?”
“A chaperone, you mean? Who exactly do you have in mind? Colm?” I added, falling back upon flippancy to cover my nervousness.
“I was thinking of another girl, a friend.”
I shrugged. “I don’t have many girls as friends, leastways none I’d trust not to tell.” That much was truth.
He shoved away from the wall. “So, we’d be sneaking off?”
Caught out, I conceded, “If you’re to leave Monday, it’s your last chance to… meet Mr. Synge and have a look at those ruins.”
Several times more, he raised objection to my “cloak-and-dagger” tactics, beseeching me to let him go to my father and ask proper permission, but in the end, I prevailed. “No guts, no glory,” he finally said, a strange look settling upon his face.
Copyright 2023 Hope C. Tarr
You can pick up a signed copy of IRISH EYES at these booksellers:
Barnes & Noble Upper West Side, Manhattan
Barnes & Noble, Brick Plaza, NJ
Book Culture, Manhattan (2 locations)
The Corner Bookstore, Manhattan
Posman Books Chelsea Marketplace, Manhattan
Thunder Road Books, Spring Lake, NJ
The Comfort Zone, Ocean Grove, NJ
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https://blog.irishtourism.com/2016/08/04/inismaan-inis-meain-aran-islands/
https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/the-house-where-synge-stayed-1.100164
In the Shadow of the Glen, Riders to the Sea and The Well of the Saints were based on stories from the islands and drew heavily on the language and speech patterns of the islanders. https://ireland-calling.com/john-millington-synge-quotes/
love the excerpt.
Thanks, Denise. Really helps to grace that - I’m writing the sequel now.