DOCSLIB.ORG

Irish Music Orientalism Author(S): Aileen Dillane and Matthew Noone Source: New Hibernia Review / Iris Éireannach Nua, Vol

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Irish Music Orientalism Author(S): Aileen Dillane and Matthew Noone Source: New Hibernia Review / Iris Éireannach Nua, Vol University of St. Thomas (Center for Irish Studies) Irish Music Orientalism Author(s): Aileen Dillane and Matthew Noone Source: New Hibernia Review / Iris Éireannach Nua, Vol. 20, No. 1 (EARRACH / SPRING 2016), pp. 121-137 Published by: University of St. Thomas (Center for Irish Studies) Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/44807170 Accessed: 08-07-2021 10:29 UTC JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at https://about.jstor.org/terms University of St. Thomas (Center for Irish Studies) is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to New Hibernia Review / Iris Éireannach Nua This content downloaded from 86.59.13.237 on Thu, 08 Jul 2021 10:29:14 UTC All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms Aileen Dillane and Matthew Noone (X> Irish Music Orientalism In a 2005 review of Joseph Lennon s Irish Orientalism (2004), Nicholas Allen commends the author for the manner in which he has opened up "new perspec- tives on a discourse" that continue to be relevant for "the new century," adding that the "phenomenon of Irish orientalism needs further examination . and critical attention" from a variety of disciplinary perspectives.1 One of those new perspectives is surely that of music. Studying Irish music through the prism of Orientalism, and expanding discussions on Irish Orientalism to include music, has much to offer to Irish Studies more broadly - particularly given that Irish music has long been at the center of discussions on different registers of Irish identity over the centuries.2 The central tenet of Edward Said s seminal 1978 study, Orientalismy is that nations appropriate from others to define themselves and that the Orient is one of Europe's "deepest and most recurring images of the Other ... a place of romance, exotic beings, haunting memories and landscapes [and] remarkable experiences."3 These ideas are familiar terrain for anyone who reads about Irish music and its connections to landscape and memory.4 But Said also cautions that the Orient is an invention "with no corresponding reality" and a construction based on myths that "has helped to define Europe as its contrasting image, idea, 1. Nicholas Allen, review of Irish Orientalism: A Literary and Intellectual History, New Hibernia Review, 9, 1 (Spring, 2005), 157-59. See also Michael Griffin, "Irish Orientalism: A Literary and Intel- lectual History (review)," Field Day Review , 1 (2005), 268-69. 2. See: Grattan Flood, Introduction Sketch of Irish Musical History: A Compact Record of the Progress of Music in Ireland During a Thousand Years (London: William Reeves, 1904); Tomas Ó Canainn Traditional Music in Ireland (Cork: Ossian, 1993); Breandán Breathnach, Folk Music and Dances of Ireland: A Comprehensive Study Examining the Basic Elements of Irish Folk Music and Dance Tradi- tions (1977; Dublin: Mercier, 1996); Gearóid Ó hAllmhuráin, The Pocket History of Irish Traditional Music (Dublin: O'Brien, 1998); and Helen O'Shea, The Making of Irish Music (Cork: Cork University Press, 2008). 3. Edward Said, Orientalism (New York: Pantheon Books, 1978), 1-2. 4. See Sally K. Sommers Smith, "Landscape and Memory in Irish Traditional Music," New Hibernia Review, 2, 1 (Spring, 1998), 132-44. NEW HIBERNIA REVIEW / IRIS ÉIREANNACH NUA, 20:i (EARRACH / SPRING, 20l6), 121-137 This content downloaded from 86.59.13.237 on Thu, 08 Jul 2021 10:29:14 UTC All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms Irish Music Orientalism personality [and] experience."5 If Orientalism is a myth-building project, how does it operate in the realm of Irish music? And is its operation there any differ- ent from what happens in other artistic and cultural realms? A powerful iteration of Orientalism in musical terms may be found in a 1970 Danish documentary in which the celebrated Irish composer, musician, and scholar Sean Ó Riada (1931-1971) tells the interviewer that "Ireland has a highly developed traditional music, very complex, very sophisticated, but it's more Ori- ental than Western," and goes on to compare it with different Oriental tradi- tions, including Indian classical music.6 In the course of the interview, Ó Riada not only recreates the Orient through sound; he also uses the Orient to validate ancient Irish cultural practices, which he explicitly locates as standing in opposi- tion to Europe. This "perceived otherness" is something by which Irish cultural identity has long been shaped, a point that John O'Flynn asserts in The Irishness of Irish Music (2008). 7 But Ó Riada takes it a step further, by harnessing alter ity as a double Otherness in order to copper-fasten the distinctiveness of ancient Irish musical heritage. Ó Riada's allusion to Irish-Indian sonic connections may rest upon colonial sympathies and cultural links between India and Ireland dating back to the nineteenth century and earlier.8 But can this account for the Indian-inspired music Orientalism that main- tains a sustained presence in Irish "musicking" currently?9 Among other con- temporary performers and composers working in this vein, we find the tradi- tional group Trúir, which has utilized an Indian drone instrument, the tanpura, to accompany newly composed sean-nós ("old style") songs.10 Irish traditional and jazz musicians under the leadership of Ronan Guilfoyle have toured, col- laborated, and recorded with South Indian musicians in his ensemble named Khanda.11 The Ó Snodaigh brothers of the Irish group Kila were recently filmed 5. Said, 5. 6. "Seán Ó Riada 1970," YouTube clip uploaded on May 8, 2011, https://www.youtube.com /watch?v=bSno7vfWwKM. 7. John O'Flynn, The Irishness of Irish Music (Farnham: Ashgate, 2008), 193. 8. For a more thorough exploration of connections between Ireland and India, see Ireland and In- dia: Colonies, Culture and Empire , ed. Maureen O'Connor and Tadhg Foley (Dublin: Irish Academic Press, 2006). 9. The musicologist Christopher Small coined the term "musicking" in order to emphasize that music is not an object or "thing," but rather, an activity encompassing the acts of composing, per- forming, listening and other acts. Christopher Small, Musicking: The Meaning of Performing and Listening (Middletown: Wesleyan University Press, 1998). 10. See the albums Peadar Ó Riada, Martin Hayes, and Caoimhin O Raghallaigh, Triúr sa Draighe- an, Ó Riada, 2010; Peadar Ó Riada, Martin Hayes, and Caoimhin Ó Raghallaigh, Triúr Aris, Ó Riada, 2012; Peadar Ó Riada, Martin Hayes, and Caoimhin O Raghallaigh, Triur Omós , Ó Riada, 2013. All three albums were self-published by Ó Riada. 11. Khanda, Tale of Five Cities (Improvised Music Company, 2007). 122 This content downloaded from 86.59.13.237 on Thu, 08 Jul 2021 10:29:14 UTC All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms Irish Music Orientalism on a trip to India as part of the documentary Cheoil Chuairt , broadcast on the Irish-language service TG4. They met and played with a variety of Indian musi- cians, and their interactions unmistakably suggested connections between their Irish culture and the "ancient" one they encountered.12 And Mícheál Ó Súilleab- háin, the founder-director of the Irish World Academy of Music and Dance at the University of Limerick, has composed a piece titled "At the Still Point of the Turning World," which uses Indian musical sounds, instruments, and composi- tional techniques.13 In light of these and other examples, a provisional definition of "Irish Music Orientalism" might be the adoption, adaptation, and applica- tion of perceived Irish-Oriental cultural sympathies - both real and imagined - through music making and its surrounding discourses. Musically, it manifests as the appropriation of the broad attributes and musical indicators that have stereotypically signified, or have come to be associated with, the Orient.14 What is at stake in these musical collaborations and elaborations? And what is there to be gained by critically examining Irish culture through music from a postcolonialist perspective, as an Orientalist critique implies? As David Lloyd argues, "the study of one given [postcolonial] site may be profoundly suggestive for the understanding of another" as a consequence of the "remarkably diverse ways its rationalizing drive is deflected by the particularities of each colonized culture."15 This "deflection" of colonial logic is uniquely exemplified by the way in which Irish artists have drawn upon Orientalist imagery from the Empire. Rather than accepting such imagery wholesale, many Irish collectors, compos- ers, and performers have inverted it through subversive poetic and musical re- imaginings. In other cases, there has been the continued perpetuation of certain British Orientalist forms that prove nonetheless compelling or worthy of study in an Irish Music Studies context precisely because of Ireland's relationship with 12. Cheoil Chuairt (Teilifís na Gaeilge, 2008). 13. Mícheál Ó Súilleabháin, Gaiseadh/Fìow'mg , Virgin, 1992. More broadly, within such genres as "world music," "New Age fusion," and "global beat," there are a number of artists who draw either explicitly or more metaphysically from Irish-Indian connections such as the fusion group Delhi 2 Dublin, We're All Desi , Westward Records, 2013; Indo-Celt, Land of Dreams, Indocelt, 2005; and Chin- maya Dunster and Vidroha Jamie, Celtic Ragas , New Earth Records, 1998. 14. Another strand of the Orientalism in Irish music deals with connections to the Middle East and the Arabic world, particularly in the realm of vocal music. For example, Bob Quinn has asserted there is a clear connection between Arabic and Irish sean-nós singing traditions, whereby the sounds and culture were circulated through age-old maritime trade and cultural routes.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Western Women Who Supported the Indian Independence Movement
    Neither Memsahibs nor Missionaries: Western Women who Supported the Indian Independence Movement by Sharon M. H. MacDonald B.A. with distinction, Mount Saint Vincent University, 1988 M.A. Atlantic Canada Studies, Saint Mary's University, 1999 A Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy In the Graduate Academic Unit of History, Faculty of Arts Supervisor: Gail Campbell, Ph.D., History Examining Board: Margaret Conrad, Ph.D., History, Chair Carey Watt, Ph.D., History Nancy Nason-Clark, Ph.D., Sociology External Examiner: Barbara Ramusack, Ph.D., History, University of Cincinnati This dissertation is accepted by the Dean of Graduate Studies UNIVERSITY OF NEW BRUNSWICK March 2010 © Sharon M. H. MacDonald, 2010 Library and Archives Bibliotheque et 1*1 Canada Archives Canada Published Heritage Direction du Branch Patrimoine de I'edition 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington OttawaONK1A0N4 OttawaONK1A0N4 Canada Canada Your file Votre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-82764-2 Our file Notre r6f6rence ISBN: 978-0-494-82764-2 NOTICE: AVIS: The author has granted a non­ L'auteur a accorde une licence non exclusive exclusive license allowing Library and permettant a la Bibliotheque et Archives Archives Canada to reproduce, Canada de reproduire, publier, archiver, publish, archive, preserve, conserve, sauvegarder, conserver, transmettre au public communicate to the public by par telecommunication ou par Plnternet, preter, telecommunication or on the Internet, distribuer et vendre des theses partout dans le loan, distribute and sell theses monde, a des fins commerciales ou autres, sur worldwide, for commercial or non­ support microforme, papier, electronique et/ou commercial purposes, in microform, autres formats.
    [Show full text]
  • A Quarterly Journal of Research
    A Quarterly Journal of Research Volume XI, No.3 July 2005 ISSN 0951-497X A Quarterly Journal of Research Founded by Leslie Price, 1985 Volume XI, No. 3 July 2005 EDITOR displayed an affinity to modern Theosophy. The subscription rate for residents in the James A. Santucci U.S., Mexico, and Canada is $22.00 (one year) or $39.00 (two years). California res- California State University, Fullerton idents, please add $1.71 (7.75%) sales tax onto the $22 rate or $3.02 onto the $39 rate. For residents outside North America, the subscription rate is $26.00 (£15 ASSOCIATE EDITORS British Sterling) (one year) or $47.00 (£25) (two years).Air mail is $40.00 (£22) $36 $74.00 (£41) Robert Boyd for Europe and Asia and for Pan American nations (one year) or for Europe and Asia and $67 for Pan American nations (two years). Single issues are † $8.00 (£4.50). Electronic (PDF) issues are $2.50 (£1.50) each or $10 (£5.50) for John Cooper $17.00 (£9.50) University of Sydney any four available issues and for any eight available issues. Subscriptions may also be paid in British sterling.All inquiries should be sent to James Santucci, Department of Comparative Religion, California State University, P.O. Box 6868, John Patrick Deveney Fullerton, CA 92834-6868 (U.S.A.). Periodicals postage paid at Fullerton, California New York, NY 92631-9998. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Theosophical History (c/o James Santucci), Department of Comparative Religion, California State University, P.O. Box 6868, April Hejka-Ekins California State University, Stanislaus Fullerton, CA 92834-6868.
    [Show full text]
  • The Abbey Theatre Interviews and Recollections in the Same Series
    The Abbey Theatre Interviews and Recollections In the same series Morton N. Cohen LEWIS CARROLL: INTERVIEWS AND RECOLLECTIONS Philip Collins (editor) DICKENS: INTERVIEWS AND RECOLLECTIONS (2 volumes) THACKERAY: INTERVIEWS AND RECOLLECTIONS (2 volumes) J. R. Hammond (editor) H. G. WELLS: INTERVIEWS AND RECOLLECTIONS David McLellan (editor) KARL MARX: INTERVIEWS AND RECOLLECTIONS E. H. Mikhail (editor) BRENDAN BEHAN: INTERVIEWS AND RECOLLECTIONS (2 volumes) LADY GREGORY: INTERVIEWS AND RECOLLECTIONS OSCAR WILDE: INTERVIEWS AND RECOLLECTIONS (2 volumes) W. B. YEATS: INTERVIEWS AND RECOLLECTIONS (2 volumes) Harold Orel (editor) KIPLING: INTERVIEWS AND RECOLLECTIONS (2 volumes) Norman Page (editor) BYRON: INTERVIEWS AND RECOLLECTIONS HENRY JAMES: INTERVIEWS AND RECOLLECTIONS D. H. LAWRENCE: INTERVIEWS AND RECOLLECTIONS (2 volumes) TENNYSON: INTERVIEWS AND RECOLLECTIONS. DRJOHNSON: INTERVIEWS AND RECOLLECTIONS R. C. Terry (editor) TROLLOPE: INTERVIEWS AND RECOLLECTIONS Series Standina Order If you would like to receive future titles in this series as they are published, you can make use of our standing order facility. To place a standing order please contact your bookseller or, in case of difficulty, write to us at the address below with your name and address and the name of the series. Please state with which title you wish to begin your standing order. (If you live outside the UK we may not have the rights for your area, in which case we will forward your order to the publisher concerned.) Standing Order Service, Macmillan Distribution Ltd, Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire, RG212XS, England. THE ABBEY THEATRE Interviews and Recollections Edited by E. H. Mikhail Professor of English University of Lethbridge, Alberta M MACMILLAN PRESS Selection and editorial matter© E.
    [Show full text]
  • Rewriting the Script for South Indian Dance Author(S): Matthew Harp Allen Source: TDR (1988-), Vol
    Rewriting the Script for South Indian Dance Author(s): Matthew Harp Allen Source: TDR (1988-), Vol. 41, No. 3 (Autumn, 1997), pp. 63-100 Published by: The MIT Press Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1146609 Accessed: 19/02/2010 12:15 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use, available at http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp. JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use provides, in part, that unless you have obtained prior permission, you may not download an entire issue of a journal or multiple copies of articles, and you may use content in the JSTOR archive only for your personal, non-commercial use. Please contact the publisher regarding any further use of this work. Publisher contact information may be obtained at http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=mitpress. Each copy of any part of a JSTOR transmission must contain the same copyright notice that appears on the screen or printed page of such transmission. JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. The MIT Press is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to TDR (1988-). http://www.jstor.org Rewriting the Script for South Indian Dance MatthewHarp Allen For the past several years I have been investigating the local circumstances of what is commonly referred to as a "revival" of dance in South India in the I930s, working outward from a study of the padam genre of dance music.' Reading the work of Jennifer Post (1989), Regula Qureshi (I991), and Tapati Guha-Thakurta (1992), which describes and theorizes "revivals" in the per- forming and visual arts in the northern part of the subcontinent, has con- vinced me that the events in South India bear study as part of a larger pattern.
    [Show full text]
  • A Brief History of the Theosophical Society in Japan in the Interwar Period
    $ The Journal of CESNUR $ A Brief History of the Theosophical Society in Japan in the Interwar Period Helena Čapková Ritsumeikan University, Kyoto [email protected] ABSTRACT: The article presents for the first time a brief, yet still quite detailed, history of the Theosophical Society (TS) in Japan based on research of primary sources, mainly in the headquarters of the Society in Adyar, a suburb of Chennai, India. Three decades after the first contacts made during the visits by the TS President, Colonel H.S. Olcott (1832–1907), in 1889 and 1891, the first TS lodge in Japan, the Tokyo International Lodge, was established by James Henry Cousins (1873–1956) in 1920. Cousins’ initiative stimulated interest in the TS, and other lodges were established, although the duration of their activities was sometimes quite short: Orpheus and Mahayana launched in 1924, while Miroku (Maitreya) Lodge did the same in 1928. The analysis of the interwar history of the TS in Japan points to two key issues. One is the fact that the TS resonated with those Japanese who were committed to restoring Buddhism for modern Japanese society. Thus, the TS was an interim interest for them rather than something in which they desired permanent membership. Second, the impulse to establish the TS in Japan came from the Adyar headquarters, and the messengers were non-Japanese. This led to a persistent problem: namely a lack of study materials in Japanese language. This issue became the key obstacle in effectively spreading the Theosophical teachings. Only in the postwar period did translation activity come to the fore as key texts were translated into the Japanese language.
    [Show full text]
  • Downloaded from Downloaded on 2019-12-02T15:05:39Z the THEOSOPHICAL SOCIETY and POLITICS
    UCC Library and UCC researchers have made this item openly available. Please let us know how this has helped you. Thanks! Title The Theosophical Society and politics: esoteric discourse, esoteric monism, and theosophical identity in late 19th and early 20th century Britain and Ireland Author(s) Colin, Duggan Publication date 2018 Original citation Duggan, C. 2018. The Theosophical Society and politics: esoteric discourse, esoteric monism, and theosophical identity in late 19th and early 20th century Britain and Ireland. PhD Thesis, University College Cork. Type of publication Doctoral thesis Rights © 2018, Colin Duggan. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/ Embargo information Not applicable Item downloaded http://hdl.handle.net/10468/7896 from Downloaded on 2019-12-02T15:05:39Z THE THEOSOPHICAL SOCIETY AND POLITICS Esoteric Discourse, Esoteric Monism, and Theosophical Identity in Late 19th and Early 20th Century Britain and Ireland Colin Duggan [email protected] Submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy to National University of Ireland, Cork Department of the Study of Religions April 2018 Head of Department: Dr. Lidia Guzy Supervisor: Dr. Jenny Butler Table of Contents Declaration.............................................................................................................. iv Acknowledgements ................................................................................................... v Abstract ..................................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • James Cousins (1873–1956): Rumours of the Infi Nite
    21 James Cousins (1873–1956): Rumours of the Infi nite DAVID BURLEIGH James Cousins INTRODUCTION James H. Cousins1 is perhaps best remembered for the role he played in the formation of the early Irish theatre. His name appears quite regularly in historical accounts,2 and some of his own dramatic work survives. Yet, although he wrote prolifi cally in both verse and prose, Cousins thought of himself as primarily a poet.3 In a late poem addressed ‘To Ireland’, he acknowledges the beginning of his spiri- tual odyssey there: I loved your paths for on them dawned The vision of the Hidden Way But the trajectory of Cousins’ life had by that time already carried him much further: You were to me the door of life, But life grew larger than its door.4 268 JAMES COUSINS (1873–1956) From India, which became his base after leaving Ireland, the poet also visited America, Europe and Japan for extended periods. It is his little known, but nonetheless well-documented, visit to Japan which is considered in this portrait. James H. Cousins was born in Belfast on 22 July 1873, the fi rst child of four in a Methodist family. Though his formal education ended early, his considerable gift for self-education enabled him to secure a teaching post. He also served for a time as secretary to the Mayor of Belfast, and his fi rst volume of poems5 was published there, by subscription, at the age of twenty-one. The conven- tional mould of his early verses, shaped according to a Wesleyan upbringing and the Unionist sympathies of those around him, was broken when he joined the Gaelic League.
    [Show full text]
  • Tos In-Touch.Online File:///E:/Documents/ Webwork/TOS-International-Theoservice/Public
    tos in-touch.online file:///E:/Documents/_Webwork/TOS-international-theoservice/Public... Issue 20 – February 2012 to TOS website Dear fellow-members of the TS and TOS around the world, Contents We trust that you are beginning 2012 with a sense of optimism and a conviction that every small act Invitation to an of service imbued with compassion and given selflessly will make a positive difference to life on this International TOS beautiful planet. We hope that you will continue to enjoy keeping in touch with what is happening in Conference in 2013 the TOS worldwide and find inspiration and ideas for service. Inspirational people – Remember that the newsletter is designed to be read while you are connected to the internet. Rukmini Devi Arundale Service in the community Please also consider sending photographs of your TOS activities and news items that might be of in the Philippines and interest to fellow TOS members. We would welcome your contributions by email to the editors at Delhi [email protected] TOS news from around the world With best wishes, Lisbon, Portugal Carolyn, Diana and Geoffrey London, England Pakistan (L. to R.) Brisbane, Carolyn Harrod is the past National Coordinator of the TOS in Australia, Australia Geoffrey Harrod is the International TOS Webmaster, and France Diana Dunningham Chapotin is the International Secretary of the TOS. What’s new on the International TOS website? Insights through service Brochure documenting Special announcement TS support for the United We are happy to express a warm welcome to the newly elected international Vice-President of the Nations Theosophical Society, Mr Mahendra P.
    [Show full text]
  • Two Cosmopolitan Friends: Tagore and Cousins
    Two Cosmopolitan Friends: Tagore and Cousins Utpal Mitra Visva-Bharati, Santiniketan, India Abstract The word cosmopolitanism has different connotations. According to the philosophical cosmopolitans, who are also designated as Moral Universalists, there does not exist any boundary between nations, states and cultures, as they believe all human beings to be fellow citizens and compatriots. This article attempts to address the cosmopolitan ideas of Rabindranath Tagore and James H. Cousins. Moving beyond the parochial notion of nationalism, both Tagore and Cousins adopted the notion of universalism that assimilates all cultures, races and religions under the broader category of Humanism. [Keywords: Tagore, Cousins, friendship, universalism, humanism] The definition of cosmopolitanism has its varied perspectives. A person who adheres to the idea of cosmopolitanism in any of its form is called a cosmopolitan. But the philosophical cosmopolitans are moral Universalists. Boundaries between nations, states, culture and societies are indeed irrelevant in terms of morally accepted notion of cosmopolitanism. In our discussion, cosmopolitanism shares some aspects of universalism, namely the globally accepted notion of human dignity that must be protected and enshrined with the internationalism instead of nationalism. So, cosmopolitanism, in terms of morally accepted value, has been widely used to signify a wide variety of important values in moral and socio-political philosophy. It appeals to universal reason and treats individuals as similar units with legal consideration irrespective of their particular nationality and citizenship. Rabindranath Tagore’s understanding is that, though colonialism steers to nationalism, it has its own boundaries, which must be overcome to acquire a larger citizenship of the world. He persists beyond nationalism and his closeness towards internationalism predominantly has its ethics and acceptability when the individual is located in the universal domain.
    [Show full text]
  • "The Interpreters": a Handbook to AE and the Irish Revival JOHN WILSON FOSTER
    "The Interpreters": A Handbook to AE and the Irish Revival JOHN WILSON FOSTER LTHOUGH it is sometimes seen as monolithic, the Irish Literary Revival was in fact a complex of attitudes and Aachievements, some of them sharing no more than a family resemblance, others engaged in downright contradic• tion. At its least nationalistic, the Revival was an island chap• ter of mainland intellectual radicalism, the most graphic and succinct evidence of this that I am acquainted with being the joint autobiography of James Cousins, the Ulster poet, and his wife, the Roscommon champion of women's rights, Margaret Cousins.1 We Two Together (1950) makes it clear how wide were the radical interests of the more advanced Revivalists; the Cousinses were involved in astrology, theosophy and psychic- ism, in vegetarianism, agricultural cooperatives, mythology, Gaelic language revival, dramatic revival, the suffragette movement, poetry, anti-imperialist agitation, physical regene- rationism and anti-vivisectionism. But the book also unwitt• ingly makes it clear that it was only the Dublin of a certain set (and a certain set apart, we might add) that wove this veritable nest of heterodoxies, and that the social and intellectual base of the movement was extremely narrow; the same names drop again and again when the supporters of this plurality of in• terests are mentioned. Moreover, to the advanced thinkers of the Revival, the interests were by no means incorrigibly plural, and they set as their supreme goal realization of the ultimate and essential unity of the cosmos and of self-transcending exist• ence. Little wonder, then, given the nature of the final objective and the comparatively small repertory company the Revival 70 JOHN WILSON FOSTER represented, that the movement has seemed to succeeding gen• erations a monolithic one, despite the fact that variousness is its chief immediate characteristic.
    [Show full text]
  • Faculty of Juridical Sciences Course : B.A.Ll.B
    BRAND GUIDELINE ---------------------------------------------------- Topic Font Name- Candara Bold Font Size- 20 Font Color- White ------------------------ --------------------------- Heading Font Name- Arial (Bold) Font Size- 16 FACULTY OF JURIDICAL SCIENCES COURSE : B.A.LL.B. IISemester SUBJ ECT: HISTORY IV SUBJECTCIVIL LAW: CODE: MEANING, BAL DEFINITION-402 & IMPORTANCE NAME OF FACULTY: Dr. SADHNA TRIVEDI BRAND GUIDELINE ---------------------------------------------------- Topic Font Name- Candara Bold Font Size- 20 Font Color- White --------------------------------------------------- Heading Font Name- Arial (Bold) Lecture-40 Font Size- 16 Women’s role in the freedom struggle The history of Indian Freedom Struggle would be incomplete without mentioning the contributions of women. The sacrifice made by the women of India will occupy the foremost place. They fought with true spirit and undaunted courage and faced various tortures, exploitations and hardships to earn us freedom. When most of the men freedom fighters were in prison the women came forward and took charge of the struggle. The list of great women whose names have gone down in history for their dedication and undying devotion to the service of India is a long one. Woman's participation in India's freedom struggle began as early as in1817 .Bhima Bai Holkar fought bravely against the British colonel Malcolm and defeated him in guerilla warfare. Many women including Rani Channama of Kittur, Rani Begam Hazrat Mahal of Avadh fought against British East India company in the 19th century; 30 years before the “First War of Independence 1857” The role played by women in the War of Independence (the Great Revolt) of 1857 was creditable and invited the admiration even leaders of the Revolt.
    [Show full text]
  • Through the Eyes of Margaret Cousins – Irish
    Published in November 2018. Copyright © Hive Studios/Dr Keith Munro, 2018. Every effort has been made to trace the copyright holders and obtain permission to reproduce material used in this publication. Hive Studio Books Ráth Mór Centre Bligh’s Lane Derry BT48 0LZ www.hivestudio.org T: (028) 7127 7487 ISBN 978 1 9993479 1 8 A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author, except in the case of brief extracts/samples embodied in factual/academic reviews and certain other non-commercial uses permitted by copyright law. 2 Te emancipation of women, the achievement of full equality between the sexes, is one of the most important, though less acknowledged prerequisites of peace. Te denial of such equality perpetrates an injustice against one half of the world’s population and promotes in men harmful attitudes and habits that are carried from the family to the workplace, to political life, and ultimately to international relations. Tere are no grounds, moral, practical, or biological, upon which such denial can be justifed. Only as women are welcomed into full partnership in all felds of human endeavour will the moral and psychological climate be created in which international peace can emerge. From a document on World Peace released on United Nations Day 1985 by the Universal House of Justice. 3 Contents About the book 10 Prologue 12 Dedication 13 Acknowledgments 14 Endorsements 15 CHAPTER ONE 19 Te donkey incident Early education and introduction to politics CHAPTER TWO 22 Education – Boyle to Londonderry CHAPTER THREE 24 Transfer to Dublin’s fair city and freedom Music, music, music CHAPTER FOUR 27 Meeting ‘him’ – & – ‘him’ meeting ‘me’ Big changes CHAPTER FIVE 32 Teosophy & psychic experiences Blavatsky & Besant – Founder and Protagonist of Teosophy Te Krishnamurti episode.
    [Show full text]