Life

Radio review: Fitting celebration of WB Yeats

Nuala McCann

Nuala McCann

Nuala McCann is an Irish News columnist and writes a weekly radio review.

Nuala McCann
Nuala McCann Nuala McCann

Words and Music Radio 3

Woman’s Hour Radio 4

Words and Music is just that. It is perfect Sunday afternoon fodder and this edition was devoted to W B Yeats – celebrating 150 years since his birth.

So it was fitting that the readers were Irish actors Brid Brennan and Lorcan Cranitch.

Brennan delivered a bewitching recitation of When You Are Old And Grey:

“But one man loved the pilgrim soul in you and loved the sorrows of your changing face.”

Down By the Salley Gardens followed – performed by Matthew Barley. This cellist rendered it with true grace.

Poetry, music, musings ... Joni Mitchell singing Slouching towards Bethlehem.

Here were poems of love and loss and ageing – poems about Ireland and magic and the story of an Ireland on the cusp of huge political change.

This ended with Sean O’Riada – a composer who played a leading role in the revival of Irish traditional music in the 1960s. Yeats would have been happy with this and listeners were left soothed and mellow and wondering at the scale of this poet’s work.

The poet might not have been so fond of the feature on how to get the right haircut on Woman’s Hour. But Maud Gonne was a looker so it might have been more up her street.

And getting the right haircut is difficult if you’re a people pleaser who does not like to speak out. It may just be that your dream image of a haircut gets lost in translation.

The more serious debate was about women and alcohol. The discussion centred on double standards - a woman who has a few too many and misbehaves on a plane is said to be a national disgrace but a man with an alcohol problem is said to be battling his demons.

The dangers of alcohol withdrawal, the “double whammy” of alcoholism and fears that your children will be removed ... it was all there.

One person tweeted: If the drinking issue is double standards should the goal be excusing women equally or condemning men equally?