Image: Conor Horgan Image: Conor Horgan THE IRISH LITERARY scene has long been a source of national pride, but it’s in particularly rude health at the moment. Yet with so many books to catch up on, it can be easy to lose track of what’s out there.
The narrative moves back and forth in time, sometimes told in small fragments, reflecting Cristín’s mindset at the time of writing. It’s a beautifully written, open and honest account of her experiences. In this extract, she writes not just about how getting tattoos helped to ground her in her body, but how this grounding led to her diving into her family’s past.The first tattoo I get after my divorce is for me. The second one is for my grannies.
A tattoo cannot be listed, claimed, or divided up, unlike the process of splitting possessions, including works of art once selected for a home together. Post-divorce, there is also something hugely satisfying about buying art that will only ever exist on your body, and putting it in a place you know your ex will never see.
A marriage ending breaks a home. After a while, it became clear to me that the most unforgivable thing I had done in the eyes of some was to take the family home apart, to destroy the very concept, almost delete the very place, by insisting on its sale. I wanted more than anything to move on. I could not move on and stay put, in a home we had built together, in a place where we had no roots.
As editor of the Vindicator, Eily continued to hold a Republican editorial stance throughout the Irish Civil War, which was likely the reason that the military wing of the Irish Provisional Government, the National Army, also raided the premises, by some accounts smashing the printing press. But Eily kept publishing the paper.
cristinleach basic
cristinleach I’m sure he’s happy about not seeing it too!
cristinleach I love ink, ink with meaning to someone even more, ink is a right of passage to many, and just fun for others, those with ink never will judge those without ink, own it and embrace it, but be warned the beautiful art of tattoo is so addictive, but 100% harmless. ❤️
cristinleach I have this book and it is so helpful to me seeing the same thoughts and feelings that are so jumbled in my mind, expressed so clearly and eloquently by cristinleach. Thank you 💚