‘A Ghost in the Throat’ by Doireann Ní Ghríofa

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 4 out of 5.

This unusual literary book defies genre as a combination of personal memoir, Irish history, and translation. Doireann Ní Ghríofa, Irish poet and young mother, became obsessed with the life of an Irish noblewoman poet long dead. Eibhlín Dubh (pronounced: Eileen Dove) was the author of a famous 18th century Irish keen–an extraordinary poem of lament over the brutal murder of her husband Art Ó Laoghaire (Art O’Leary).

Doireann Ní Ghríofa develops a deep fascination with this mysterious historical woman. She doggedly attempts to satisfy her curiosity by doing extensive research in a time in her life when she was already insanely busy as a young mother. As Hephzibah Anderson in the Guardian says, “in snatched moments of solitude – invariably accompanied by a whirring breast pump – she would study her tatty photocopy of the poem, ‘inviting the voice of another woman to haunt my throat a while’.” As she says in this video introduction, her obsession really did mean that these two women, from different centuries, haunted each other.

The literary lyrical writing is captivating but down-to-earth as well, as it alternates between describing the quotidian tasks of a mothering young children, and recounting the dramatic Irish saga from the poem. The memoir is a unique feminist exploration of birth, death, desire, motherhood, and domesticity. This is a book about female life, often overlooked or untold, but intensely valuable and captivating. There are haunting images and visceral recurring themes around milk and blood. This book may not be for everyone, but I loved the writing so much.

Above is a short introductory clip of the book by the author, filmed in a carpark–she explains why. Below is a haunting rendition of the poem Caoineadh Airt Uí Laoghaire (University of County Cork), which has been described as one of the greatest poems written in either Ireland or Britain during the 18th century. Listening to the Irish voices in these videos is a delightful atmospheric addition to the reading, either before or after.