Erasure of the Female Experience

Throughout a Ghost in the Throat, Ghríofa thematically examines the erasure of female voices and experiences in academic texts and histories. When Doireann begins her research of Eibhlín Dubh, she observes that “the introductory paragraph[s] that often precedes the translations, [of Caoineadh Airt Uí Laoghaire are] flimsy sketches of Eibhlín Dubh’s life that are almost always some lazy variant of the same two facts: Wife of Art O’Leary. Aunt of Daniel O’Connell” (70). While the poem is lauded as a critical piece of eighteenth-century literature, the life of the author is largely undocumented. Her experiences as a child, relationship with her twin, Mary, and life after the death of her husband are considered secondary to the lives of the men she knew.

The author continues to inspect the erasure of female identities and achievements when Doireann...