109: #109 | No Faloorum: Merriman’s Cúirt An Mheán Oíche

One of the most talked about, well loved and critically acclaimed TV shows of the past  year has been the second season of Fleabag, with Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s titular character finding an unlikely connection with an Irish priest. The pressure put on their mutual attraction by his vow of celibacy is a rich source of comedy and drama. This is not the first time such a topic has been examined by a long shot, however. In today’s show, Darach chats to Peadar and Clodagh about Cúirt an Mheán Oíche by Irish literature’s favourite one-hit wonder, Brian Merriman. The Midnight Court is satirical in both form and content, and Clodagh explains how conventions of Aisling poetry are taken and turned on their head in this masterpiece. Peadar tells how the social issues complained about in the poem such as late marriage and clerical celibacy are still relevant today, and Darach predictably does a bit of name-dropping. This week’s episode is sponsored by Foras na Gaeilge, celebrating 20 years of promoting the Irish language. Is í ar dTeanga Féin í! #Foras20 --- Get Kirsten Shiel art prints here: https://www.inprnt.com/gallery/kirstenshiel/  --- Contact the show: twitter - @motherfocloir and @theirishfor email - [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices