Mná na hÉireann
Tá bean in Éirinn a bhronnfadh séad damh s’mo sháith le n-ól
S’tá bean in Éirinn s’ba binne léithe, mo rafla ceoil no seinm théid;
Tá bean in Éirinn s’níorbh fhearr léi beo
Mise ag léimnigh no leagtha i gcré s ‘mo tharr faoi fhód.
Tá bean in Éirinn a bheadh ag éad liom mur bhfaighinn ach póg
O bhean ar aonach, nach ait an scéala, is mo dhaimh féin leo;
Tá bean ab fhearr liom
No cath is céad dhíobh nach bhfagham go deo
S’tá cailín spéiriúil ag fear gan Bhearla, dubhghránna cróin
Tá bean a dearfadh da siúlainn léithe go bhfaighinn an t-ór
Is tá bean 'na léine is fearr a méin no na tainte bó
Le bean a bhuairfeadh Baile an Mhaoir agus clar Thir Eoghann,
S’ní fhaicim leigheas ar mo ghalar féin ach scaird a dh'ól
In 1969, Sean Ó Riada composed this beautiful plaintive melody to accompany an exquisite eighteenth century poem by Peadar Ó Doirnín. O’Riada composed Mná na hÉireann, meaning Women of Ireland, to mark the bicentenary of the death of Ó Doirnín as part of a tribute concert in the Gaiety Theatre. The song was performed that night by Seán Ó Sé and the LP recording of the concert, “O’Riada Sa Gaiety”, is seen as something of a landmark in the history of Irish traditional music. Mná na hÉireann was subsequently recorded by The Chieftains as the love theme in the Oscar winning movie by director Stanley Kubrick, “Barry Lyndon”, in 1975.
The lyrics themselves describes the writer’s love for the women of Ireland in all their differing ways. The writer despairs in the end at his inability to love any one woman and cries “And I see no cure for my illness but drink”.
Sadly O’ Riada died in 1971, two years after composing this piece, at the young age of forty. His musical legacy is with us today through such wonderful compositions as Mná na hÉireann.
