I first became aware of Manchán Magan’s incredible efforts to bring the lyricism and resonance of Irish Gaelic to a wider audience via his wonderful Facebook posts that each couple the definition of an Irish word with an illustration by Enagh Farrell that is itself visual poetry. Every post feels like a small but precious gift, given freely for no reward, except, perhaps, the joy of sharing something of value with people who might appreciate it.
When I read of his performance entitled Arán Agus Im (Bread & Butter), in which he bakes sourdough bread and produces butter from Irish cream while regaling the audience with the richness of his native language, I knew I must get to it. I was delighted, then, to see that he’d been tempted to my part of the world by the Liverpool Irish Festival, a match that looked on paper as perfect as arán and im.
And so it proved.
In the space of about an hour and twenty minutes, we were treated to a journey that took us from the founding of Ireland, to the nature of subatomic particles, to the formation of galaxies, the hidden wisdom of Irish mythology, and to many other wonderful destinations besides. A bit like the effect of the 150-year-old sourdough starter he puts to such good use, I’m bubbling over with things I’d love to share—though I’ll perhaps be a touch less generous, if only to avoid spoilers dating back millennia or more.
Miraculously, in Manchán’s hands, all of these things relate to each other in ways that are sometimes poetic, sometimes thematic, sometimes scientific, sometimes ethereal, but always completely convincing; so much so that, rather than sounding like myths and superstition, this acknowledgement of the unseen links between all things makes an overly ‘rational’ view of the world seem so limited as to almost be quaint, and certainly incomplete.
The bread and butter were absolutely delicious too.
Huge thanks to Emma Smith, Director of the Liverpool Irish Festival, for adding me to the guest list last minute, and to all the people who worked to help make the event so warm and welcoming.
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The Broken Spine is a poetry and arts collective proudly published on the coastal edge of North-West England. Founded in 2019 by Alan Parry and Paul Robert Mullen – two school friends reunited after twenty years through a mutual love of poetry.
