Diarmuid And Gráinne: The Facts!
Greetings, all!
We’re
celebrating midweek with another blog post! While we’re all looking forward to
opening night of the spectacular Diarmuid
and Gráinne, we know that many of
our audience members may be unfamiliar with the tale’s origins. Fear no more,
for we have compiled a list of fun facts and interesting D&G trivia!
·
Although this legend tracing as far back as the 10th
century may well be a tale as old as time, the first known stage production of
the myth was not performed until 1928 in Galway’s Taibhdhearc theatre. This particular production was
coined Diarmuid Agus Gráinne, performed
as Gaeilge (the native Irish language)
as the Taibhdhearc was known as Ireland’s National Language Theatre. This is
particularly special as it was also the Taibhdhearc’s debut production (a great
choice in our humble opinion!)
·
While this may
be many viewers first encounter with Gráinne, a selection of the other
characters such as Fionn Mac Cumhaill and his son Oisín are prevalent throughout
Irish folklore, including legends such as Oisín
i dTír na nÓg (the land of youth) and
The Salmon of Knowledge to name a
few!
·
Although Fionn’s
exact age is unknown throughout the play, it is speculated that he is several
hundred years old – perhaps a little mature for our Gráinne!
·
Legend has it
that Diarmuid and Gráinne placed a fishbone between them as they slept to prove
Grainne’s chasteness and virtuosity, which they would then leave behind for Fionn
to discover. However, in some variations of the myth, they are said to have
left a statue or even a piece of bread!
· The original story includes Grainne’s father Mr King
(Cormac Mac Airt), however, our adaptation offers the equally fabulous Mrs King.
Although accounts of the story vary from Gráinne slipping Diarmuid a love potion to Gráinne drugging everybody except Diarmuid, it is generally understood that in the original legend, Diarmuid was faoi gheasa, which translates to “under a spell” of Grainne’s doing.
· As seen in the
picture below, legend says that any time one comes across a portal dolmen, a defining monument of
the Neolithic era, one may just be stumbling across Diarmuid and Gráinne’s
humble abode, as it was rumoured these structures were some of the sites where
they slumbered.
·
Source - carrowkeel.com
After all of these exciting tidbits
of information, we hope we have persuaded you further to treat your eyes and
ears to our enthralling production of Diarmuid
and Gráinne! We’ll be back next week with another spellbinding read!
Slán agus Beannacht,
The D&G Cast and Crew.
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