Myles na gCopaleen’s Cruiskeen Lawn (1940-66) and Irish Politics La política irlandesa en Cruiskeen Lawn (1940-66), de Myles na gCopaleen Tesis doctoral presentada por Germán Asensio Peral para optar al título de doctor por la Universidad de Almería Doctorado en Ciencias Humanas y Sociales Director: Dr. José Francisco Fernández Sánchez 2020 Acknowledgements I am wholeheartedly indebted to my advisor and friend, Dr. José Francisco Fernández Sánchez (University of Almería), for his boundless patience, knowledge, sympathy and overall outstanding advice during this tiring and trying period of my life. My thoughts often return to the year 2013, when I knocked on his door seeking advice on further literary readings and he suggested I read a strangely-titled book, At Swim-Two-Birds, by an even more strangely-named author, Flann O’Brien. That very moment, inconsequential as I initially thought it was, changed my entire life—doubtlessly for the better. Ever since then he has guided me with endless kindness, diligence, respect and enthusiasm. All this speaks highly of his fine qualities as a scholar, but more so as a human being. His keen advice has often helped me beyond academic problems and his philosophy of life and work continues to inspire me to this very day. He is truly the best advisor a fledgling scholar like me could ever hope for. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. This dissertation would not have seen the light of day had I not met my best friend, Dimitrios Tsokanos, now an accomplished doctor and fellow PhD candidate for the better part of this academic journey. Apart from providing invaluable resources for this dissertation, he has patiently offered psychological and moral advice of quality, often telematically and at ungodly hours. His admirable ambition, as well as his optimistic and pragmatic way of looking at life, have been a central driving force to push this project forward. I will always cherish all the fun we have had and will have in years to come. Words simply cannot express how grateful I am, and how much I look up to him. My dear friend Jesús Escobar Sevilla, a PhD candidate at the University of Almería, also deserves a very special thanks. He is one of the kindest and calmest people I know, as well as an excellent listener. As a scholar he has always encouraged me to push forward, and as a friend he has always been there whenever I needed his advice. On many occasions he has unwittingly served as an emotional counterpoint to my wrecked nerves and I sincerely thank him again for that. I would also like to thank many other friends and colleagues who have helped me along the way in one way or another: Marina Asián, Mar Garre, Verónica Membrive, Madalina Armie, José Ramón Ibáñez, Blasina Cantizano, Ángela Rivera, Rezhan Abdalla, Belinda Carroll, Ricardo Magdalena, Peter Ferret, Alana Gillespie, Joe Nugent and Kevin Ohi. All of them have provided invaluable emotional and academic support during the process of writing this dissertation. My sincere appreciation also goes to University College Cork (Ireland), the School of English and the staff at UCC Library. My three-month research stay in Cork was made infinitely easier by the ready disposition and kind assistance of many UCC staff, researchers, students and professors. I must also thank the CEI Patrimonio Project for financing my stay in Cork, as well as the European Society for the Study of English (ESSE) for funding a two- week research stay at Trinity College Dublin and the National Library of Ireland. Dr. Christian Dupont, the head librarian at the John J. Burns Library (Boston College, Boston, USA), who welcomed me into his office, treated me to delicious coffee, offered shrewd advice and observations on my dissertation and made my three-day research stay in Boston an absolute pleasure, also merits words of appreciation. Likewise, Lindisfarne, the literary research group to which I proudly belong, has been largely responsible for the financial means which have allowed me to attend national and international conferences and pursue my research objectives. My entire family also merits special mention for their inconditional love and support throughout all these years. My parents, José and Ana, and my brother, Antonio, have always been there for me, and always will. They are my role models and I will always look up to them in all aspects of my life. I will make you proud. In 2019, within a few fateful weeks, I lost my two paternal grandparents, José and Dolores. They joined my maternal grandfather, Rafael, whom we lost in 2007. This dissertation is for you and for my adorable grandmother, Luisa, who continues to care for me and support me. I will always love you. My most devoted thanks go out to Laura, the love of my life. I met Laura in 2011 and since then we have been together throughout our academic and personal lives, nourishing each other with love and support. She is the kindest and most humane person I have ever met, and her limitless patience, understanding and care have been instrumental in driving this project to completion. Simply put, I would not have been able to complete this dissertation without her and our furry little family by my side. What follows is as much a product of my effort as it is of hers. Thank you for making me a better person every second of every day. I love you. Last, but definitely not least, I want to thank the University of Almería and the Faculty of Humanities. I will always be indebted to my alma mater and thankful for giving me the opportunity to work at the best place one could ever hope for. I have met some of the most important people in my life within your bricked walls and your verdant gardens. Wheresoever I should go, I will always be proud of my UAL experience. To José, Dolores, Rafael and Luisa. Abstract Irish writer Brian O’Nolan, also known by his pseudonyms Flann O’Brien and Myles na gCopaleen, has been lauded, alongside James Joyce and Samuel Beckett, as one of the central figures of Irish modernism. His novels At Swim-Two-Birds (1939) and The Third Policeman (1940, published posthumously in 1967) have consistently drawn scholarly attention due to their enigmatic and experimental narrative structures. For this reason, however, many of his other works have been neglected until recently. One such example is the newspaper column Cruiskeen Lawn, published as Myles na gCopaleen in the Irish Times on an almost daily basis from 1940 to 1966. Cruiskeen Lawn was a comic literary column devoted to offering a sharp and incisive portrait of mid-twentieth century Ireland. While dedicated scholarship on Cruiskeen Lawn has emerged in recent years, one of the aspects that most critics have failed to touch upon is the question of Irish politics. Brian O’Nolan was witness to tumultous changes to the social, cultural and political fabric of the country: from the creation of the Irish Free State in 1922 to the economic expansion of the 1960s, including the period of The Emergency (1939-45) and the years of economic stagnation and swelling emigration (1945- 54). As such, his Cruiskeen Lawn column became a site of contention and political commentary on all aspects of Irish politics, ranging from the role of the country in international affairs to local minutiae. Conscious of the historical significance of twenty-six years’ worth of political commentary by a renowned intellectual figure such as O’Nolan, this dissertation examines the total of 4,032 newspaper articles that compose Cruiskeen Lawn with a twofold aim: firstly, to understand Myles na gCopaleen’s Cruiskeen Lawn as a work of political commentary and to view the column as an accurate account of mid-twentieth- century Ireland; and secondly, to determine O’Nolan’s own political philosophy through a close reading of his opinions on the political events discussed throughout the dissertation. Resumen El escritor irlandés Brian O’Nolan, también conocido bajo sus seudónimos Flann O’Brien y Myles na gCopaleen, ha sido celebrado como una de las figuras centrales, junto a James Joyce y Samuel Beckett, del modernismo irlandés. Sus novelas At Swim-Two-Birds (1939) y The Third Policeman (1940, publicada de manera póstuma en 1967) han sido foco de una atención académica constante debido a sus estructuras narrativas enigmáticas y experimentales. Sin embargo, debido a ello se ha prestado poca atención a muchas de sus otras obras hasta ahora. Un ejemplo es Cruiskeen Lawn, una columna periodística que publicó como Myles na gCopaleen en el Irish Times casi diariamente desde 1940 hasta 1966. Cruiskeen Lawn era una columna literaria de tono cómico cuyo objetivo principal era ofrecer un retrato preciso e incisivo de la Irlanda de mediados de siglo XX. Aunque recientemente se ha comenzado a investigar sobre Cruiskeen Lawn con cierta seriedad, uno de los aspectos que muchos críticos han pasado por alto es la cuestión de la política irlandesa. Brian O’Nolan fue un observador directo de los muchos cambios sociales, culturales y políticos que sufrió la Irlanda de la época: desde la creación del Estado Libre Irlandés en 1922 hasta la época de expansión económica de los 60, pasando por el periodo de La Emergencia (1939-45) y los años de estancamiento ecónomico e inmigración pronunciada (1945-54). Por todo ello, Cruiskeen Lawn se convirtió en un espacio de conversación y de comentario político sobre todos los aspectos de la política irlandesa, desde las intervenciones internacionales del país hasta acontecimientos locales de naturaleza trivial. Siendo consciente de la importancia histórica de veintiséis años de comentarios políticos por parte de una figura intelectual reconocida como O’Nolan, la presente tesis doctoral examina el total de 4.032 artículos que componen la columna con dos objetivos principales: primero, entender Cruiskeen Lawn como una obra de comentario político, así como un retrato preciso de la Irlanda de mediados del siglo XX; y segundo, aventurar la filosofía política del propio O’Nolan a través de una lectura detallada de sus opiniones acerca de los eventos políticos que se discuten en este estudio.