Cúl an Tí by Seán Ó Ríordáin

Tá Tír na nóg ar chúl an tí, Tír álainn trína chéile, Lucht cheithre chos ag súil na slí, Gan bróga orthu ná léine, Gan Béarla acu ná Gaeilge. Ach fásann clóca ar gach droím Sa tír seo trína chéile, Is labhartar teanga ar chúl a’ tí Nár thuig aon fhear ach Aesop, Is tá sé siúd sa chré anois. Tá cearca ann is ál sicín, Is lacha righin mhothaolach, Is gadhar mór dubh mar namhaid sa tír Ag drannadh le gach éinne, Is cat ag crú na gréine. Sa chúinne thiar tá banc dramhaíl, Is iontaisi an tsaoil ann, Coinnleoir, búclaí, seanhata tuí, Is trúmpa balbh néata, Is citeal bán mar ghé ann. Is ann a thagann tincéirí Go naofa, trína chéile, Tá gaol acu le cúl a’ tí, Is bíd ag iarraidh déirce Ar chúl gach tí in Éirinn. Ba mhaith liom bheith ar chúl a’ tí Sa doircheacht go déanach Go bhfeicinn ann ar cuairt gealaí An t-ollaimhín sin Aesop Is é in phúca léannta.

Back of the House (literal translation of Seán Ó Ríordáin’s poem)

Tír na nóg is at the back of the house, A beautiful country in confusion, Four-legged people waiting for the way, Without shoes or shirt, Neither English nor Irish. But cloaks grow on all sides In this confused country, A language is spoken at the back of the house That no man understood but Aesop, And they are now in the clay. There are hens and brood of chickens, A stiff and sensitive duck, A big black dog as an enemy in the country. In the west corner there is a junk bank, Life’s wonders there, Candlesticks, buckles, an old straw hat, A neat dumb trumpet, A kettle as white as a goose. That’s where tinkerers come Holy, confused, They have a relationship with the back of the house, They ask for alms At the back of every house in Ireland. I want to be at the back of the house In the dark late To see there a moon visit That professor Aesop Is in a scholarly bag.