Franco-Irish Translation Relationships in Nineteenth-Century Ireland
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Found in Translation: Franco-Irish Translation Relationships in Nineteenth-Century Ireland Michèle Milan, M.A. Dissertation submitted for the Award of the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Dublin City University School of Applied Language and Intercultural Studies Under the supervision of Professor Michael Cronin January 2013 I hereby certify that this material, which I now submit for assessment on the programme of study leading to the award of Doctor of Philosophy 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 from the work of others save and to the extent that such work has been cited and acknowledged within the text of my work. Signed: ID Nº: 57211339 Date: 13/01/2013 i Acknowledgments First, I would like to record my thanks to my supervisor, Prof. Michael Cronin, for creating such an admirable and congenial project in the first place and for giving me the chance to come on board, as well as for his stimulating guidance and criticism. I am also grateful to the following people: Sharon O’Brien, who originally made me aware of this project, as well as all the encouraging staff at SALIS and CTTS, particularly Eithne O’Connell and Dorothy Kenny, who, back in 2006-2007, advised and helped me access the M.A. course in Translation Studies at DCU. On this note, I owe a special debt to Mary Moloney, at Ennis Welfare office, who, against all odds, kindly helped me get to DCU in the first place back in 2007. I would like to thank those who made the funding of my studies possible, notably the HEA's Programme for Research in Third Level Institutions (PRTLI) and the team of An Foras Feasa, who also gave me the chance to attend a course at Pisa University. Special thanks to Jonny Hobson at DCU’s Graduate Studies Office, who was always so helpful in times of ‘crisis’. I am also especially grateful to the following: my very lovely student friends at DCU, whom I cannot name for fear I may forget someone, all my other friends and staff met during this research – at SPD, the NLI, Maynooth –, my friends back in North Clare, England, and elsewhere in the world, whom I have indeed missed so much, and my long-lost friends back in Brittany. A special thanks to my physiotherapist Catherine for her solid advice and her great kindness, to the staff at the NLI, Central Catholic Library (Theresa for her good advice, and the keepers for the cups of tea and biscuits), David and staff at MDI library, and Simon and Helen at the EPB department, TCD. Oddly enough, I would like to spare a thought for these people who have been the focus of my research, and who, in spirit, have been somewhat present throughout these last few years, eliciting a lot of human emotion, spirituality, sadness, but also great laughter. I am also grateful to the deeper forces in this universe which gave me the chance and the power to pursue and complete this project. Above all, I cannot even thank enough my parents for their unconditional love and without the support of whom I could have not carried this out. This work is dedicated to them. I also extend my thanks to my six siblings, particularly my two sisters. I apologize to everyone for not having kept in touch as I should have had, and want to ensure them that it is not from a lack of love. ii Key to Abbreviations Abbreviations used throughout the thesis are generally close to standard abbreviations. Several abbreviations have also been created for the purpose of this survey. Library Catalogues National Library of Ireland NLI Royal Irish Academy RIA Central Catholic Library, Dublin CCL Marsh's library ML Trinity College Dublin TCD Mater Dei Institute of Education MDI St. Patrick's College, Drumcondra SPD NUI Galway NUIG NUI Maynooth NUIM Queens University, Belfast QCat Royal College of Physicians of Ireland RCPI University College Cork UCC University College Dublin UCD University of Limerick UL University of Ulster UU Carlow County Library CACL Clare County Library CLCL Cork County Library COCL Donegal County Library DOCL Dublin City Libraries DCL (mainly Dublin and Local Studies Collection ) Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Library [DLR] Fingal County Library FCL Galway County Library GCL Kerry Library KL Kildare County Library KDCL Kilkenny County Library KCL iii Laois County Library LACL Limerick City Library LICL Limerick County Library LCCL Linen Hall Library LHL Longford County Library LCL Louth County Library LOCL Mayo County Library MACL Meath County Library MCL Offaly County Library OCL Tipperary County Library TCL Waterford City Library WL Waterford County Library WCL Wexford County Library WECL Westmeath County Library WMCL Wicklow County Library WICL Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology GMIT Special Collections and Catalogues: Pollard Collection (TCD) PC Haliday Collection (RIA) HC Thomas Moore Collection (RIA) TMC Joly Collection (NLI) JC DIX Collection (NLI) DIX Thomas Connolly’s Catalogue TCC Bio- and Bibliographical Resources Dictionary of Irish Biography DIB Oxford Dictionary of National Biography ODNB D.J. O’Donoghue’s Poets of Ireland PI iv The Electronic Irish Records Dataset of the Princess Grace Irish Library (Monaco) RICORSO (formerly PGIL) (Online Biographies of translators of Irish Literature, CTTS, DCU) TRASNABIO Library Ireland LI Bibliothèque nationale de France BNF The Nineteenth Century Short Title Catalogue NSTC Periodicals and Publishers Dublin University Magazine DUM Freeman’s Journal FJ Irish Ecclesiastical Record IER Irish Monthly IM Irish Times IT Catholic Truth Society of Ireland CTSI Sydney Freeman's Journal SFJ Weekly Irish Times WIT Unless otherwise stated, all English translations are my own. v Abstract Various studies of the long-standing relationship between French and Irish cultures have revealed multiple evidence of mutual exchange. Yet, the role played by translation and translators has been largely neglected as a contribution to this relationship and to Hiberno- French cultural developments. This doctoral research on Franco-Irish translation relationships in nineteenth-century Ireland aims at redressing this omission, thereby supporting the idea that translation history is a useful tool for widening and adjusting our perspective on past cultural exchanges. Through the lens of translation, the present study underlines some of the key political and cultural debates in nineteenth-century Ireland, shedding light on the contribution of Ireland’s agents of translation to these debates. In addition to conceptual underpinnings drawn from the field of translation studies, and with particular attention paid to historical context, this research aims at showing key aspects of French-Irish cultural interaction in the nineteenth century. In this regard, it is situated at an interdisciplinary crossroads between the fields of translation studies, history and Franco-Irish studies, highlighting the contribution which translation history can make to each of these disciplines. Chapter 1 presents an outline of research methods and conceptual methodology. Chapter 2 provides an overview of the historical and contextual backgrounds to the Franco-Irish relationship and to translation in nineteenth-century Ireland. Chapters 3 to 6 present the overall findings of this research. Largely based on an investigation of Ireland’s translation holdings, as well as surviving materials such as periodicals and catalogues, these chapters map out the translation landscape and offer an analysis of sociohistorical trends in nineteenth- century translation of French writing in Ireland. Chapter 7 introduces a key moment of the Franco-Irish relationship in the nineteenth century. It draws attention to English-language translations by Irish translators from the French of Béranger, a songwriter who indeed emerged as one of the most significant figures. Lastly, an overall conclusion summarizes the main aspects of both analyses, and highlights the achievements of this research. vi Table of Contents Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 1 Chapter One: Methodology .................................................................................................... 8 1.1 Conceptual Framework ....................................................................................................... 8 1.1.1 Translation History, Context and Agency ............................................................................................. 8 1.1.2 Interconnecting Macro- and Microhistory ......................................................................................... 12 1.1.3 Working Definitions ........................................................................................................................... 13 1.2 Methods .......................................................................................................................... 15 1.2.1 General Survey ................................................................................................................................... 16 1.2.2 Béranger Survey ................................................................................................................................. 18 Chapter Two: History and Contexts .................................................................................... 20 2.1 A Historical Overview of the Franco-Irish Relationship in the Nineteenth Century .............. 20 2.1.1