Another fantastic Irish poem by Seamus Heaney. And of course, it is a long one! This poem comes in at number 88 on the top 100 Irish poems list. Station Island is on Lough Derg in Co. Donegal in the northwest of Ireland. Station Island (St. Patrick’s Purgatory) on Lough Derg in Co. Donegal has been a site of Christian pilgrimage for many centuries.nbsp;
It lasts for three days and involves fasting, praying barefoot around stone “beds”, and other various penitential exercises which make up the “station.” For over 1500 years, pilgrims have been visiting the Lough Derg shores to find peace & pray for loved ones. Lovely right? Not my cup of tea!
According to legend, this Island site dates from the fifth century when Jesus Christ showed St Patrick a cave on Station Island. This cave was supposedly an entrance to Purgatory that St Patrick had visions in from the otherworld, hence the name “St Patricks Purgatory”.
The cave that started it all has been closed since 1632 and covered over by the Basilica to protect others and welcome people from all over the world to visit and pray over the gateway for all time.
Once again, with Seamus Heaney, we get plenty of powerful imagery. If he were a painter, I would imagine his paintings to be highly detailed while simple. Heaney’s great skill was his way of putting words so that they transported you to the place, time or event. Don’t believe me? Give a read of his other poems, such as blackberry-picking or mid-term break. And let’s not forget that he appears ten times on the top Irish poems list!
As I said, this is no short poem but worth a read. The poem is the title sequence of a whole book (collection) of the same name. If you are interested in picking up the book, you can see it on Amazon here.
I have quoted just a line from section I below, with my notes and where to find the full poem, and even a few minutes of reading will transport you to the place.nbsp;
Enjoy my notes on this powerful Irish poem by Seamus Heaney below.
Station Island
I
with a bow-saw, held / stiffly up like a lyre.
Station Island is the long title sequence of Seamus Heaney’s 1984 collection of the same name, published by Faber and Faber. It runs to twelve sections and follows the poet on the three-day pilgrimage to Lough Derg in Co. Donegal. Along the way he meets the ghosts of people from his past, much as Dante meets the dead in the Divine Comedy.
Section I sets the scene before he even reaches the island. On a heavy summer Sunday in the countryside of his childhood, a figure appears by a hedge, working with a saw when he should be keeping the Sabbath. This is Simon Sweeney, an old travelling man the poet knew as a boy, who both frightened and fascinated him. Sweeney warns the pilgrim not to follow the crowd.
Heaney goes along with the pilgrims all the same. That opening sets up the big question of the whole sequence: whether to follow the faith and habits he grew up with or to find his own way. The name Sweeney also nods to Mad Sweeney, the wild king of Irish legend whose story Heaney had translated as Sweeney Astray the year before.
You can read the full poem in Station Island (Faber and Faber, 1984). It is also included in Opened Ground: Poems 1966-1996 (Faber and Faber).
What did you think of this fantastic Irish poem?
Comment below and let others know. And thanks for stopping by; I hope to see you again soon.
Stephen