Narratives of Postcolonialism in Liminal Space: the Place Called Phoenix Park
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Narratives of Postcolonialism in Liminal Space: The place called Phoenix Park Kate Moles School of Social Sciences Cardiff University 2007 UMI Number: U584926 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Dissertation Publishing UMI U584926 Published by ProQuest LLC 2013. Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest LLC 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 DECLARATION This work has not previously been accepted in substance for any degree and is not concurrently submitted in candidature for any degree. Signed .. T.V . I Z Z Z Z . Date ^ STATEMENT 1 This thesis is being submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of PhD. Signed ..b rrk /^ T ^ rrrn T r....' Date .. ~l A 9 ° ^ STATEMENT 2 This thesis is the result of my own independent work/investigation, except where otherwise stated. Other sources are acknowledged by explicit references. Signed .. Date .. ^ STATEMENT 3 I hereby give consent for my thesis, if accepted, to be available for photocopying and for inter-library loan, and for the title and summary to be made available to outside organisations. Signed ... I ^ J X r Z Z Z Z T . Z Date ^ Abstract Encounters with physical places construct a sense of both communal and individual identity. This thesis looks at the effects of transformation and fragmentation of existing and remembered places through a qualitative engagement with postcolonial Ireland in the context of modernisation. Phoenix Park, Dublin, is taken as the lens, constituting the research site and refracting both historical legacy and contemporary (re)invention. It is argued that many of the ‘monuments’ of contemporary and historic Trishness’; events, gatherings, buildings, statues, structures and spaces, are represented in the Phoenix Park, Dublin and as such the space acts as an important location for the development of shared memories and commemoration, and understandings of state, culture, nature and history. The Park creates an illusion of nature, designed from scratch and then re-presented back to human audiences in a cultural performance. Using ideas from postcolonial thinking (Bhabha, 1994; Spivak, 1990, 1999), this thesis asks what this performance tells us about the culture of the Park and the way people understand it. Colonialism is inherently spatial; processes of mapping, charting and defining space are linked with the colonial project, as are the epistemological issues connected to these methods. This thesis examines these ideas by looking at a pos/colonial space; by examining the changing uses and events that have occurred in the Park. The thesis works through the intersections between the local and the national; in a liminal place that exists in the interstices of history, culture, space and nature. By exploring the cracks in these discourses, it discovers new epistemologies, cultures and understandings in Phoenix Park. The three main themes that emerge from this research surround ideas of authenticity, nationalism and Irishness and the engagement with and understanding of space and place through a postcolonial perspective. Acknowledgements The thanks and gratitude I wish to express are not best served by the neat list of names that these acknowledgements can accommodate. Over the past four years I have received help and support in a myriad of forms and it has made me particularly happy that many people who began as academic acquaintances have been transformed into close friends. There are, however, a number of people who deserve particular recognition and thanks. Ian Welsh has lead me with his wisdom, driven me with his courage, and motivated me with his passion. I will miss our supervisions, where I always come out full of ideas and imagination. Susan Baker has reeled in my flights of fancy, and monitored my claim making in a tireless attempt to produce something that makes sense. Yin and yang, they have allowed me to develop theoretically and academically in the years I have worked with them, and I am very lucky to have had such outstanding supervisors. This research would not have been possible without the help, support and time of the staff in the Phoenix Park, Dublin. Their enthusiasm to participate and willingness to engage with the issues under discussion was beyond expectation. In particular I would like to mention Jim and Moira Manning and John McCullen. Within Cardiff University, Joanna Latimer and Bella Dicks provided me with ongoing advice and support; Claire Connolly offered direction and an Irish ear; and, without whom I most definitely would not have made it this far, Liz Renton told me what to do and when I needed to do it by. Doing a PhD is often regarded as a lonely experience, but thanks to the following people, solitude was not something I ever had to endure. Their support and enthusiasm for distraction is greatly appreciated. Thanks Alex, Cat, Katie Jones, Lil Dude, Merryn, Kate, Karen Chalk, Rich, David, Mark and Ali. Thank you to all my family for their support and confidence in me. Patata, you’ve made me so very happy - and I’m so glad that you came into my life... Thank you for the past three years, and for everything else. This research was made possible by the financial support from the Economic and Social Research Council, Cardiff University and the British Association of Irish Studies. Narratives of Postcolonialism in Liminal Space: The place called Phoenix Park Table of Contents Page Number Declarations i Abstract ii Acknowledgements iii Table of Contents iv List of Tables and Pictures vii List of Appendices viii Chapter One Introduction 1. Entering the Fifth Province 1 2. Theoretical Positioning 5 3. The Structure 5 Chapter Two Postcolonialism and Ireland: Firing the Canon 1. Introduction 9 2. Ireland: Postcolonial? 10 2.1 Political Arguments 13 3. DissemiNation: Emigration and the Irish 15 4. Irish Studies and the ‘Critical Orthodoxy’ 19 4.1 Field Day 22 4.2 Critical Orthodoxy and Marginalisation 24 5. Nationalism and the Nation 26 5.1 The Myth of the Nation 28 5.2 Fanon and National Consciousness 33 5.3 The Problems of Nationalism 40 6. Spivak and the Subaltern 43 7. Bhabha and Nationalist Representations 45 8. Conclusion: Sociology and Postcolonialism 49 Chapter Three Mapping the Liminal 1. Introduction 54 2. Section One - The Liminal 55 2.1 The Postcolonial Lineage 55 2.2 The Anthropological Lineage 60 2.3 Theorists on the Margin 64 3. Section Two - Land and Identity 67 3.1 Place, Space and Identity: Mapping the Terrain 67 3.2 Landscape and Colonialism: Mapping the Colonised 68 3.3 An exercise in Colonialism: Mapping Ireland 70 3.4 Down to Earth 73 4. A Third Space? 73 5. Conclusion: Space, Identity and the Liminal 78 Chapter Four Methods: In Media Res 1. Introduction 81 2. Meaning in Media Res 82 2.1 In Media Res: Subjective Selves 84 2.2 Reflexivity: Negotiating Selfhood 88 3. Postcolonialism and Anthropology 90 3.1 Where do we go from here? 95 4. Methods Used 97 4.1 Interviews 98 4.2 Active Interviewing 100 4.3 Questionnaires 101 4.4 Analysis 102 5. Vignettes around methods: Traversing Theory and Praxis 103 5.1 Access 104 5.2 Interviewing the Head Guide 106 5.3 Interviewing the Office of Public Works: Personnel in the Park 106 5.4 Meeting the Residents 108 5.5 Interviewing the Visitors 109 6. Conclusion 110 Chapter Five Walk in the Park 1. Introduction 111 2. Stepping into History 113 3. Naming and Opening the Park 116 4. The Phoenix Park Act 1925 and the Office of Public Works (OP W) 124 5. Aras an Uachtarain and other ‘symbols’ in the Park 128 6. Monuments in the Park 132 7. A Life in the Day of the Park 133 8. Conclusion 138 Chapter Six Authenticity, Modernity and Postcolonialism 1. Introduction 140 2. Postcolonialism and State Affects 141 3. Park Management 144 4. Positioning the Park in a Past, Present and Future Dublin 145 5. The Architecture of the Second City of the Empire - Georgian Dublin 147 6. Links across the Empire 155 7. Managing the History of the Park 158 8. Reconstructing the Authentic 163 9. Packaging the Authentic 167 10. Conclusion 172 Chapter Seven Ideas of Irishness and Mass Events 1. Introduction 174 2. Ireland and Irishness in the Park 174 3. Events in the Park 176 3.1 The Park as a Stage 177 4. The Phoenix Park Murders 178 5. Religious Mass Events 185 6. The Pope’s Visit 186 7. An Other side to the Park 192 8. Music and Football - Bastions of Irish modernity? 194 9. Conclusion - Changes in Function and Identity 196 Chapter Eight The Visitor Centre 1. Introduction 200 2. The Building 201 3. Telling Tales - Presenting the Irish 204 4. Into the Centre 206 5. The Film: A portal into the Parks history 206 6. On Displays 209 7. Reception Area 210 8. ‘The Park through the Ages’ - Downstairs 211 9. Observing the Displays 214 10. Upstairs 219 11. Conclusion - Leaving the Centre 221 Chapter Nine Consumers 1. Introduction 223 2. The Popular Park 226 3. A Personal, Magic Place 229 3.1 A Natural Place 231 3.2 A Social Place 232 4. The Irish Park 234 5. The Changing Park - Transformations and Transitions 239 6.