This final talk introduces one of the most famous heroines of Irish literature, whose story was turned into numerous plays in the Irish Revival of the turn of the 20th century. Deirdriu – sometimes called ‘the Irish Helen of Troy’ – is a heroine of great vividness, caught up in a pitiless, brutal struggle for self-determination and her own desire. We will look at the earliest version of the story, The Exile of the Sons of Uisliu, and then hear how and why it was adapted and reworked in modernity.
Reading: The Exile of the Sons of Uisliu, translated by Vernam Hull here:
celt.ucc.ie/published/T301020B/index.html…
don’t worry if you miss it – we will send you a recording valid for two weeks the next day