Seosamh Mac Grianna: An Mhein Ruin was the first scholarly study in Irish of the work of the most... more Seosamh Mac Grianna: An Mhein Ruin was the first scholarly study in Irish of the work of the most important Ulster Irish writer of the twentieth century. The study, based on the author’s PhD thesis, was published as a volume in An Clochomhar’s prestigious ‘imleabhair thaighde’ [research volumes] series. A central part of the book's thesis was to chart connections between Mac Grianna’s writing and other discourses previously not considered, in particular, the discussion of the influence of 19th century political and cultural discourses on Donegal Irish writers and the comparison of Seosamh Mac Grianna and Liam O’Flaherty’s autobiographical work with the work of contemporary French novelists and writers. A key contribution to the critical understanding of the ideology of the Irish revival was the inclusion of a substantial chapter on the influence of Thomas Carlyle in the work of Mac Grianna and his peers. Seosamh Mac Grianna: An Mhein Ruin also represents one of the first critica...
Robert MacAdam, Aodh Mac Domhnaill and the public sphere. This essay examines the concept of the ... more Robert MacAdam, Aodh Mac Domhnaill and the public sphere. This essay examines the concept of the public sphere in the light of the Irish literary projects of Robert Shipboy MacAdam (1808-95) and Aodh Mac Domhnaill (1802-67) in Belfast during the nineteenth century. It is published in a book of essays on the theme of writing in Irish in urban settings between 1700 and 1850.
Short story included in an anthology of contemporary short stories translated from the original I... more Short story included in an anthology of contemporary short stories translated from the original Irish.
This book chapter examines the legacy of the Gothic Revival as witnessed in the essays and short ... more This book chapter examines the legacy of the Gothic Revival as witnessed in the essays and short stories of Patrick Pearse, and in particular its intersection with Pearse's views on the nature of the Irish-language Revival.
Television documentary (writer and presenter), created by Imagine Media and broadcast by TG4 on 2... more Television documentary (writer and presenter), created by Imagine Media and broadcast by TG4 on 26th May 2010. Duration: 40 minutes. The documentary was based on the author's published research on the Irish-speaking community of fish and fruit dealers from Co Louth that settled in Belfast from the mid-nineteenth century onwards. See Belfast and the Irish Language (2006).
An Piarsach agus 2016: Briathar, Beart agus Oidhreacht., Jun 30, 2016
This essay, 'Patrick Pearse, Scoil Eanna and the intellectual independence of Ireland' looks at t... more This essay, 'Patrick Pearse, Scoil Eanna and the intellectual independence of Ireland' looks at the history of the bilingual school founded by Patrick Pearse in 1908 and in particular the contribution of Pearse's educational project to the aim of achieving what he called the intellectual independence of Ireland.
Short study of the 'Irish' work of French author Raymond Queneau (1903-76), particularly ... more Short study of the 'Irish' work of French author Raymond Queneau (1903-76), particularly his translation of Muiris O Suilleabhain's Fiche Bliain ag Fas (Vingt Ans de Jeunesse) and the Irish novels published under the pseudonym of Sally Mara.
Invited lecture given at 'O Bholg an tSolair go Gaelsceal' [From Bolg an tSolair to Gaels... more Invited lecture given at 'O Bholg an tSolair go Gaelsceal' [From Bolg an tSolair to Gaelsceal], a symposiam on 'Priorities for Print and Internet Media in Irish’ commissioned by Foras na Gaeilge (Cross-border government Irish language body), 13 November 2011, University College Dublin. A summary of the author's contribution is included in the final report presented to Foras na Gaeilge, 'Tuarascail ar straiteis ur maidir le Foras na Gaeilge i leith earnail na mean Gaeilge cloite agus ar line' [Report on a new strategy for Foras na Gaeilge regarding the print and on-line media in Irish]. This report can be accessed at http://www.gaeilge.ie/dynamic/publications/TuarascailEarnailnaMeanGhaeilge.pdf
Journal article in Irish entitled 'Ficsean no Facebook? Do Phleisiur Fein' [Fiction or Fa... more Journal article in Irish entitled 'Ficsean no Facebook? Do Phleisiur Fein' [Fiction or Facebook? Name your pleasure] in which the author discusses the challenges of teaching literature at undergraduate level. The subtitle of this volume is 'Teagasc na Litriochta ar an Triu Leibheal' [Teaching Literature at Third Level].
This essay was the culmination of research in primary and secondary sources in the sociological a... more This essay was the culmination of research in primary and secondary sources in the sociological and cultural history of Belfast. It represents the first scholarly essay to investigate the history of a community of native Irish speakers from Omeath, Co.Louth that settled, from the mid-nineteenth century onwards, in the Smithfield market area of Belfast where they worked as fish and fruit sellers. Besides examining the evidence of census returns, street directories and gravestone inscriptions to map out the geographical and chronological location of the Fadgies, the essay explores the very considerable influence that this community had on a key figure in the Northern revival, Sean Mac Maolain. A final key consideration of this essay is the insight afforded into the attitudes of native Irish speakers to the urban revival of the language. This essay formed the basis of a TG4 commissioned TV documentary written and presented by the author entitled 'Sceal na Fadgies.
Seosamh Mac Grianna: An Mhein Ruin was the first scholarly study in Irish of the work of the most... more Seosamh Mac Grianna: An Mhein Ruin was the first scholarly study in Irish of the work of the most important Ulster Irish writer of the twentieth century. The study, based on the author’s PhD thesis, was published as a volume in An Clochomhar’s prestigious ‘imleabhair thaighde’ [research volumes] series. A central part of the book's thesis was to chart connections between Mac Grianna’s writing and other discourses previously not considered, in particular, the discussion of the influence of 19th century political and cultural discourses on Donegal Irish writers and the comparison of Seosamh Mac Grianna and Liam O’Flaherty’s autobiographical work with the work of contemporary French novelists and writers. A key contribution to the critical understanding of the ideology of the Irish revival was the inclusion of a substantial chapter on the influence of Thomas Carlyle in the work of Mac Grianna and his peers. Seosamh Mac Grianna: An Mhein Ruin also represents one of the first critica...
Robert MacAdam, Aodh Mac Domhnaill and the public sphere. This essay examines the concept of the ... more Robert MacAdam, Aodh Mac Domhnaill and the public sphere. This essay examines the concept of the public sphere in the light of the Irish literary projects of Robert Shipboy MacAdam (1808-95) and Aodh Mac Domhnaill (1802-67) in Belfast during the nineteenth century. It is published in a book of essays on the theme of writing in Irish in urban settings between 1700 and 1850.
Short story included in an anthology of contemporary short stories translated from the original I... more Short story included in an anthology of contemporary short stories translated from the original Irish.
This book chapter examines the legacy of the Gothic Revival as witnessed in the essays and short ... more This book chapter examines the legacy of the Gothic Revival as witnessed in the essays and short stories of Patrick Pearse, and in particular its intersection with Pearse's views on the nature of the Irish-language Revival.
Television documentary (writer and presenter), created by Imagine Media and broadcast by TG4 on 2... more Television documentary (writer and presenter), created by Imagine Media and broadcast by TG4 on 26th May 2010. Duration: 40 minutes. The documentary was based on the author's published research on the Irish-speaking community of fish and fruit dealers from Co Louth that settled in Belfast from the mid-nineteenth century onwards. See Belfast and the Irish Language (2006).
An Piarsach agus 2016: Briathar, Beart agus Oidhreacht., Jun 30, 2016
This essay, 'Patrick Pearse, Scoil Eanna and the intellectual independence of Ireland' looks at t... more This essay, 'Patrick Pearse, Scoil Eanna and the intellectual independence of Ireland' looks at the history of the bilingual school founded by Patrick Pearse in 1908 and in particular the contribution of Pearse's educational project to the aim of achieving what he called the intellectual independence of Ireland.
Short study of the 'Irish' work of French author Raymond Queneau (1903-76), particularly ... more Short study of the 'Irish' work of French author Raymond Queneau (1903-76), particularly his translation of Muiris O Suilleabhain's Fiche Bliain ag Fas (Vingt Ans de Jeunesse) and the Irish novels published under the pseudonym of Sally Mara.
Invited lecture given at 'O Bholg an tSolair go Gaelsceal' [From Bolg an tSolair to Gaels... more Invited lecture given at 'O Bholg an tSolair go Gaelsceal' [From Bolg an tSolair to Gaelsceal], a symposiam on 'Priorities for Print and Internet Media in Irish’ commissioned by Foras na Gaeilge (Cross-border government Irish language body), 13 November 2011, University College Dublin. A summary of the author's contribution is included in the final report presented to Foras na Gaeilge, 'Tuarascail ar straiteis ur maidir le Foras na Gaeilge i leith earnail na mean Gaeilge cloite agus ar line' [Report on a new strategy for Foras na Gaeilge regarding the print and on-line media in Irish]. This report can be accessed at http://www.gaeilge.ie/dynamic/publications/TuarascailEarnailnaMeanGhaeilge.pdf
Journal article in Irish entitled 'Ficsean no Facebook? Do Phleisiur Fein' [Fiction or Fa... more Journal article in Irish entitled 'Ficsean no Facebook? Do Phleisiur Fein' [Fiction or Facebook? Name your pleasure] in which the author discusses the challenges of teaching literature at undergraduate level. The subtitle of this volume is 'Teagasc na Litriochta ar an Triu Leibheal' [Teaching Literature at Third Level].
This essay was the culmination of research in primary and secondary sources in the sociological a... more This essay was the culmination of research in primary and secondary sources in the sociological and cultural history of Belfast. It represents the first scholarly essay to investigate the history of a community of native Irish speakers from Omeath, Co.Louth that settled, from the mid-nineteenth century onwards, in the Smithfield market area of Belfast where they worked as fish and fruit sellers. Besides examining the evidence of census returns, street directories and gravestone inscriptions to map out the geographical and chronological location of the Fadgies, the essay explores the very considerable influence that this community had on a key figure in the Northern revival, Sean Mac Maolain. A final key consideration of this essay is the insight afforded into the attitudes of native Irish speakers to the urban revival of the language. This essay formed the basis of a TG4 commissioned TV documentary written and presented by the author entitled 'Sceal na Fadgies.
This volume comprises a celebratory collection of articles presented to Seamus Mac Mathuna on the... more This volume comprises a celebratory collection of articles presented to Seamus Mac Mathuna on the occasion of his 75th birthday and launched at the 17th International Symposium of Societas Celtolog ...
Ba san achar gairid sin idir 1925 agus 1935 a chruthaigh Seosamh Mac Grianna cuid den phróslitrío... more Ba san achar gairid sin idir 1925 agus 1935 a chruthaigh Seosamh Mac Grianna cuid den phróslitríocht is treithí agus is fearr stíl dá bhfuil againn sa Nua-Ghaeilge. Is e atá sa tsaothar seo anailís ar shaothar Mhic Grianna, ar na foinsí a spreag é agus ar an dúshlán a chuir an t-údar roimhe–an oidhreacht agus an uaillmhian mheisiasach ar thug sé féin a ‘mhéin rúin’ air. Scrúdaítear an chomaoin a d’fhág laochas an traidisiúin bhéil ar Mhac Grianna chomh maith le nualaochas an 19ú haois mar a thionscain Thomas Carlyle agus scríbhneoirí Young Ireland é sin. Déantar scagadh ar chúlra An Druma Mór (1969) agus ar an chinsireacht a rinneadh ar an úrscéal sin de réir na fianaise atá le fáil i gcomhaid an Ghúim. Tá léiriú sa leabhar seo ar pholaitíocht an tSaorstáit, an Spealadh Mór agus malaise sóisialta na 1930í, a bhfuil a bhfianaise in Mo Bhealach Féin, agus ar an téad láidir Eorpach atá le sonrú san eachtraíocht a bheathaíonn dírbheathaisnéis sin Mhic Grianna. Maítear fosta gurbh é an dúshlán a chuir an saol uirbeach faoi shamhlaíocht Mhic Grianna is cúis leis an pheirspictíocht neamhghnách atá ag croí Mo Bhealach Féin agus déantar scagadh úr ar Dá mBíodh Ruball ar an Éan, úrscéal uirbeach nua-aoiseach ina gcruinníonn an t-údar snátha uile a shaoil le chéile go gcuireann a chaismirt iad faoi scáth dorcha comhcheilgeach an film noir.
Revivalism and Modern Irish Literature – The anxiety of transmission and the dynamics of renewal, 2019
The influence of revivalism is writ large in the history of modern Ireland, particularly as we co... more The influence of revivalism is writ large in the history of modern Ireland, particularly as we commemorate a 'decade of centenaries'. Yet, whether in Ireland or elsewhere, no study of revivalism as a critical cultural practice exists, rather one tends to speak of specific revivals such as the Gothic Revival, the Gaelic Revival and so on. Surely, beyond the specific circumstances of these revivals, lies a set of fundamental concerns which arise from our experience of time, cultural memory and the quest for continuity? This book seeks to address this question by firstly locating revivalism within the broader history of ideas and, secondly, undertaking a conceptual case study of revivalism within Modern Irish literature. The conceptual development of revivalist discourse is explored here from the Counter-Reformationists of the seventeenth century, to the guardians of the scribal tradition in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the Protestant evangelicals and Irish nationalists and Gaelic League in the nineteenth century, the Easter Rising and the challenges of independence in the twentieth century through to the concerns of contemporary literature in Irish. While literature in Irish has encountered a steady degree of adversity over the course of the last four centuries this itself has led to a consciousness of it own medium. With this has come an awareness of the precariousness of continuity on the one hand and a glimpse of the transformative potential of renewal on the other. Revivalism emerges as a response to a crisis of continuity and a means to realise our own agency.
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Is e atá sa tsaothar seo anailís ar shaothar Mhic Grianna, ar na foinsí a spreag é agus ar an dúshlán a chuir an t-údar roimhe–an oidhreacht agus an uaillmhian mheisiasach ar thug sé féin a ‘mhéin rúin’ air. Scrúdaítear an chomaoin a d’fhág laochas an traidisiúin bhéil ar Mhac Grianna chomh maith le nualaochas an 19ú haois mar a thionscain Thomas Carlyle agus scríbhneoirí Young Ireland é sin. Déantar scagadh ar chúlra An Druma Mór (1969) agus ar an chinsireacht a rinneadh ar an úrscéal sin de réir na fianaise atá le fáil i gcomhaid an Ghúim.
Tá léiriú sa leabhar seo ar pholaitíocht an tSaorstáit, an Spealadh Mór agus malaise sóisialta na 1930í, a bhfuil a bhfianaise in Mo Bhealach Féin, agus ar an téad láidir Eorpach atá le sonrú san eachtraíocht a bheathaíonn dírbheathaisnéis sin Mhic Grianna. Maítear fosta gurbh é an dúshlán a chuir an saol uirbeach faoi shamhlaíocht Mhic Grianna is cúis leis an pheirspictíocht neamhghnách atá ag croí Mo Bhealach Féin agus déantar scagadh úr ar Dá mBíodh Ruball ar an Éan, úrscéal uirbeach nua-aoiseach ina gcruinníonn an t-údar snátha uile a shaoil le chéile go gcuireann a chaismirt iad faoi scáth dorcha comhcheilgeach an film noir.