# Mná na hÉireann

"Mná na hÉireann" (English: Women of Ireland) is a poem written by Irish poet Peadar Ó Doirnín (1700–1769), most famous as a song, and especially since set to an air composed by Seán Ó Riada (1931–1971).
Peadar Ó Doirnín lived in Forkhill in south Armagh, Ireland and is buried in Urnaí graveyard nearby in County Louth. He is best known for his song 'Úrchnoc Chéin Mhic Cáinte'. It was the editor of an anthology of his poems (1969), Dr. Breandan Ó Buachalla who gave the lyrics its title 'Mná na hÉireann'.

## Poem

Tá bean in Éirinn a phronnfadh séad domh is mo sháith le n-ól Is tá bean in Éirinn is ba bhinne léithe mo ráfla ceoil Ná seinm théad; atá bean in Éirinn is níorbh fhearr léi beo Mise ag léimnigh nó leagtha i gcré is mo thárr faoi fhód
Tá bean in Éirinn a bheadh ag éad liom mur' bhfaighfinn ach póg Ó bhean ar aonach, nach ait an scéala, is mo dháimh féin leo; Tá bean ab fhearr liom nó cath is céad dhíobh nach bhfagham go deo Is tá cailín spéiriúil ag fear gan Bhéarla, dubhghránna cróin.
Tá bean i Laighnibh is nios mhiste léithe bheith láimh liom ar bord, Is tá bean i bhFearnmhaigh a ghéabhadh bhéarsai is is sárbhinne glór, Bhí bean ar thaobh cnoic i gCarraig Éamoinn a níodh gáire ag ól Is tráth bhí ina maighdean ní mise d'éignigh dá chois ó chomhar.
Tá bean a leaghfadh, nífeadh is d'fhuaifeadh cáimric is sról, Is tá bean a dhéanfadh de dh'olainn gréas is thairnfeadh an bhró Tá bean is b'fhearr leí ag cruinniú déirce nó cráite re cró Is tá bean 'na ndéidh uile a luífeadh lé fear is a máthair faoi fhód
Tá bean a déarnadh an iomad tréanais is grá Dia mór, Is tá bean nach mbéarfadh a mionna ar aon mhodh is nach n-ardódh glór; Ach thaisbeáin saorbhean a ghlacfadh lé fear go cráifeach cóir Nach mairfeadh a ghléas is nach mbainfeadh léithe i gcás ar domhan.
Tá bean a déarfadh dá siulfainn léi go bhfaighinn an t-ór, Is tá bean 'na léine is fearr a méin ná táinte bó Le bean a bhuairfeadh Baile an Mhaoir is clár Thír Eoghain, Is ní fheicim leigheas ar mo ghalar féin ach scaird a dh'ól

### Context

The verses most often performed by modern singers are the first two and the last.
The song has been sung largely out of context by the majority of singers. While normally sung as praise of, or in solidarity with, women, Oriel song academic and Ó Doirnín expert Dr. Pádraigín Ní Uallacháin has pointed out that the lyrics disparage women and refer to the rape of a young virgin in a derogatory and offensive manner. In referring to various types of women and their availability, or otherwise, to the poet, he refers to a woman from his own locality near Forkhill, County Armagh:
   There was a woman from the mountainside of Carrickedmond
   who used to laugh when she was drunk, Once was a virgin, it wasn’t me
   Who forcibly spread her two legs apart.
It is accepted that most singers who have recorded this song did not fully understand the lyrics due to inaccurate translations, the exclusion of verses in previous recordings or the lack of understanding of the nuances and metaphorical usage of Irish language terminology.
Ní Uallacháin's 2023 translation and reference notes below reveals the true meaning of the lyrics.

### Ní Uallacháin translation (2023)

Mná na hÉireann
There’s a woman in Ireland who would bestow a charm on me or plenty to drink And there’s a woman in Ireland and my gossiping song would be sweeter to her Than harp music; there’s a woman in Ireland who would prefer nothing more Than me to be mating, rather than my lower belly under the sod
There’s a woman in Ireland who would be jealous of me if I were only to get a kiss From a woman at the fair, how odd is that, and me inclined to them both; There’s a woman I’d prefer than a battalion and a hundred women that I’ll never have And an ugly black-nosed man with no English has a pretty girl
There’s a woman in Leinster who wouldn’t mind being in hand along with me And there’s a woman in Farney who would recite verses with the sweetest of voice There was a woman on the side of a hill in Carrickedmond who used to laugh when she drank Once was a virgin, it wasn’t me who forced (raped) her two legs apart.
There’s a woman who would soak, wash and sew cambric and satin And there’s a woman who would make as much knitted wool as would hide the swelling belly And there’s a woman who would rather go begging or tortured with offspring (?), And there’s a woman who after all that would lie with a man and her mother dead.
There’s a woman who would do too much abstinence and too much God loving And there’s a woman who wouldn’t swear in any way or raise her voice; But one fine woman who would receive a man piously and with propriety Showed that his 'instrument' wouldn’t sustain it, so wouldn’t meddle with her under any circumstance.
There’s a woman who says that if I were to court her I’d get the gold; And there’s a woman in her shift and her beauty is worth more than herds of cattle
Of the woman who would disturb Ballymoyer and the plains of Tyrone. And there’s no cure for my disease but a slug of drink.