Doireann Ní Ghríofa: 'In the past someone like me would have been brought to an asylum'

Doireann Ní Ghríofa, a celebrated Irish-language poet and acclaimed author of "A Ghost in the Throat," delves into a somber yet vital chapter of Irish history with her latest work, "Said the Dead." This deeply researched and imaginatively rendered book brings to light the lives of Dr. Lucia Strangman, a pioneering female psychiatrist, and her patients at the former Cork District Lunatic Asylum. Ní Ghríofa's exploration is particularly poignant given her own lifelong struggles with depression, offering a personal lens through which to view the harsh realities of historical mental healthcare.

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I still struggle to say those words. It sounds so harsh to our ears.

The asylum itself, a looming and often shocking presence in many Irish towns, serves as a stark reminder of darker times. Ní Ghríofa powerfully conveys the sense of confinement and despair these institutions often represented. However, through her discovery of Lucia's casebooks, she finds a new perspective, one that emphasizes the efforts of those who sought to help and the resilience of the patients themselves. This act of rescue from historical oblivion is a testament to the enduring power of storytelling and archival work.

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Lucia’s casebooks about the patients that she is trying to help are found in the 21st century by a character who is very much like me, who is called the Reader, who feels these people coming to life in her own mind.

Ní Ghríofa's personal connection to the subject matter is palpable. Having experienced her own battles with mental health, including a past suicide attempt, she finds a profound resonance in the stories of those who were institutionalized. She reflects on how, in previous eras, individuals like herself might have been confined to such asylums, highlighting the significant societal shifts in understanding and treating mental illness. The book, in essence, is an act of empathy and a powerful reclamation of forgotten narratives, enriched by Ní Ghríofa's lifelong awe for the transformative power of reading.

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These buildings looming over so many of our towns and cities are so visible, so shocking, they look like strange, sad Gothic places of confinement because oftentimes that is what they were – extremely dark and horrific, especially in more recent times.