Fionntán De Brún: Kneecap Made the Irish Language Cool for Young People
Irish writer Fionntán De Brún told at the HeadRead festival in Tallinn that the band Kneecap has revived interest in the Irish language among young people, and discussed his novel about the Northern Ireland conflict.
The Kneecap Effect
Irish writer and literary historian Fionntán De Brún said during a discussion at the HeadRead festival in Tallinn that a new generation in Ireland has fully embraced the Irish language, something now dubbed the "Kneecap effect." The band Kneecap, known for their Irish-language rap, has made the language cool for young people.
About the Author
De Brún was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland in 1969. He is a literary historian and currently works as a professor of Irish at Maynooth University. He focuses on 20th-century Irish-language literature, writes in Irish, and his recent work explores the connections between the language and his home city.
Debut Novel
De Brún's debut novel "Béal na Béiste" ("In the Belly of the Beast") attracted considerable attention, as it addresses one of the more complex conflicts of post-Second World War Europe – the Troubles – at its height in the 1980s. At the center of the work is the relationship between a scholar who, in his youth, collaborated with the Nazis, and a young IRA freedom fighter.
Estonian Translation
"Béal na Béiste" has been translated into Estonian – "Koletise kõhus" – by Indrek Žis, who interviewed De Brún at HeadRead. The conversation touched on the history of Ireland and Northern Ireland and attitudes towards the Irish language today.
