Poetry going viral is something we are getting more used to - thanks to the likes of Stephen James Smith.
When the poet, playwright and one of the founders of the spoken-word Lingo Festival was working on his last viral hit, Dublin You Are, back in 2015, Smith found himself with a number of non-Dublin related observations that he stored away for future use.
That poetry film concerned itself solely with the capital city, but soon he’d get the chance to broaden his refrain-based verse out to encompass a rhythmic portrait of the whole country.
With the 2017 St. Patrick’s Festival commissioning Smith to write a poem that fitted in with their theme of My Ireland, the poet was able to dig out those notes and start jotting down more impressions and thoughts about what it was that made up his Ireland.
My Ireland you are
the river rush,
always fluid in flux
in need of a little hush
While still a commissioned piece, the poet has no qualms in highlighting the Irish elephants of shame that litter our history:
My Ireland is Savita needing agency,
The Magdalene Laundries.
My Ireland is hysterical
and in denial of being patriarchal.
My Ireland didn’t Wake The Feminists,
Queen Méabh was an early riser.
Turns out he has quite a bit to say about the Emerald Isle, this twelve-minute long ode to modern Ireland lists its foibles while brimming with an all-inclusiveness that articulates most of what’s good, what’s despicable and what’s ingrained in us as a nation and people.
My Ireland is pulling the Aran wool over the Yankee eyes,
while thanking its bus drivers since 1916.
My Ireland is worried that,
Dustin the Turkey and The Rubberbandits
deserve more plaudits for speaking the truth.
My Ireland is fearful of the litigious.
My Ireland is a religious delirious crowd and Synging Playboys,
in a post-truth Western-World…
With the rivers of Ireland as its chorus refrain, it flows from celebration to critique to brogueisms, tripping lightly yet reverently over historic blotches, people-powered protests, nation-defining events and kitsch trivialities.
My Ireland wherever you roam,
you are always a Paddy a Biddy a Mick,
hailing from a Banana Republic.
My Ireland is getting the ride in Copper Face Jack’s
and made Big Jack an honorary Irishman.
My Ireland is Anglo Irish
and playing GAA for the parish.
All in all, this work is a sincere attempt to fulfill the role of the artist in any country - that idea of holding a mirror up to a people so they can see their reflection, mistakes and all.
The video was filmed and edited by Myles O’Reilly (Arbutus Yarns), featuring musical performances from Colm Mac Con Iomaire, Gemma Doherty, Loah & Ye Vagabonds as well as Morgan MacIntyre and Eithne Ní Chatháin. It was recorded, produced and mixed by Conor O’Brien; the jarring and uncomfortable echoes which bring the video to a close are reminiscent of the distinctive sounds of his band, Villagers.
There is a lot to be said for picking poets and musicians for promotional campaigns. Creativity sells, and even when it doesn’t, this piece delivers plenty of value in and of itself.
Photo: Bob Dixon
