Translations by Brian Friel
The action takes place in County Donegal’s town of Baile Beag, an Irish-speaking area, in late August 1833 in a hedge school. A Royal Engineers detachment that had just arrived in the area set up camp nearby and began the first Ordnance Survey. The regional Gaelic place names must be written down and translated into English for cartographic purposes.
In looking at how this operation has affected the lives of a small group, Brian Friel deftly illustrates the profoundly personal and cultural implications of what appears to be a completely administrative move.
Translations by Brian Friel
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It’s a fantastic text that, in my opinion, perfectly encapsulated the Irish identity. Friel makes comments about the strife erupting in Ireland at the time he wrote the play in the 1980s by exploring the meanings behind names and taking a post-colonial view of his own country’s history.
It demonstrates the significance of a name to a person’s identity. The fact that language shapes the way we think demonstrates the detrimental effects of attempting to impose the English language on the Irish people.
