Submissions Call for March 2024 Edition of Smashing Times Newsletter: ‘Women and the Irish Language’

Posted on by Ed Moynihan

Glao ar Aighneachtaí le haghaidh Eagrán Márta 2024 de Nuachtlitir Smashing Times: ‘Mná agus an Ghaeilge’ | Submissions Call for March 2024 Edition of Smashing Times Newsletter: ‘Women and the Irish Language’

**Tá síneadh ama curtha leis an spriocdháta le haghaidh aighneachtaí go meán oíche Dé Máirt, 19 Márta, 2024.**

Ba mhaith le Lárionad Idirnáisiúnta na nEalaíon agus an Chomhionannais Smashing Times cuireadh a thabhairt d’aighneachtaí chuig eagrán Mhárta 2024 de Nuachtlitir Smashing Times. Ag cur san áireamh gur thárla Lá Idirnáisiúnta na mBan (8 Márta) agus Seachtain na Gaeilge (1-17 Márta) níos túisce sa mhí, is é ár dtéama ná ‘Mná agus an Ghaeilge’. Beidh an nuachtlitir dátheangach, ag úsáid an Bhéarla i dteannta leis an nGaeilge.

Don eagrán seo, táimid ag glacadh le haighneachtaí ó mhná amháin. Ní mór d’aon aighneacht a bhaineann le teanga (scríbhneoireacht, drámaíocht, scannán) a bheith sa Ghaeilge, agus is féidir leo a bheith ar aon téama, cé go bhfáiltímid roimh obair a bhaineann le ‘Mná agus an Ghaeilge’ ach go háirithe. Ar an lámh eile, ní mór don amharc-ealaíon a bheith ceangailte ar bhealach éigin leis an téama (nó baint a bheith aici leis an nGaeilge ar bhealach amháin nó ar bhealach eile).

Tá mná ag scríobh sa Ghaeilge le breis agus míle bliain; bhí an file Uallach ingen Muinecháin (a d’éag sa bhliain 934), as Corca Dhuibhne i gCiarraí, mar shampla, ina Phríomh-Olllam Éireann (file nó bard na litríochta agus na staire). Níl eolas substaintiúil ar Uallach ná ar a cuid oibre ar fáil, áfach, agus ar an drochuair lean an treocht sin ar feadh na gcéadta bliain ina dhiaidh sin. Murab ionann agus a gcomhghleacaithe fireann, is annamh a fuair scríbhneoirí ban an leibhéal céanna aitheantais, rud a chuir isteach ar a gcumas fad saoil. I measc na bhfigiúirí suntasacha a ndearnadh doiciméadú orthu, agus a aithníodh níos déanaí, tá an tuireamhaí Caitilin Dubh ón 17ú haois (bunaithe i gCondae an Chláir sa lá atá inniu ann); Ciarraíoch Eibhlín Dubh Ní Chonaill (c. 1743-c. 1800), aintín Dhónaill Uí Chonaill, a scríobh Caoineadh Airt Uí Laoghaire; Máire Bhuí Ní Laoghaire (1774-c.1848), as Condae Chorcaí, a bhí neamhliteartha agus a chuir a cuid filíochta in iúl mar chuid de thraidisiún béil; agus Peig Sayers (1873-1958), seanchaí as Ciarraí agus údar an leabhair Peig. Cé gur tháinig an Béarla chun cinn in áit na Gaeilge mar phríomhtheanga na hÉireann go luath sa 19ú haois, lean go leor ban orthu ag scríobh sa teanga dhúchais, le Máire Mhac an tSaoi, Caitlín Maude, agus Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill i measc na gcleachtóirí ba mhó cáil sa chéad seo caite.

**The deadline for submissions has been extended to midnight of Tuesday, 19 March, 2024.**

Smashing Times Centre for the Arts and Equality would like to invite submissions to the March 2024 edition of the Smashing Times Newsletter. Considering both International Women’s Day (8 March) and Seachtain na Gaeilge (1-17 March) took place earlier this month, our theme is ‘Women and the Irish Language’. The newsletter will be bilingual, combining English and Irish.

For this edition, we are accepting submissions from women only. Any submissions involving language (writing, theatre, film) must be in the Irish language, and can be on any theme, although work relating to ‘Women and the Irish Language’ is more than welcome. Visual art on the other hand must be connected in some way to the theme (or involve the Irish language in one way or another).

Women have been writing in the Irish language for over a millennium; the poet Uallach ingen Muinecháin (died 934), from Corca Dhuibhne in Kerry, for example, served as Chief Ollam of Ireland (a poet or bard of literature and history). Nothing substantial is known of Uallach and her work, however, and this trend unfortunately continued in the ensuing centuries. Unlike their male colleagues, women writers rarely received the same level of acknowledgement, hampering their potential for longevity. Notable figures whose works were documented, and later recognised, include the 17th-century elegist Caitilin Dubh (based in modern-day Clare); Eibhlín Dubh Ní Chonaill (c. 1743-c. 1800), from Kerry, who wrote the famed Caoineadh Airt Uí Laoghaire and aunt of Daniel O’Connell; Máire Bhuí Ní Laoghaire (1774-c.1848), from County Cork, who was illiterate and delivered her poetry as part of an oral tradition; and Kerry’s Peig Sayers (1873-1958), seanchaí and author of Peig. Though English overtook Irish as Ireland’s dominant language in the early 19th century, many women continued to write in the native tongue, with Máire Mhac an tSaoi, Caitlín Maude, and Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill among the most acclaimed practitioners of the past century.

Féach thíos na treoirlínte a ghabhann le gach glao ar aighneachtaí don nuachtlitir | Please see below the guidelines applicable to every newsletter submissions call:

Artist Submissions

Artist submissions are welcome in any genre or form. A few notes:

  • If submitting poetry, please send a maximum of two poems (of any length).
  • If making a prose submission – a short story, non-fiction essay, novel extract, or article – please send no more than one piece, of no longer than 2,000 words.
  • If submitting an excerpt from a play or screenplay, please send no more than one piece, of no more than 1,000 words.
  • If sending a photograph, or an image of a painting, sculpture, or architectural work, please submit no more than two. Please ensure that the images are of a high quality, and provide the work’s label: material(s) used, dimensions, and year. Please include a few lines contextualising your piece and explaining how it relates to the theme. Lastly, please remember to state the title of the piece.
  • In the case of videos, or video excerpts, of plays, please submit one piece only, of no longer than 20 minutes. Please ensure that the video is of a high audiovisual calibre.
  • If submitting a song, a short film, a video artwork, a feature-film excerpt, or a dance piece, please send no more than two, and ensure neither runs over 20 minutes. Likewise, please make sure that they are of a high audiovisual calibre.
  • If submitting in multiple artforms, please send no more than two artworks overall. (For example, one painting and one poem.)
  • Submissions may have appeared elsewhere before, though new work is especially welcome. (If a submission has appeared elsewhere before, please state this and include the publication details.)
  • Translated works are acceptable, once they are submitted alongside the original, and all relevant permissions are obtained beforehand.
  • Themes are always flexible; any subjective response is considered valid.
  • Please submit to communications@smashingtimes.ie by midnight of Tuesday, 19 March, 2024. Subject lines should read: ‘Artist Submission, March 2024’. Please include a max two-line biography, in both Irish and English, to accompany your piece, making reference to your previous publications (if applicable); any social media/website links you would like to be included in case of publication; a headshot or photograph; whether you would like to be signed up to the newsletter (so that, if selected, you receive the edition in which your work appears); and how exactly you heard of this submission opportunity.
  • Our preference for written pieces is that they be sent in a Word document. Please do not send them in a PDF.
  • If we accept a written piece, the editor will contact you with at least one round of suggested edits, so please monitor your email closely.
  • Furthermore, if your work is accepted, it will appear not only in the newsletter but on the Smashing Times website and possibly across our social media channels.
  • Not all submissions will be accepted, unfortunately.
  • The newsletter goes out on Thursday, 28 March, 2024.
  • Publication is unpaid, regrettably, as we are a small charity with limited resources. The newsletter reaches around 1,200 people, however, including a range of major arts organisations, and many members of Ireland’s arts and human rights communities. Previous newsletter contributors include poet Jessica Traynor, Senator Lynn Ruane, 2023 Nobel Peace Prize-winner Narges Mohammadi, rapper-singer Saint Levant, visual artist Erika Diettes, and many more.
  • Submissions are especially welcome from individuals who have been underrepresented historically, such as ethnic minorities, persons with disabilities, members of the Traveller community, the LGBTQI+ community, and women. Please let us know when submitting if you belong to any of these or suchlike minorities.

News Item Submissions

News item submissions are welcome from any organisation or individual either working in the arts, or in human rights, equality, or similar areas. Some notes:

  • News items should be 150 words or less. They may be written in either English or Irish. They do not need to have any relevance to the theme.
  • We welcome any news item based on you or your organisation’s recent work, event, or activity in the areas of the arts, human rights, equality, or social justice.
  • Please include a photo to go with your news item and ensure it is of reasonably high quality. If there is no relevant photo, please send on your organisation’s logo.
  • Any links should be included as hyperlinks.
  • Please double-check for spelling, grammar, accuracy, and clarity.
  • We will endeavour to include as many submissions as possible – though this of course depends on the number we receive. (In the event of a surplus, we will hold onto any items which would still be relevant in the following month’s edition, with your permission.) We will prioritise submissions from Smashing Times members. Sign you or your organisation up here.
  • The newsletter reaches around 1,200 people, including a range of major arts organisations, and many members of Ireland’s arts and human rights communities.
  • Please submit in a word document to communications@smashingtimes.ie by midnight of Tuesday, 19 March, 2024. Subject lines should read: ‘News Item Submission, March 2024’.
  • The newsletter goes out on Thursday, 28 March, 2024.
  • Submissions are especially welcome from individuals who have been underrepresented historically, such as ethnic minorities, persons with disabilities, members of the Traveller community, the LGBTQI+ community, and women. Please let us know when submitting if you belong to any of these or suchlike minorities. Likewise, we welcome submissions from organisations that advocate for any of these, or similar, causes.

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