This article examines plays and performances that incorporated keening in the late nineteenth century and in the early years of the Gaelic Revival. It discusses the keening woman as a dramatic character and the reinterpretation of traditional practices within a theatrical context, using Honko’s theory of the ‘second life’ of folklore (Honko 2013).
‘Keeners’ were among the dramatis personae in the melodrama The Shaughraun (1874) by Dion Boucicault and the mock-wake scene was hugely popular. The article analyses the critical response to this scene in Ireland and, indeed, in other countries, as well as the broader cultural representation of the keening woman. Furthermore, the study explores both Irish- and English-language plays composed and staged during the Revival and the ways in which they utilised keening. It examines a range of plays and productions by prominent playwrights, such as Alice Milligan, Lady Gregory, Father Patrick Dinneen, Patrick Pearse and John Millington Synge and discusses how they incorporated the keening tradition into their works. The article analyses the representation of the keening woman as a noble, tragic figure in these dramas, reshaped through the ideological lens of the Revival. Additionally, it investigates the relationship between theatrical depictions of keening and the traditional practice itself, considering the playwrights’ firsthand experiences of or exposure to these living customs.
