Seosamh Mac Grianna: Rí-Éigeas Na Ngael Or Auld Butts? Seosamh Mac Grianna and 20Th Century Irish Literary Identities
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Invisible People: Literary Expressions of Marginalisation from the Gaeltacht to the Ghetto in 20th-Century Literature by Zara Blake Supervised by Dr. Brigitte Le Juez and Prof. Michael Cronin A thesis submitted to the School of Applied Languages and Intercultural Studies, Dublin City University for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy September 2014 Declaration I hereby certify that this material, which I now submit for assessment on the programme of study leading to the award of PhD is entirely my own work, and that I have exercised reasonable care to ensure that the work is original, and does not to the best of my knowledge breach any law of copyright, and has not been taken form the work of others save and to the extent that such work has been cited and acknowledge within the text of my work. Signed:_____________________(Candidate ID No.:_______________ Date:________________ ii For Bob and my parents iii Acknowledgements During my time as a research student in SALIS, I have had the pleasure of working with some wonderful people, who have each helped me in their own way in the last four years. The help, advice and encouragement of my supervisors Dr. Brigitte Le Juez and Prof Michael Cronin have been invaluable and I will be forever thankful for their hard work and support. They were patient and understanding as mentors and always made sure to answer my questions. Both Dr. Le Juez and Prof. Cronin were enthusiastic and offered suggestions that helped to enrich my studies. I cannot thank them enough. I would also like to acknowledge the help given to me by the SALIS Research Committee. Their funding gave me the opportunity to focus my full attentions on this study. I would also like to thank any other staff members in SALIS who have helped me over the years, particularly the ladies in the SALIS office. I would also like to thank the author Randall Keenan for taking the time to answer my questions and for his encouragement. Over the years, I have been hugely supported by family and friends. I would like to thank my close friends Addy, Claire, Leah and Therese for their love and encouragement. I would also like to thank my sister Doreen for her support, my aunts and uncles and my grandparents, Eddie and Patsy, who have always done their best to help me. I would also like to offer my warmest thanks to my parents for everything they have sacrificed to help me realise my dreams. They have been a continuous source of support. Finally, I want to give my warmest thanks to my best friend and partner, Bob. His love and encouragement have helped me so much over the last four years and I would have been lost without him! iv Table of Contents DECLARATION .................................................................................................................. II ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................................................ IV TABLE OF CONTENTS ...................................................................................................... V ABSTRACT ...................................................................................................................... VIII CHAPTER 1 - EMERGING IDENTITIES IN 20TH-CENTURY GAELIC AND AFRICAN-AMERICAN LITERATURES .......................................................................... 1 1.1 INTRODUCTION: RESEARCH QUESTION ..................................................................... 1 1.2 THESIS OUTLINE ..................................................................................................... 10 1.3 METHODOLOGY ...................................................................................................... 14 1.4 CRITICAL REVIEW ................................................................................................... 25 CHAPTER 2 - HOW BLACK SEES GREEN AND GREEN SEES BLACK: THE HISTORIC CONNECTION BETWEEN THE GAELIC AND AFRICAN AMERICAN AUTO-IMAGES ........................................................................................... 34 2.1 THE ORIGINS OF THE IRISH AUTO- AND HETERO-IMAGES ........................................ 35 2.2 THE DARK IRISH: THE RACIALIZATION OF THE IRISH AND THE ENGLISH HETERO-IMAGE ................................................................................................................... 42 2.3 THE CHANGE IN PERCEPTION AND THE DECLINE OF IRISH ...................................... 44 2.4 THE GAELIC CULTURAL REVIVAL AND IRISH LANGUAGE LITERATURE ................... 46 2.5 THE IRISH FREE STATE AND THE SHACKLING OF FREE LITERARY EXPRESSION ...... 48 2.6 LANGUAGE AND IRISH NATIONAL IDENTITY ........................................................... 51 2.7 THE GREAT GAELTACHT LIE: THE SPACE OF IRISH NATIONALISM, POVERTY AND PROPAGANDA .............................................................................................................. 53 2.8 MODERN GAELTACHTAÍ AND IRISH TOKENISM ....................................................... 57 2.9 TRAUMA AND TRANSATLANTIC TRAVEL: THE INTRODUCTION OF BLACK LABOUR TO AMERICA ......................................................................................................... 59 2.10 WHITER THAN WHITE: RACIALIZATION AND THE EMERGENCE OF WHITE SUPREMACY ........................................................................................................................ 60 2.11 DEVELOPING RACE IN THE 19TH CENTURY .............................................................. 63 2.12 EMANCIPATION: FREE BUT NOT EQUAL................................................................... 68 v 2.13 AFRICAN AMERICANS AND „THE NEW NEGRO‟ ....................................................... 70 2.14 MIGRATION AND NEW CULTURAL SPACES ............................................................. 72 2.15 THE AUTO-IMAGE OF BLACK AMERICA IN LITERATURE: ........................................ 74 2.16 CIVIL RIGHTS, BLACK POWER AND CONFLICTING GROUP IMAGES ......................... 76 2.17 THE AFRICAN AMERICAN GROUP IMAGE IN THE POST-CIVIL RIGHTS ERA ............. 80 2.18 „SMOKED IRISH AND WHITE NEGROS‟: IRISH AND AFRICAN-AMERICAN CONNECTIONS ..................................................................................................................... 82 CHAPTER 3 - SEOSAMH MAC GRIANNA: RÍ-ÉIGEAS NA NGAEL OR AULD BUTTS? SEOSAMH MAC GRIANNA AND 20TH CENTURY IRISH LITERARY IDENTITIES .................................................................................................. 91 3.1 BIOGRAPHICAL BACKGROUND: FROM DONEGAL TO DUBLIN ................................. 92 3.2 PEARSE, Ó CONAIRE AND MAC GRIANNA: TOWARDS A NEW IRISH LITERARY IDENTITY ............................................................................................................................. 97 3.3 MAC GRIANNA, GAELS AND THE GALLTACHT ...................................................... 100 3.4 AUTO-IMAGES OF THE IRISH LANGUAGE SPEAKER ............................................... 104 3.5 IRISH IDENTITIES ABROAD .................................................................................... 110 3.6 RÍ BÁN NA BHFEAR DUBH? ................................................................................... 113 3.7 GEOCRITICAL EXPLORATIONS OF THE GAELTACHT AND GALLTACHT ................... 118 3.8 CONCLUSIONS: REVEALING THE REAL GAEL AND REDEFINING THE RELATIONSHIP TO GAELTACHT SPACES ............................................................................ 123 CHAPTER 4 - RALPH ELLISON AND THE REIMAGINING OF BLACK TH CULTURAL IDENTITY IN THE FIRST HALF OF THE 20 CENTURY ............. 125 4.1 ELLISON: A BIOGRAPHY ....................................................................................... 126 4.2 THE AFRICAN AMERICAN AUTO-IMAGE AND ELLISON‟S INVISIBLE MAN .............. 141 4.3 BLACK MEETS WHITE AND THE GREY AREAS OF GROUP IDENTITY IN INVISIBLE MAN ................................................................................................................... 151 4.4 THE BROTHERHOOD AND THE SANITIZATION AND EROSION OF IDENTITY ............ 155 4.5 CONCLUSIONS AND ELLISON‟S BLACK AMERICA .................................................. 160 CHAPTER 5 - SNA FIR GAELACH: Ó CONGHAILE AND NEW IMAGININGS OF THE GAELIC AUTO-IMAGE ....................................................... 164 5.1 BACKGROUND ....................................................................................................... 164 5.2 THE GAY GAEL IN SNA FIR .................................................................................... 170 vi 5.3 JOHNNY RUA, DEAIDEO AND „ATHAIR‟: NEW PERSPECTIVES ON THE TRADITIONAL GAELIC AUTO-IMAGE ................................................................................. 179 5.4 LANGUAGE, IDENTITY, SPACE AND THE NEW GAEL .............................................. 186 5.5 CONCLUSIONS ON Ó CONGHAILE‟S REPRESENTATION OF THE GAELIC WORLD .... 195 CHAPTER 6 - ‘OLD GODS, NEW DEMONS’ AND THE AFRICAN AMERICAN IMAGE: RANDALL KENAN’S SEARCH FOR IDENTITY AND BELONGING IN 20TH-CENTURY BLACK AMERICA ............................................ 197 6.1 BACKGROUND ....................................................................................................... 198 6.2 GROWING UP WITH BROTHER RABBIT AND BROTHER FOX ................................... 199 6.3 KENAN, MORRISON AND (RE)PRESENTING THE BLACK BODY IN AMERICAN LITERATURE ...................................................................................................................... 203 6.4 „BLING, BLING, BITCHES‟ AND DAMAGING