“Faoi chomhair na Féile Pádraic”: St Patrick’s Day in ‘Culaith le Cois’ by Máirtín Ó Cadhain
Fianna Éireann scouts 1914 © fiannaeireann.com Traditionally seen as a well-earned break and a chance to revel and make merry in the middle of the Lenten period, St Patrick’s Day has been marked in many different ways in Ireland. Famously, it is seen at home and abroad as a time to celebrate all things Irish, real or imagined. Millions will wear green, don a shamrock and drink – perhaps excessively – to mark the festival and, of course, many will parade through towns and cities great and small to celebrate the holiday (see van der Heide 2022). As a student of modern Irish literature focusing on gender, I don’t often have an excuse to discuss Naomh Pádraig or his festival. But one text which features in my research takes place during a St Patrick’s Day parade. This short story, titled ‘Culaith le Cois’ [‘A Spare Uniform’], was written by renowned Irish-language author and activist, Máirtín Ó Cadhain (see here ), and was published in his first collection of short stories Idi...