Resurrecting Alltar Looking Past the Anthropocene with Liam Ó Flaithearta’s Dúil

Abstract

This paper analyses how older work written in minoritised languages can be of use in forming more nuanced, less anthropocentric understandings of the climate crisis. To explore this question, two Irish language short stories from Liam Ó Flaithearta's 1953 collection Dúil, 'An Charraig Dhubh' and 'An Scathán' are evaluated as ecological art, using eco-critics Jane Bennett and Timothy Morton to do so. I argue 'An Charraig Dhubh' successfully de-centres the human, even if it relies on a touch of Anthropocentrism. However, though 'An Scathán' uses a similar style of distanced of narration in describing the non-human, its perpetuation of misogynistic hierarchies illustrates some of the difficulties in producing truly ecological, non-anthropocentric art. In conclusion, this paper affirms the importance of older work, especially that written in minoritized languages, in comprehending the climate crisis.