Sara García

The relation between Galicia and Ireland is unilateral, Galicia is looking at Ireland. Turning a
play from page to stage. We should be able to document two lines of work that tend to be
ephemeral (drama), translation in stage tends to disappear. The texts, in most occasions, are not
published.

“We Love Ireland”. Cando un galego asoma a cabeza para buscar un país no horizonte
internacional o primeriro que ve é Irlanda. O primeiro, o primeiro de verdade é Cataluña, pero
aínda non ten estado propio. Miramos para Irlands como se fose un país suficientemente bo
 Sara García

como para conter dentro o que Galicia querería: ser independente e falar inglés. Ao teatro
galego gústalle Irlanda e ten motivos. É un teatro de galegos sen galegos”

Translations are a phenomenon of the receiving culture.

The very first translation of Irish Drama (the first full length text translated to Galician from
Irish). “Dous folk-dramas” W.B. Yeats (in the intro is stated that these plays are for the “coros
de Gallegos”, enhancing Galician record choice). Placido Castro also translates “o país da
saudade” from the English. Those plays don’t see the light of the day, the bright days of the
stage.
 Sara García

“Cathleen ni Houlihan” (text translated from the Catalan). This play appears in an issue of the
Revista Nós where a Lord Mayor died during a hunger strike; it comes out in 1921, a day before

the Irish treaty. It was a symbolic, commemorative, political critic of the issue; very political
agenda.

He was a little bit controversial in Ireland at that time he was a protestant. When he lived in
Paris, he was in contact with the nationalist movement people but later he said that he has
nothing to do with them. There was a revision of his figure in more recent times. He learned
Irish to find the roots of the people (in his plays he didn’t include words that weren’t spoken by
the Irish people).

“The Playboy of the Western World”. The play didn’t go very well. The audience didn’t agree
with his portrayal of Irish people, of Rural Ireland. The use of the word “enagua/shift/slip”
wasn’t well received. He was considered offensive and riots occurred.
 Sara García

“Na versión galega non houbo máis que cambear as verbas. O demais xa estaba feito. As obras
de Synge son unha demostración mais da comunidade de orixen dos irlandeses e os galegos”.
Cheeky statement. It is a version from a Spanish language translation. Mediation and secondary
translation were very common in theatre and in general.

Lost link in Galician culture and production

The translation was from *Avendaño*. He translated the text from English to Galician. He also
worked with the cast and the director. It was a freer translation than others. It started as “O
mozo que chegou de Oeste” but this tittle is ambiguous because, how would you come from the
West in Galicia? From the Atlántida?

Some cuts made it into the publication.

Sara García
Sara García
Sara García