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{{Use Hiberno-English|date=September 2024}}

{{Infobox book
| name = Cré na Cille
| author = [[Máirtín Ó Cadhain]]
| language = [[Irish language|Irish]]
| country = Ireland
| published = 
| publisher = {{Bulleted list |  [[Sáirséal agus Dill]] (1949) | [[Yale University Press]] (2015) | [[Cló Iar-Chonnacht]] (2016)}}
| isbn =  
| image = Cré na Cille.jpg
| image_size = 
| alt = 
| caption = 
| audio_read_by = 
| title_orig = 
| orig_lang_code = ga
| title_working = 
| translator = {{Bulleted list | [[Alan Titley]] | [[Liam Mac Con Iomaire]] and Tim Robinson}}
| cover_artist = 
| publisher2 = 
| pub_date = 1949
| english_pub_date = 2016
| media_type = Print
| pages = 364
| awards = 
| isbn_note = 
| oclc = 2674025
| dewey = 891.6284
| congress = PB1399 .O28
}}

{{lang|ga|'''Cré na Cille'''}} ({{IPA|ga|ˌcɾʲeː n̪ˠə ˈcɪl̠ʲə|pron}} {{respell|kray|na|KIL|yə}})) is an [[Irish language]] novel by [[Máirtín Ó Cadhain]]. It was first published in 1949 and is considered one of the greatest novels written in Irish.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Irish Classics|last=Kiberd|first=Declan|publisher=Harvard University Press|year=2001|isbn=9780674005051|location=Cambridge, Massachusetts|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/irishclassics00kibe}}</ref>

==Title==
{{lang|ga|Cré na Cille}} literally means "Earth of the Church"; it has also been translated as ''Graveyard Clay'',<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/books/graveyard-clay-cr%C3%A9-na-cille-review-new-lease-of-life-for-irish-classic-1.2603435|title=Graveyard Clay/Cré na Cille review: New lease of life for Irish classic|newspaper=[[The Irish Times]] }}</ref> ''Graveyard Soil'',<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rte.ie/drama/radio/plays/classic/2012/0329/647023-genres-classic-crenacille/|title=Cré Na Cille le Máirtín Ó Cadhain|website=[[RTÉ.ie]]|date=9 April 2019 }}</ref> ''Graveyard Earth'',<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.tcd.ie/Secretary/FellowsScholars/discourses/discourses/2002_C%20O%20Hainle%20on%20M%20O%20Cadhain.pdf|title= Máirtín Ó Cadhain (Aitheasc Luan na Tríonóide 2002)|author= Cathal Ó Háinle |website=Trinity College Dublin}}</ref> ''Church and Clay''<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=l24l91AqAjYC&q=%22Cr%C3%A9+na+Cille%22+church&pg=PT422|title=A Brief History of Ireland|first=Paul F.|last=State|date=3 November 2018|publisher=Infobase Publishing|isbn=9780816075164|via=Google Books}}</ref> and ''The Dirty Dust''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cic.ie/en/books/published-books/the-dirty-dust-cre-na-cille-paperback|title=The Dirty Dust Cré na Cille (Paperback Edition) - CIC|website=www.cic.ie}}</ref>

== Summary ==
The novel is written almost entirely as conversation between dead characters who are buried in a [[Connemara]] graveyard. The talk is full of gossip, backbiting, flirting, feuds, and scandal-mongering.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://yalebooks.com/book/9780300203769/graveyard-clay|title=Graveyard Clay: Cré na Cille|last=Yale University Press|date=17 March 2016|website=Yale University Press|access-date=21 February 2017}}</ref>

== Reception ==
The novel is considered a masterpiece of 20th century [[Irish literature]] and has drawn comparisons to the work of [[Brian O'Nolan|Flann O’Brien]], [[Samuel Beckett]], and [[James Joyce]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite magazine|url=http://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/the-irish-novel-thats-so-good-people-were-scared-to-translate-it|title=The Irish Novel That's So Good People Were Scared to Translate It|last=Brennan|first=William|date=17 March 2016|magazine=The New Yorker|access-date=21 February 2017}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|title=No Ordinary Man|last=Kiberd|first=Declan|date=15 February 2006|newspaper=Irish Examiner}}</ref> In its serialised form, {{lang|ga|Cré na Cille}} was read aloud and gained classic status among Irish speakers.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Dirty Dust: Cré na Cille|last=Ó Cadhain|first=Máirtín|publisher=Yale University Press|year=2016|isbn=9780300198492|location=New Haven|pages=ix-x|translator-last=Titley|translator-first=Alan|chapter=Translator's Introduction|url=https://archive.org/details/dirtydustcrnacil0000cadh}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qsPazIcYJpQ|title=U.S. launch of The Dirty Dust with Alan Titley, Colm Tóibín, & Brian Ó Conchubhair at GIH NYU|last=Glucksman Ireland House NYU|date=5 May 2015|website=YouTube|access-date=21 February 2017}}</ref> Cian Ó hÉigeartaigh, co-author of {{lang|ga|Sáirséal agus Dill, 1947-1981}}, claims that it invigorated the revival of Irish language writing in the 20th century.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=http://rte.ie/r.html?rii=b9_20739844_1538_09-02-2015_|title=Arts Tonight|last=RTÉ Radio 1|date=9 February 2015|website=RTÉ|access-date=21 February 2017}}</ref>

== Publication history ==
{{lang|ga|Cré na Cille}} was serialised by ''[[The Irish Press]]'' newspaper and then published by {{lang|ga|[[Sáirséal agus Dill]]}} in 1949.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/modern-ireland-in-100-artworks-1949-cr%C3%A9-na-cille-by-m%C3%A1irt%C3%ADn-%C3%B3-cadhain-1.2272292|title=Modern Ireland in 100 Artworks: 1949 – Cré na Cille, by Máirtín Ó Cadhain|last1=NcEoin|first1=Mairin|date=4 July 2015|newspaper=The Irish Times|access-date=21 February 2017|last2=O'Tool|first2=Fintan}}</ref>

It was translated into Norwegian by Professor Jan Erik Rekdal and published in 1995 by [[Gyldendal Norsk Forlag]] as {{lang|no|Kirkegårdsjord - gjenfortellinger i ti mellomspill}}, and translated into Danish by Ole Munch-Pedersen and published in 2000 by Husets Forlag as {{lang|da|Kirkegårdsjord - genfortælling i ti mellemspil}}.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Kirkegardsjord : genfortaelling i ti mellemspil|oclc = 810733488}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=Kirkegårdsjord : gjenfortellinger i ti mellomspill|oclc = 46656985}}</ref>

English translations of the novel were published in 2015 by [[Yale University Press]] and in 2016 by [[Cló Iar-Chonnacht]]. The first translation, ''The Dirty Dust'', was by [[Alan Titley]]; the second, ''Graveyard Clay'', was by [[Liam Mac Con Iomaire]] and the British cartographer Tim Robinson. An earlier translation by [[Joan Keefe]] was completed in 1984 as a doctoral dissertation, but never published.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Philip |first1=O'Leary |title=We're No Angels |url=https://drb.ie/articles/were-no-angels/ |work=Dublin Review of Books |date=April 2016}}</ref>

The lack of an English translation for such a long period of time after the book’s first publication became part of its renown and was a matter of speculation.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/giving-nothing-away-1.275947|title=Giving nothing away|date=27 May 2000|newspaper=The Irish Times|access-date=21 February 2017}}</ref> Three early attempts at translation by publisher Sáirséal agus Dill were thwarted, the first when the young woman selected as the translator joined a convent, the second by the refusal of the poet [[Thomas Kinsella]], and the third by an unsatisfactory effort by a former prison-mate of Ó{{nbsp}}Cadhain's.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/it-s-time-for-cre-na-cille-in-english-1.299458|title=It's time for Cre na Cille in English|last=Cronin|first=Michael|date=7 April 2001|newspaper=The Irish Times|access-date=21 February 2017}}</ref>

== Media Adaptations ==

=== Radio ===
A dramatised version of the novel was broadcast on [[RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta]] in 1973, and was revised and rebroadcast in 2006 as part of RTÉ's Ó{{nbsp}}Cadhain centenary celebrations.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.rte.ie/drama/radio/plays/classic/2012/0329/647023-genres-classic-crenacille/|title=Cré Na Cille le Máirtín Ó Cadhain|last=RTÉ Radio 1|date=29 March 2012|website=RTÉ|access-date=22 February 2017}}</ref>

=== Theatre ===
The novel was adapted for the stage by [[Macdara Ó Fátharta]] and was performed in 1996 and 2006.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.abbeytheatre.ie/archives/production_detail/4207|title=Cré na Cille 1996 (Tour)|author=Abbey Theatre|author-link=Abbey Theatre|website=Abbey Theatre|access-date=22 February 2017}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/going-back-to-the-plot-1.1037490|title=Going back to the plot|date=12 August 2006|newspaper=The Irish Times|access-date=22 February 2017}}</ref> The role of Caitríona Pháidín was played by [[Bríd Ní Neachtain]]. The action was dramatised “in a cavernous space, with characters appearing from alcoves to interact with Caitríona, before slowly drifting back into the dimly lit set - reminding us that these people are gradually merging with the graveyard clay”.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/reviews-1.1263669|title=Reviews|last=Lonergan|first=Patrick|date=31 July 2006|newspaper=The Irish Times|access-date=22 February 2017}}</ref> Bríd Ní Neachtain was nominated for an Irish Times Theatre Award for her performance in the play.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.irishfilmboard.ie/irish_film_industry/news/DVD_of_film_adaptation_of_celebrated_Irish_language_novel_lsquoCre_na_Cillersquo_now_available_to_buy/1483|title=DVD of film adaptation of celebrated Irish language novel 'Cré na Cille' now available to buy|last=Irish Film Board|date=1 December 2010|website=Irish Film Board|access-date=22 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170223044153/http://www.irishfilmboard.ie/irish_film_industry/news/DVD_of_film_adaptation_of_celebrated_Irish_language_novel_lsquoCre_na_Cillersquo_now_available_to_buy/1483|archive-date=23 February 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref>

=== Film ===
A [[Cré na Cille (film)|film adaptation]], directed by Robert Quinn, was released in 2007. Like the stage play, it was written by Macdara Ó Fatharta and starred Bríd Ní Neachtain.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.rte.ie/entertainment/2007/0529/410065-crenacille/|title=Cré na Cille shortlisted at Shanghai Film Fest|last=RTÉ|date=29 May 2007|website=RTÉ|access-date=22 February 2017}}</ref>

== References ==
{{Reflist}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Cré na Cille}}
[[Category:1949 novels]]
[[Category:1940s Irish novels]]
[[Category:1940s horror novels]]
[[Category:Irish horror novels]]
[[Category:Irish-language literature]]
[[Category:Fiction about cemeteries]]
[[Category:Undead in popular culture]]
[[Category:Irish novels adapted into films]]
[[Category:Horror novels adapted into films]]
[[Category:Irish novels adapted into plays]]
[[Category:Irish novels adapted for radio]]

{{Wikipedia attribution|original_title=Cré na Cille|access_date=2026-03-01}}