Identities - Sir Myles na Gopaleen Myles na Gopaleen translates from Irish into miles from little horses. This absurd name befits the absurd character behind it who people describe as “the wit and scourge of the Plain People of Ireland in the columns of the Irish Times” (O’Nolan 11). Myles’s column “Cruiskeen Lawn” first appeared in the Irish Times on October 4, 1940 (www.pgil-eirdata.org). Myles’s first column was written with the by-line “From a Correspondent,” however, a week later the name Myles na gCopaleen appeared as the signature (White 63). The original name of Myles na gCopaleen was taken from Boucicault’s The Colleen Bawn, but was then changed to the more euphonious Myles na Gopaleen as his celebrity spread outside Ireland (White 63). Initially, Myles was asked to write three columns a week in Irish, but as his fame grew, the fact that the majority of the readers could not read Irish, led to Myles being commissioned to produce three more articles a week, in English (White 67). Myles na Gopaleen is best described as a typical, observant Irishman. Myles often takes the banal and presents in an interesting and comical light. What follows is typical of a Myles na Gopaleen column in the Irish Times. Article by na gCopaleen Sir Myles na gCopaleen SIR MYLES NA gCOPALEEN (the da) was 87 yesterday. The grand old man spent the day quietly at his country place. His breakfast tray (frugal, in keeping with the times) was littered with messages of congratulations from notabilities of every rank and colour, including some of the notorious uncrowned heads of Europe. An endless stream of callers (including many a Scotch-pickled ‘country’ lady, horsey to the point of being horsefaced) left cards bearing scribbled felicitations. When one rather fat lady of this breed stalked up the drive, a parcel of wine-flushed stable-boys ran out, seized her with various sharp cries in horse-language, and forcibly backed her into the shafts of the landauwhich is kept waiting every morning to take Sir Myles for a drive round the grounds. She had been almost fully harnessed when the mistake was discovered. It is rumoured in the servants’ hall that there will be hell to pay when the incident comes to the ears of Sir Myles, who cherishes for this lady his own queer brand of senile admiration – ‘best seat in Ireland, old boy; finest pair of hands in the county, comes down to breakfast on horseback.’ A happy function took place in the evening. Sir Myles, an imposing old-fashioned figure in his lavender waistcoat and cravat, received the tenants and villagers in the old baronial hall. Old Jem, the oldest tenant – he is said to be 113 – made a suitably slavering and fawning speech, refering to certain events ‘in your lordship’s grandfather’s time.’ The magnet which drew the gathering (barrels of free beer) was then produced and the entire company partook of the refreshment (O’Brien 154). Myles continued writing the column until his death in 1966 (note: the column also appeared a number of times after his death under the heading ‘The Best of Myles’) (O’Nolan i). To this day Myles na Gopaleen remains one of the most prolific journalists having a column that spanned over a quarter of a century and contributing to it almost daily.