Journey’s End

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Daniel O'Connell, Dion Boucicault, Edmund Spenser, Elizabeth Bowen, Emily Lawless, Gerald Griffin, James Joyce, John Ford, John Huston, John McGahern, Jonathan Swift, Lenny Abrahamson

For the past eight months I have read nothing but Irish writing and literature, in all its shapes and forms. It has been an interesting experience. I have found that this immersion in Irish writing has re-awakened my long dormant nationalist emotions. As I moved through the various texts, starting with Edmund Spenser’s A View of the Present State of Ireland, and ending with the short stories of Frank O’Conner and Sean O’Faolain, I find that I have developed a renewed interest in Irish history. Moreover, I have a new sense of awareness of the importance of current Irish writing and film as a method of critically understanding the way in which Irish society is evolving. Whereas, I did not enjoy every text, each played a role in my developing a better understanding of Ireland’s culture, its history and its unique contribution to global literature. Ideally, I should have posted a review on every text that I encountered. However, time constraints did not permit this. In an attempt to redress the position, I now propose to share my views on a number of films and texts, which I have omitted from my blog. I will also revisit the texts already commented on, to check if my views have altered in any way.

Loving Leitrim

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John McGahern, Sean Lemass, T.K.Whitiker

I recently attended a presentation by Dr. Heather Laird on the topic of Irish writer, John McGahern. Dr. Laird discussed McGahern’s work in the context of the post revolutionary Catholic Ireland of his youth and the subsequent more evolved Ireland of the neo-liberal period. This period followed Ireland’s move from Eamon de Valera’s economic policy of protectionism to the encouragement of free trade as endorsed by T.K.Whitiker and Sean Lemass  in the 1960s. Dr Laird argued that McGahern was at odds both with the entrenched Catholicism of the post revolutionary period and with the later neo-liberal period, in which Ireland continued to be staunchly conservative in its policies, apart from its avowal of free trade. McGahern also saw this period as one of sexual repression. He escaped from Ireland’s conservatism when he emigrated to England in the 60s. This followed his dismissal from his teaching post in Dublin, following the publication of his novel, The Dark, which was banned for its sexual content. However, following his success as an author, he returned to Leitrim in the mid 70s, where he bought a small farm, near his old home. McGahern farmed for pleasure and supported the farm from his writing.

Life in the Digital Fast Lane

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Neil Jordan

I recently made a presentation at the UCC Textualities Conference 2014 along with twenty or so of my fellow M.A. students in the  Department of English of University College Cork, The presentation was made in fast forward mode, using twenty PowerPoint slides, which rotated every twenty seconds.  I found the format exciting. It kept me on my toes. I became quite attached to some of my slides. The slide that stands out for me was my big green chameleon, which highlighted the versatility of Irish writer and film director, Neil Jordan, who was the focus of my presentation. It was a wonderful opportunity to perform in public in front of my peers and my lecturers. My presentation was not professional, by any means. More than once the slides ran away with me. As a result, I had to exclude some of my text. At times, I had to speak too quickly and I probably did not engage fully with my audience. However, when I had finished my presentation, I found that I experienced an adrenalin high and wished that I could do it all again. The format of the conference was excellent. There were no technical glitches. The live blog and Twitter kept pace with the content and it was fun to see my name up in lights on the live blog. I really enjoyed James Campion’s presentation. He chose an abstruse topic in the work of 18th century poet, William Drennan and made it both interesting and entertaining. He is the master of the well timed pause. I also enjoyed Patricia’s presentation on the interpretation of the walled garden as a feminine trope. Her floral slides were beautiful and I fully grasped the concept of the walled garden as a fortress of female virginity. I was instantly reminded of the walled garden at Bowen’s Court, which still stands, even though the “Big House” has been demolished. I also enjoyed the presentation on the film, The Dark Knight and its relevance to 9/11.

“The Dead” : A Story of Two Halves.

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Edgar Allan Poe, John Huston

My first introduction to “The Dead” was as a first year student of English. At that time, I read this story in the context of its companion stories contained in Dubliners.  I became familiar with such Joycean phrases as “scrupulous meanness” and ” nicely polished looking glass”. However, this is my first reading of “The Dead” in isolation and also as an example of Irish Gothic fiction. I have searched for Gothic elements within the story but found that I was grasping at straws up to the point where Gabriel Conroy becomes entranced with the silhouette of his wife on the turn of the stairs. Earlier potentially Gothic references  such as the “dark gaunt house on Usher’s Island”(175)  require a liberal interpretation if they are to generate a sense of horror,  or even tension. “Usher’s Island” could be an oblique reference to Edgar Allan Poe’s short story, “The Fall of the House of Usher“. However, in his introduction to Dubliners, Terence Brown recounts that Joyce had two great-aunts who ran a “finishing school for young ladies at Usher’s Island”(xiii). Thus, it is more probable that Joyce was making use of a familiar location, just as the two Misses Morkan were reminiscent of his great-aunts. However, Joyce does create a sense of the inevitability of man’s mortality through his portrayal of the elder Miss Morkan, as she bravely sings “Arrayed for the Bridal”. There is something about an aged spinster singing about a young girl preparing for her wedding that induces an element of poignancy, which acts as a harbinger of Conroy’s later morbid contemplation of Death.  I found this scene particularly affecting in John Huston’s interpretation of “The Dead”, as the gaunt , birdlike, Miss Julia bravely performs before her audience, with a quivering, fragile voice, which is clearly a remnant of what it once was.

The Thrill of the Gothic

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Elizabeth Bowen, Gerald Griffin, Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu

I recently completed a study of Irish Gothic fiction which included, among others, the works of Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu, Gerald Griffin, and W.B. Yeats. From reading these works, I realized that I possessed a long buried interest in the Gothic. I particularly enjoyed the short stories of Gerald Griffin and also those of Elizabeth Bowen. This being the case, I feel that each of these authors merits a separate commentary. Accordingly, for the moment, I propose focusing on three  stories written by Elizabeth Bowen during the years of the Second World War, contained in a  collection of her short stories entitled The Demon Lover.

Daniel O’Connell: The Irish Abolisionist.

A recent lecture, given by Dr. Patrick Geoghegan of Trinity College Dublin, focused on the link between the Irish lawyer and member of Parliament, Daniel O’Connell(1775-1847), and the anti-slavery movement. Dr Geoghegan was visibly enthused by the subject matter of his lecture. He presented a vibrant cameo of the hero of Catholic Emancipation. His inclusion of background colour created an image of O’Connell, at once familiar and flamboyant. He recounted that when O’Connell was first elected as an M.P. for County Clare that his supporters carried him on a chair from Clare to Limerick. The description of O’Connell leaping to his feet, with arms aloft, shouting “I am not that slave”, at a fund raising dinner in Mallow Co Cork, in response to a line in one of Moore’s melodies,  gives a vivid image of O’Connell, the showman, who was ready to avail of every opportunity to further his chosen cause.

Garry Hynes Lights Up The Gaiety

Shortly after my outing at the Everyman, I attended a matinee performance of the Irish author Dion Boucicault’s play, The Coleen Bawn, at the Gaiety.  This production was performed by Galway’s renowned Druid Theatre Group. I was delighted to finally attend a play directed by the Tony Award winning Garry Hynes. I was expecting great things and Hynes and her cast did not disappoint.

Irish Drama is Alive and Well

I recently had the luxury of attending three plays in three different theatres over a period of ten days. Each venue had its own distinct character. The Everyman Theatre is Cork’s answer to the Victorian atmosphere of London’s theatre district. Its bar is cosy and its mahogany woodwork and subdued lighting is conducive to engaging in literary conversation before the show and active analysis on its conclusion. The Gate Theatre in Dublin exudes memories of past performances by such notable actors as Orson Welles, Michael Gambon and Michéal Mac Liammóir. At the interval the lobby is redolent with the aroma of good coffee served in china cups, which recreates the image of an earlier gentrified era. In contrast, Dublin’s Gaiety Theatre, set in the heart of the shopping district is more reminiscent of the Victorian music hall. Like its name, this theatre has a sense of gaiety about it and the décor of the auditorium has shades of the burlesque

A Lasting Legacy

A Lasting Legacy

The “Big House” is one of the most visible legacies of the Anglo Irish occupation of Ireland. Aside from its physical presence, it is reflected in the works of many Irish writers.  John Butler Yeats, Elizabeth Bowen and Somerville and Ross have written extensively on the subject. Though many “Big Houses” were destroyed during the period of the land wars in the 19^th century and the War of Independence that followed, many others have survived.

Ireland’s Literary Web

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Edward Said, Seamus Heaney

Ireland is justifiably proud of its literary heritage. Irish writers such as Yeats and Joyce are household names. The late Seamus Heaney was a Nobel prize winner. Many Irish writers, both past and present, are internationally recognized and commercially successful. Prior to commencing an MA in Irish Writing and Film, my principal interest in Irish literature focused on the writings of the Irish revivalists from the turn of the 20th century, who were writing at a time of political upheaval, as Ireland fought to achieve independence. I viewed the many Irish writers that followed as the natural successors of these instigators of an Irish cultural and literary identity. My recent studies have exposed me to the Irish writings of the Anglo Irish, which preceded Irish political independence. As a result, I must now consider what part these earlier works played in shaping the path of Irish literary culture.