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UCC Library and UCC researchers have made this item openly available. Please let us know how this has helped you. Thanks! Title A cultural history of The Great Book of Ireland – Leabhar Mór na hÉireann Author(s) Lawlor, James Publication date 2020-02-01 Original citation Lawlor, J. 2020. A cultural history of The Great Book of Ireland – Leabhar Mór na hÉireann. PhD Thesis, University College Cork. Type of publication Doctoral thesis Rights © 2020, James Lawlor. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ Item downloaded http://hdl.handle.net/10468/10128 from Downloaded on 2020-06-06T01:34:25Z Ollscoil na hÉireann, Corcaigh National University of Ireland, Cork A Cultural History of The Great Book of Ireland – Leabhar Mór na hÉireann Thesis presented by James Lawlor, BA, MA Thesis submitted for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy University College Cork The School of English Head of School: Prof. Lee Jenkins Supervisors: Prof. Claire Connolly and Prof. Alex Davis. 2020 2 Table of Contents Abstract ............................................................................................................................... 4 Declaration .......................................................................................................................... 5 Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................ 6 List of abbreviations used ................................................................................................... 7 A Note on The Great Book of Ireland – Leabhar Mór na hÉireann ...... 9 Introduction ............................................................................................. 17 The Materiality of The Great Book of Ireland ...................................................... 18 Placing the Great Book of Ireland ..................................................................... 20 A Cultural Muddle ......................................................................................... 23 Inclusivity in The Great Book of Ireland. ............................................................ 24 Chapter 1: A Cultural History of the Irish Poetry Book .................... 38 Historical Considerations ....................................................................................................................... 39 “On Irish Paper”: Material Politics and Cuala Press .................................................................... 47 The Cuala Paratext ................................................................................................................................... 53 Maunsel Press and the Three Candles Press .................................................................................... 58 Poetry Ireland? The Dolmen Press ..................................................................................................... 60 The Book as Art Object .................................................................................. 69 The New Ireland?: New Writers’ Press ............................................................................................ 71 The Gallery and Salmon Presses: Modernising a Tradition ....................................................... 76 Moving up to The Great Book of Ireland ............................................................ 82 The Great Book of Ireland: A Carnival of Influences. ........................................... 83 Chapter 2: Word and Image: Contested Space in the GBOI………..92 3 Historical Legacies ................................................................................................................................... 94 Word and Image Tensions ................................................................................................................... 101 Calligraphy: Between Word, Image and Tradition. .................................................................... 116 Chapter 3: Gendered Dimensions in The Great Book of Ireland ...... 130 Finding a Voice ........................................................................................... 133 The Symbolism of Eavan Boland ..................................................................................................... 141 Subaltern Perspectives .......................................................................................................................... 154 Writing Sexuality into the GBOI ..................................................................... 167 Chapter 4: National and Transnational Politics in GBOI ................. 192 The Role of the Writer in Northern Ireland. .................................................................................. 195 The Politics of Visual Art .................................................................................................................... 196 Moving In and Out of Politics ............................................................................................................ 201 Moving into Transnational Politics .................................................................................................. 224 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………..……..243 Works Cited………………………………………………………………………….257 Appendix 1: Interview With Theo Dorgan……………………………....…i Appendix 2: Interview with Lorcan Walshe…………………………...…vi Appendix 3: List of Contributors to the GBOI…………………………….ix Appendix 4: List of Women Poets in the GBOI……………..………..…..xvi 4 Abstract This thesis critically examines The Great Book of Ireland /Leabhar Mór na hÉireann (GBOI), a late-twentieth-century single-volume vellum manuscript created in Dublin between 1989 and 1993. Addressing a gap in both public and critical awareness of this modern manuscript, the thesis situates the GBOI into the wider historical, literary and cultural contexts of the period by drawing on book history as well as Irish cultural, literary and art criticism. The thesis performs a close reading of nineteen folios of the GBOI using a thematic model, which examines the publishing and material history of the Irish poetry book, word- image relations, gender discourses, and national and transnational politics. The study reveals the ways in which late-twentieth-century internationalism and ideas of globalisation and inclusivity shaped the GBOI’s ideological framework. It shows how the GBOI seeks to reject traditional homogenous representations of Irishness and Irish nationhood by anthologising the multiplicity of Irish identities at the end of the twentieth-century. In its conclusion, the thesis argues for the need for a wider knowledge of the project and its components and signals for the potential of digital dissemination. 5 Declaration This is to certify that the work I am submitting is my own and has not been submitted for another degree, either at University College Cork or elsewhere. All external references and sources are clearly acknowledged and identified within the contents. I have read and understood the regulations of University College Cork concerning plagiarism. Signed Date: 19- December 2019 6 Acknowledgements There are many people I would like to thank, but first and foremost, I would like to thank my two thesis supervisors. I feel very fortunate to have worked under the supervision of two esteemed academics: Prof. Claire Connolly and Prof. Alex Davis. Their generosity, intellect, enthusiasm, patience and encouragement have motivated and inspired me in equal measure. This thesis is indebted to frequent conversations with colleagues and friends, who shared their expertise and time with me. I owe a particular thank you to Anna Pilz who read many early drafts of this thesis in Sheraton Court and was a constant source of advice and friendship. My warmest regards and thanks are also due to Paul O’Brien and Kristina Vaughan and my former Queen’s University Belfast classmates: Paul Murphy, Cat McGurren, Adam Bargroff, and Rionnagh Sheridan; who all read later drafts of this work and offered invaluable support and reassurance. I would like to thank Rebecca Graham who helped me adjust to and settle into UCC and was always very kind and helpful. Thank you also to Dr John Logan who encouraged me by loaning me his UCC gown, long before this thesis was complete. I would also like to acknowledge teachers at my alma maters; at the University of Limerick, I was fortunate enough to be taught, encouraged and supervised by Prof. Michael Griffin and Dr Tina O’Toole. At Queen’s University Belfast, I found a similar nurturing environment. I wish to acknowledge Prof. Fran Brearton, Dr Eamonn Hughes and Prof. Edward Larrissy. I would like to express my sincere appreciation to Theo Dorgan, who kindly met with me at the beginning of the project in 2013 and agreed to be interviewed. Also, much appreciation to Lorcan Walshe for also agreeing to be interviewed for this research. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my Narrative 4 colleagues: Lisa, Colum, Lee, Kelsey, Vicki, and fellow N4 MP’s academics Dr Christine Cusick, Dr Ruth Gilligan and Dr Dawn Duncan for their encouragement. I am indebted to my friends for their help, guidance and encouragement. My greatest thanks are to my family: aunts, uncles, my grandmother Margaret and my parents Con and Ann, and siblings Padraig, Conor and Amy for their unwavering support and assistance during the tenure of this thesis. 7 List of abbreviations used - GBOI - The Great Book of Ireland. - FDA – The Field Day Anthology of Irish Writing. 8 The pages of this book breath and extend and open