Wake of the Whale

It is a little-known fact that from 1908–1922, two Norwegian-owned whaling stations operated in County Mayo, not far from the area that would be at the heart of the Corrib gas controversy a century later.

Watcher has lived in Mayo most of her life. When she stumbles upon this fact she becomes, like many before her, obsessed with the whales. Reflecting on colonialism and the climate crisis, she asks, What is it that makes the men hunt them? Mariner tries to answer this question.

Through poetry influenced by medieval sagas and sea shanties alike, he tells the story of not just of one whaling voyage, but of the history of commercial whaling itself. He endeavours to give voice to the working Irish men of a community since dissolved.

Together the authors weave a conversation that challenges our deeply ingrained assumptions about human, and animal, nature.

A genre-bending book that blends history, poetry, and documentary, Wake of the Whale asks if the attitudes that brought whales to the brink of extinction are now threatening our own?

About the authors:

Alice Kinsella is a writer from Mayo. She is the author of poetry pamphlet Sexy Fruit (Broken Sleep, 2018), and Milk: on motherhood and madness (Picador, 2023). She co-edited Empty House: poetry and prose on the climate crisis (Doire Press, 2021). Her debut full-length poetry collection, The Ethics of Cats, will be published in 2025. She is an Arts Council of Ireland Next Generation Artist.

Daniel Wade is a writer from Dublin. In January 2017, his play The Collector opened the 20th anniversary season of the New Theatre, Dublin. In January 2020, his radio drama Crossing the Red Line was broadcast on RTÉ Radio 1 Extra. He is the author of the poetry collections Iceberg Relief (Underground Voices, 2017), Rapids (Finishing Line Press, 2021), and the novel A Land Without Wolves (Temple Dark Books, 2021).