Michael Gallagher
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- February 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780199257560
- eISBN:
- 9780191603280
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199257566.003.0025
- Subject:
- Political Science, Comparative Politics
Ireland is among the few countries to employ proportional representation by the single transferable vote (STV), an electoral system that is highly rated by many researchers in the field. In the Irish ...
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Ireland is among the few countries to employ proportional representation by the single transferable vote (STV), an electoral system that is highly rated by many researchers in the field. In the Irish context, STV is used in constituencies of small district magnitude, but it still delivers a high degree of proportionality. The party system has been characterised by moderate multipartism and, unusually for western Europe, by a significant number of independent MPs. Critics maintain that the provision for voter choice leads to intra-party competition with dysfunctional consequences, but the voters wield a veto over electoral system change and are unlikely to approve any new system that reduces their opportunity to participate in choosing their representatives.Less
Ireland is among the few countries to employ proportional representation by the single transferable vote (STV), an electoral system that is highly rated by many researchers in the field. In the Irish context, STV is used in constituencies of small district magnitude, but it still delivers a high degree of proportionality. The party system has been characterised by moderate multipartism and, unusually for western Europe, by a significant number of independent MPs. Critics maintain that the provision for voter choice leads to intra-party competition with dysfunctional consequences, but the voters wield a veto over electoral system change and are unlikely to approve any new system that reduces their opportunity to participate in choosing their representatives.
Richard Dunphy
- Published in print:
- 1995
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198204749
- eISBN:
- 9780191676383
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198204749.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Modern History
This book studies the origins, development, and strategies of Fianna Fáil, showing how the party achieved its central role in Irish politics. The book explores its historical development, looking at ...
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This book studies the origins, development, and strategies of Fianna Fáil, showing how the party achieved its central role in Irish politics. The book explores its historical development, looking at its organizational structure, the evolution of party ideology, and the interactions between party and state. It analyses how the changing social structure of Ireland affected Fianna Fáil policies, and demonstrates how the inadequacies of rival political parties' responses to crises benefited Fianna Fáil. The book locates the historical experience of Fianna Fáil rule in Ireland within the broader dimensions of European politics. The result is a mixture of detailed empirical research and broader theoretical analysis which reconstructs Fianna Fáil's rise to power and explains how it retained its position of dominance.Less
This book studies the origins, development, and strategies of Fianna Fáil, showing how the party achieved its central role in Irish politics. The book explores its historical development, looking at its organizational structure, the evolution of party ideology, and the interactions between party and state. It analyses how the changing social structure of Ireland affected Fianna Fáil policies, and demonstrates how the inadequacies of rival political parties' responses to crises benefited Fianna Fáil. The book locates the historical experience of Fianna Fáil rule in Ireland within the broader dimensions of European politics. The result is a mixture of detailed empirical research and broader theoretical analysis which reconstructs Fianna Fáil's rise to power and explains how it retained its position of dominance.
VIVIAN MERCIER
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199583744
- eISBN:
- 9780191702365
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199583744.003.0013
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Modern History
This chapter explores literature in the English language in Ireland during the period from 1845 to 1921. It suggests that the relationship of Irish literature to Irish politics during this period ...
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This chapter explores literature in the English language in Ireland during the period from 1845 to 1921. It suggests that the relationship of Irish literature to Irish politics during this period offers both paradox and symmetry. The paradox lies in the contribution of the Anglo-Irish literary revival in fostering a new separatist political tradition, while the symmetry can be found in the fact that writers' disillusionment with politics gave way temporarily to a celebration of revolution. The chapter comments on the works of several Irish writers including Maurice Craig, James Joyce, and Thomas Davis.Less
This chapter explores literature in the English language in Ireland during the period from 1845 to 1921. It suggests that the relationship of Irish literature to Irish politics during this period offers both paradox and symmetry. The paradox lies in the contribution of the Anglo-Irish literary revival in fostering a new separatist political tradition, while the symmetry can be found in the fact that writers' disillusionment with politics gave way temporarily to a celebration of revolution. The chapter comments on the works of several Irish writers including Maurice Craig, James Joyce, and Thomas Davis.
NICHOLAS CANNY
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- January 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780198200918
- eISBN:
- 9780191718274
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198200918.003.0005
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Early Modern History
This chapter demonstrates how the plantation issue remained central to Irish — and indeed British — politics throughout the entire period 1622-41, until differences over plantation policy brought ...
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This chapter demonstrates how the plantation issue remained central to Irish — and indeed British — politics throughout the entire period 1622-41, until differences over plantation policy brought about the downfall of its most potent advocate, who was destroyed not by the Catholics who would have become the victims of his plantation policy but by Protestants in Ireland who resented Strafford's interference in what they perceived as their exclusive domain.Less
This chapter demonstrates how the plantation issue remained central to Irish — and indeed British — politics throughout the entire period 1622-41, until differences over plantation policy brought about the downfall of its most potent advocate, who was destroyed not by the Catholics who would have become the victims of his plantation policy but by Protestants in Ireland who resented Strafford's interference in what they perceived as their exclusive domain.
Paul Bew
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199561261
- eISBN:
- 9780191701832
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199561261.003.0008
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Modern History, Political History
This chapter describes the conflict in Ireland from 1891 to 1918. The first section of the chapter examines the plans for the 1916 rising. The second section explores the role of threats of force in ...
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This chapter describes the conflict in Ireland from 1891 to 1918. The first section of the chapter examines the plans for the 1916 rising. The second section explores the role of threats of force in Irish and British politics. Parnellism as an independent force, representing one-third of nationalists, was an ideology that survived after the death of Parnell. In the discussion of the extra-parliamentary agitation, none of the examples required the transformation of the politics of threat into actual armed struggle. It was more of a latent threat of force without application. The Ulster Unionists had employed the politics of armed threat from 1912 to 1914, but most of their leaders knew that it had many limitations.Less
This chapter describes the conflict in Ireland from 1891 to 1918. The first section of the chapter examines the plans for the 1916 rising. The second section explores the role of threats of force in Irish and British politics. Parnellism as an independent force, representing one-third of nationalists, was an ideology that survived after the death of Parnell. In the discussion of the extra-parliamentary agitation, none of the examples required the transformation of the politics of threat into actual armed struggle. It was more of a latent threat of force without application. The Ulster Unionists had employed the politics of armed threat from 1912 to 1914, but most of their leaders knew that it had many limitations.
Andrew Hadfield
- Published in print:
- 1997
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198183457
- eISBN:
- 9780191674044
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198183457.003.0003
- Subject:
- Literature, 16th-century and Renaissance Literature
This chapter provides an analysis of the political world in which Spenser wrote, suggesting ways in which A View can — and should — be read. It demonstrates how Spenser's imagination was absorbed ...
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This chapter provides an analysis of the political world in which Spenser wrote, suggesting ways in which A View can — and should — be read. It demonstrates how Spenser's imagination was absorbed with the problems of governing Ireland. While one must never make the mistake of conflating poetry and political prose, each kind of Spenser's writing is best served when read in terms of the other.Less
This chapter provides an analysis of the political world in which Spenser wrote, suggesting ways in which A View can — and should — be read. It demonstrates how Spenser's imagination was absorbed with the problems of governing Ireland. While one must never make the mistake of conflating poetry and political prose, each kind of Spenser's writing is best served when read in terms of the other.
RICHARD DUNPHY
- Published in print:
- 1995
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198204749
- eISBN:
- 9780191676383
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198204749.003.0001
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Modern History
Fianna Fáil has held governmental office for almost two-thirds of the life of independent Irish state, and has been able to draw support from all social strata conveying the impression that it is ...
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Fianna Fáil has held governmental office for almost two-thirds of the life of independent Irish state, and has been able to draw support from all social strata conveying the impression that it is politically immune to the negative effects of social conflict. This chapter focuses on the specific role of Fianna Fáil and its involvement with Irish society. It discusses the ‘personalist’ political culture argument, the party system approach, and the dilemma of the nationalist left.Less
Fianna Fáil has held governmental office for almost two-thirds of the life of independent Irish state, and has been able to draw support from all social strata conveying the impression that it is politically immune to the negative effects of social conflict. This chapter focuses on the specific role of Fianna Fáil and its involvement with Irish society. It discusses the ‘personalist’ political culture argument, the party system approach, and the dilemma of the nationalist left.
Dermot Keogh and Finín O’Driscoll
- Published in print:
- 1996
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198203193
- eISBN:
- 9780191675775
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198203193.003.0010
- Subject:
- History, European Modern History
This chapter discusses political Catholicism in Ireland. Topics covered include the formation of an Irish Catholic social movement, the kingship of Christ in the new Free State, vocationalism, Fianna ...
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This chapter discusses political Catholicism in Ireland. Topics covered include the formation of an Irish Catholic social movement, the kingship of Christ in the new Free State, vocationalism, Fianna Fáil and political Catholicism, political Catholicism and the 1937 Irish Constitution, and political Catholicism in post-war Ireland. The 1960s marked an important era of change for the Catholic Church. Integralism was not entirely dead. Small fringe parties continued to fulminate against the pluralist philosophy of figures such as the former Fine Gael Taoiseach Garret Fitzgerald (1983–87) which was perceived to pose a challenge to traditional Catholic values. Such parties, however, could not hope to win mass support and most Irish Catholics continued to identify with the major political parties. Catholicism thus remained a central element in Irish politics; but movements of political Catholicism remained on the margins.Less
This chapter discusses political Catholicism in Ireland. Topics covered include the formation of an Irish Catholic social movement, the kingship of Christ in the new Free State, vocationalism, Fianna Fáil and political Catholicism, political Catholicism and the 1937 Irish Constitution, and political Catholicism in post-war Ireland. The 1960s marked an important era of change for the Catholic Church. Integralism was not entirely dead. Small fringe parties continued to fulminate against the pluralist philosophy of figures such as the former Fine Gael Taoiseach Garret Fitzgerald (1983–87) which was perceived to pose a challenge to traditional Catholic values. Such parties, however, could not hope to win mass support and most Irish Catholics continued to identify with the major political parties. Catholicism thus remained a central element in Irish politics; but movements of political Catholicism remained on the margins.
Angus Hawkins
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199570911
- eISBN:
- 9780191702068
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199570911.003.0002
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Modern History, Political History
This chapter details the life and career of Edward Geoffrey Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby, from 1830–1834. Stanley's appointment as Chief Secretary for Ireland in November 1830 thrust him into the ...
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This chapter details the life and career of Edward Geoffrey Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby, from 1830–1834. Stanley's appointment as Chief Secretary for Ireland in November 1830 thrust him into the cauldron of Irish politics, confronting him with challenges both novel and familiar. Ireland tested the very foundation of Whig doctrine. Whigs were committed to responsible reform within a setting of social stability, progress being secured through timely political recognition of advancing social interests, standing on the bedrock of established legal authority and property rights. But Ireland, where legal authority and property rights were contested, exposed sharp differences among Whigs themselves.Less
This chapter details the life and career of Edward Geoffrey Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby, from 1830–1834. Stanley's appointment as Chief Secretary for Ireland in November 1830 thrust him into the cauldron of Irish politics, confronting him with challenges both novel and familiar. Ireland tested the very foundation of Whig doctrine. Whigs were committed to responsible reform within a setting of social stability, progress being secured through timely political recognition of advancing social interests, standing on the bedrock of established legal authority and property rights. But Ireland, where legal authority and property rights were contested, exposed sharp differences among Whigs themselves.
BEN LEVITAS
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- January 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199253432
- eISBN:
- 9780191719196
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199253432.003.0001
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Modern History
This introductory chapter examines the existing scholarship in the area of the Irish revival and its theatre. It suggests that while there has been much valuable work on the Irish theatre and Irish ...
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This introductory chapter examines the existing scholarship in the area of the Irish revival and its theatre. It suggests that while there has been much valuable work on the Irish theatre and Irish politics of the period, a thoroughly integrated study and closer examination are now necessary. It argues that consideration of a broad range of works, and a conjunctural study of their complex relations with cultural nationalism, is required.Less
This introductory chapter examines the existing scholarship in the area of the Irish revival and its theatre. It suggests that while there has been much valuable work on the Irish theatre and Irish politics of the period, a thoroughly integrated study and closer examination are now necessary. It argues that consideration of a broad range of works, and a conjunctural study of their complex relations with cultural nationalism, is required.
Deirdre McMahon
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199251841
- eISBN:
- 9780191698064
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199251841.003.0007
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Modern History
This chapter offers a history of Irish politics and nationalism in an imperial context, from the Home Rule movement of the 1880s to Ireland's departure from the Commonwealth, and its subsequent ...
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This chapter offers a history of Irish politics and nationalism in an imperial context, from the Home Rule movement of the 1880s to Ireland's departure from the Commonwealth, and its subsequent reorientation toward the European Union. The Home Rule debates illuminated the anomalies of Ireland's domestic and imperial position and highlighted the differences between Ireland and England. The debates provoked profound soul-searching about ideology, race, national character, religion, the constitution, and history. During the negotiations, which started in October 1921, allegiance to the Crown, membership of the Empire, and defence guarantees were the core of the British demands. The Anglo-Irish Treaty signed on 6 December 1921 established the Irish Free State as a self-governing Dominion within the British Empire. The Northern Ireland Troubles, which surfaced in the press from time to time, received more attention immediately before and after the 1998 Belfast Agreement.Less
This chapter offers a history of Irish politics and nationalism in an imperial context, from the Home Rule movement of the 1880s to Ireland's departure from the Commonwealth, and its subsequent reorientation toward the European Union. The Home Rule debates illuminated the anomalies of Ireland's domestic and imperial position and highlighted the differences between Ireland and England. The debates provoked profound soul-searching about ideology, race, national character, religion, the constitution, and history. During the negotiations, which started in October 1921, allegiance to the Crown, membership of the Empire, and defence guarantees were the core of the British demands. The Anglo-Irish Treaty signed on 6 December 1921 established the Irish Free State as a self-governing Dominion within the British Empire. The Northern Ireland Troubles, which surfaced in the press from time to time, received more attention immediately before and after the 1998 Belfast Agreement.
I. R. Mcbride
- Published in print:
- 1998
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198206422
- eISBN:
- 9780191677113
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198206422.003.0007
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Modern History, Political History
This chapter examines the failure of the political reforms in Ireland during the period from 1783 to 1785. It examines the role of the north in the long and ineffective campaign for the reform of the ...
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This chapter examines the failure of the political reforms in Ireland during the period from 1783 to 1785. It examines the role of the north in the long and ineffective campaign for the reform of the House of Commons that dominated Irish politics during this period. It discusses the disagreements over the Catholic question that eventually detailed the reform movement in 1785 and describes the changing relationship between the Synod of Ulster and the government in years after 1885.Less
This chapter examines the failure of the political reforms in Ireland during the period from 1783 to 1785. It examines the role of the north in the long and ineffective campaign for the reform of the House of Commons that dominated Irish politics during this period. It discusses the disagreements over the Catholic question that eventually detailed the reform movement in 1785 and describes the changing relationship between the Synod of Ulster and the government in years after 1885.
Christine Kinealy
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- July 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780719065163
- eISBN:
- 9781781702963
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Manchester University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7228/manchester/9780719065163.003.0009
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Modern History
After 1848, much political activity in Ireland was directed into the emerging struggle for land reform. Nonetheless, the ideology of the Confederation had taken root, although its strongest advocates ...
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After 1848, much political activity in Ireland was directed into the emerging struggle for land reform. Nonetheless, the ideology of the Confederation had taken root, although its strongest advocates were in jail or in exile in France and the United States. This chapter moves the focus of Irish politics outside Ireland. Overseas involvement in the events leading to the 1848 rising was important, even if the much-vaunted Irish Brigade proved to be elusive (both to the authorities and to historians). Following Ballingarry the centre of Irish nationalism moved outside the island of Ireland. The presence of so many Young Irelanders in the United States, particularly New York, and the transportation of the state prisoners to Van Diemen's Land, extended Irish political debate to three continents.Less
After 1848, much political activity in Ireland was directed into the emerging struggle for land reform. Nonetheless, the ideology of the Confederation had taken root, although its strongest advocates were in jail or in exile in France and the United States. This chapter moves the focus of Irish politics outside Ireland. Overseas involvement in the events leading to the 1848 rising was important, even if the much-vaunted Irish Brigade proved to be elusive (both to the authorities and to historians). Following Ballingarry the centre of Irish nationalism moved outside the island of Ireland. The presence of so many Young Irelanders in the United States, particularly New York, and the transportation of the state prisoners to Van Diemen's Land, extended Irish political debate to three continents.
Jennifer Nugent Duffy
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- March 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780814785027
- eISBN:
- 9780814744130
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- NYU Press
- DOI:
- 10.18574/nyu/9780814785027.003.0003
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Cultural Studies
This chapter examines the contentious politics that occurred when the equally contentious historical trajectories of the Irish and the city of Yonkers collided. It looks specifically at Irish bar ...
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This chapter examines the contentious politics that occurred when the equally contentious historical trajectories of the Irish and the city of Yonkers collided. It looks specifically at Irish bar politics, to the mass-produced “Guinness” pub and its good Paddy appeal, imagined as part of a larger $3.1 billion agreement to lure new investment in southwest Yonkers, and the policing of bad Paddy Irish immigrant bars in southeast Yonkers beginning in the 1990s. In tracing the separate treatment of Irish bars, and by extension Irish people, this chapter shows how neoliberal policies of aggressive privatization and policing accentuate disparities among the Yonkers Irish.Less
This chapter examines the contentious politics that occurred when the equally contentious historical trajectories of the Irish and the city of Yonkers collided. It looks specifically at Irish bar politics, to the mass-produced “Guinness” pub and its good Paddy appeal, imagined as part of a larger $3.1 billion agreement to lure new investment in southwest Yonkers, and the policing of bad Paddy Irish immigrant bars in southeast Yonkers beginning in the 1990s. In tracing the separate treatment of Irish bars, and by extension Irish people, this chapter shows how neoliberal policies of aggressive privatization and policing accentuate disparities among the Yonkers Irish.
RICHARD DUNPHY
- Published in print:
- 1995
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198204749
- eISBN:
- 9780191676383
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198204749.003.0006
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Modern History
Focused on the emergence and persistence of Fianna Fáil as a dominant party in Irish politics, this chapter discusses its political strategy. It emphasizes the role of Fianna Fáil and its rivals in ...
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Focused on the emergence and persistence of Fianna Fáil as a dominant party in Irish politics, this chapter discusses its political strategy. It emphasizes the role of Fianna Fáil and its rivals in opposition and in government, effects of party policy upon different social strata, the changes Fianna Fáil helped to bring about in society and in the distribution of economic and political power, and the effects of changes in the social structure, and the function of its ideology.Less
Focused on the emergence and persistence of Fianna Fáil as a dominant party in Irish politics, this chapter discusses its political strategy. It emphasizes the role of Fianna Fáil and its rivals in opposition and in government, effects of party policy upon different social strata, the changes Fianna Fáil helped to bring about in society and in the distribution of economic and political power, and the effects of changes in the social structure, and the function of its ideology.
Lee Spinks
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780748638352
- eISBN:
- 9780748671632
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9780748638352.003.0004
- Subject:
- Literature, 20th-century and Contemporary Literature
This chapter provides a guide to landmark episodes in James Joyce criticism and key examples of the different ways in which his work is currently being read. In A Portrait of the Artist as a Young ...
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This chapter provides a guide to landmark episodes in James Joyce criticism and key examples of the different ways in which his work is currently being read. In A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, some critics identified a stylistic advance beyond both Edwardian and naturalistic fiction. Arnold Bennett's review provides praise and condemnation of Ulysses. Stuart Gilbert takes pains to highlight Joyce's classical literary heritage. The years between the end of World War Two and the explosion of critical interest in Joyce's work caused by the emergence of modern literary and cultural ‘theory’ saw the debate over his achievement and legacy steadily intensify. Joyce's work has a long and involved relationship with psychoanalytic criticism. Joyce's ‘general awareness of Irish politics’ expressed itself in a number of lasting commitments. There has been a problem with Joyce's belief in the cultural redemptiveness of the artwork.Less
This chapter provides a guide to landmark episodes in James Joyce criticism and key examples of the different ways in which his work is currently being read. In A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, some critics identified a stylistic advance beyond both Edwardian and naturalistic fiction. Arnold Bennett's review provides praise and condemnation of Ulysses. Stuart Gilbert takes pains to highlight Joyce's classical literary heritage. The years between the end of World War Two and the explosion of critical interest in Joyce's work caused by the emergence of modern literary and cultural ‘theory’ saw the debate over his achievement and legacy steadily intensify. Joyce's work has a long and involved relationship with psychoanalytic criticism. Joyce's ‘general awareness of Irish politics’ expressed itself in a number of lasting commitments. There has been a problem with Joyce's belief in the cultural redemptiveness of the artwork.
Eamon Byers, Stephen Kelly, and Kath Stevenson
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- January 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780197266144
- eISBN:
- 9780191860027
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197266144.003.0003
- Subject:
- History, Cultural History
‘Each person in Ulster’, Seamus Heaney famously remarked, ‘lives first in the Ulster of the actual present and then in one or other Ulster of the mind.’ While explicit reference to the Middle Ages ...
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‘Each person in Ulster’, Seamus Heaney famously remarked, ‘lives first in the Ulster of the actual present and then in one or other Ulster of the mind.’ While explicit reference to the Middle Ages may seem conspicuous by its absence in the litany of formative dates which pepper contemporary political and popular narrative in the North of Ireland – whether 1690 (the Battle of the Boyne), 1798 (the Rebellion of the United Irishmen), 1801 (the Act of Union), 1912 (the signing of the Ulster Covenant), 1916 (the Easter Rising) or 1998 (the signing of the Good Friday Agreement) – this essay argues, through examination of three case studies – of Cú Chulainn, the Hound of Ulster; the Red Hand; and St Patrick – that medievalism is at the very centre, both chronologically and conceptually, of the historicising reflexes of Irish politics.Less
‘Each person in Ulster’, Seamus Heaney famously remarked, ‘lives first in the Ulster of the actual present and then in one or other Ulster of the mind.’ While explicit reference to the Middle Ages may seem conspicuous by its absence in the litany of formative dates which pepper contemporary political and popular narrative in the North of Ireland – whether 1690 (the Battle of the Boyne), 1798 (the Rebellion of the United Irishmen), 1801 (the Act of Union), 1912 (the signing of the Ulster Covenant), 1916 (the Easter Rising) or 1998 (the signing of the Good Friday Agreement) – this essay argues, through examination of three case studies – of Cú Chulainn, the Hound of Ulster; the Red Hand; and St Patrick – that medievalism is at the very centre, both chronologically and conceptually, of the historicising reflexes of Irish politics.
Eric B. Song
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- August 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780801451850
- eISBN:
- 9780801468094
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Cornell University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7591/cornell/9780801451850.003.0004
- Subject:
- Literature, Milton Studies
This chapter presents a reading of Paradise Lost in the light of Anglo-Irish politics. Matters raised by Anglo-Irish relations serve to answer questions about the instability of Eden. Of particular ...
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This chapter presents a reading of Paradise Lost in the light of Anglo-Irish politics. Matters raised by Anglo-Irish relations serve to answer questions about the instability of Eden. Of particular importance is the way Paradise Lost relates to a body of writings about Ireland that deploys two related tropes: Ireland as a potential paradise that has been spoiled, and Ireland as a woman, either treacherously seductive or humbled and fertile. Situating Paradise Lost within a long history of representing Anglo-Irish affairs—spanning from the medieval period to the very end of the seventeenth century—shows how the epic takes part in a fraught conversation that would continue to evolve after its composition.Less
This chapter presents a reading of Paradise Lost in the light of Anglo-Irish politics. Matters raised by Anglo-Irish relations serve to answer questions about the instability of Eden. Of particular importance is the way Paradise Lost relates to a body of writings about Ireland that deploys two related tropes: Ireland as a potential paradise that has been spoiled, and Ireland as a woman, either treacherously seductive or humbled and fertile. Situating Paradise Lost within a long history of representing Anglo-Irish affairs—spanning from the medieval period to the very end of the seventeenth century—shows how the epic takes part in a fraught conversation that would continue to evolve after its composition.
Andrew Hadfield
- Published in print:
- 1997
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198183457
- eISBN:
- 9780191674044
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198183457.003.0007
- Subject:
- Literature, 16th-century and Renaissance Literature
This chapter focuses on the ‘Two Cantos Of Mutabilitie’—a fragment of an apparently never completed ‘Legend of Constancie’ which first appeared in the 1609 folio edition of The Faerie Queene, ...
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This chapter focuses on the ‘Two Cantos Of Mutabilitie’—a fragment of an apparently never completed ‘Legend of Constancie’ which first appeared in the 1609 folio edition of The Faerie Queene, published by Matthew Lownes, who had attempted to publish A View in 1598. Although the cantos can be read alongside A View as a demand for greater intervention in Ireland on the part of the Crown, and a demand that the voices of the disaffected New English be heard in court circles, they hint at a much more sinister reality, and one at odds with what has been asserted in that attempt to intervene in contemporary politics. The cantos also serve to undercut the ideal of transformation so vital to Spenser's political discourse.Less
This chapter focuses on the ‘Two Cantos Of Mutabilitie’—a fragment of an apparently never completed ‘Legend of Constancie’ which first appeared in the 1609 folio edition of The Faerie Queene, published by Matthew Lownes, who had attempted to publish A View in 1598. Although the cantos can be read alongside A View as a demand for greater intervention in Ireland on the part of the Crown, and a demand that the voices of the disaffected New English be heard in court circles, they hint at a much more sinister reality, and one at odds with what has been asserted in that attempt to intervene in contemporary politics. The cantos also serve to undercut the ideal of transformation so vital to Spenser's political discourse.
Paul Huddie
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- January 2019
- ISBN:
- 9781781382547
- eISBN:
- 9781786945464
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Liverpool University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5949/liverpool/9781781382547.003.0002
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Modern History
This chapter recounts the responses of Ireland’s MPs and peers in the British Houses of Parliament between 1853 and 1856; a period when there was no nationalist party that opposed the war. It will be ...
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This chapter recounts the responses of Ireland’s MPs and peers in the British Houses of Parliament between 1853 and 1856; a period when there was no nationalist party that opposed the war. It will be shown that during the conflict Irish MPs and peers were largely indistinguishable from their British colleagues and counterparts. This chapter will show that the holders of Irish seats were largely absent from the ranks of the Conservative rebels and they did not participate in the goading and divisive tactics of Benjamin Disraeli, but also that Irish Liberals were absent from the anti-war and often anti-ministerial section of the Liberal benches. Irish members also responded to a number of distinctly Irish issues, and although they never moulded imperial issues into Irish ones, they did use the perceived valour and actual participation of Irish soldiers and sailors in the war to defend other distinctly Irish interests. It will be seen that the war represents a distinct period in Ireland’s parliamentary relationship with the British Empire, during which Irish members supported its defence and its interests in what they saw as a just and necessary war.Less
This chapter recounts the responses of Ireland’s MPs and peers in the British Houses of Parliament between 1853 and 1856; a period when there was no nationalist party that opposed the war. It will be shown that during the conflict Irish MPs and peers were largely indistinguishable from their British colleagues and counterparts. This chapter will show that the holders of Irish seats were largely absent from the ranks of the Conservative rebels and they did not participate in the goading and divisive tactics of Benjamin Disraeli, but also that Irish Liberals were absent from the anti-war and often anti-ministerial section of the Liberal benches. Irish members also responded to a number of distinctly Irish issues, and although they never moulded imperial issues into Irish ones, they did use the perceived valour and actual participation of Irish soldiers and sailors in the war to defend other distinctly Irish interests. It will be seen that the war represents a distinct period in Ireland’s parliamentary relationship with the British Empire, during which Irish members supported its defence and its interests in what they saw as a just and necessary war.
