Myth and the Irish State

Myth and the Irish State PDF Author: John M. Regan
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780716532125
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
When we read a history, we believe ourselves to be reading cold hard facts about the events that took place and how they occurred. Yet, there is no real truthful way to know the approach that the historian has taken with the historical sources. This book deals with the uncertainty in writing history, in the context of Irish history in particular. Author John M. Regan argues that the notion of elision - simply ignoring unhelpful evidence - threatens Irish history today. Regan believes that some historians have ignored unhelpful facts that perhaps do not further their point, or perhaps contradict them altogether. Each chapter of the book focuses on a period of Irish history that Regan believes to be inconsistent or incomplete in its facts. He asks the controversial questions about the period of history, such as: Why do some historians deny or marginalize the British threat of war and re-conquest in 1922? Why do so many Irish historians describe Michael Collins as a 'constitutionalist' or a 'democrat' when the evidence argues otherwise? Was the Irish Civil War really fought between 'democrats' defending the state against 'dictators' attempting its overthrow? Did the new state briefly experience a military-dictatorship under Collins in 1922? 'Thinking historically' is not about learning history or accepting the past as it is presented to us. It is, as Regan argues in this thought-provoking book, about developing the critical skills to interpret history for ourselves. As commemorations approach, this is a timely and provocative debate, discussing the uses and abuses of public history and the role of the historian in interpreting controversial histories.

Myth and the Irish State

Myth and the Irish State PDF Author: John M. Regan
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780716532125
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Get Book

Book Description
When we read a history, we believe ourselves to be reading cold hard facts about the events that took place and how they occurred. Yet, there is no real truthful way to know the approach that the historian has taken with the historical sources. This book deals with the uncertainty in writing history, in the context of Irish history in particular. Author John M. Regan argues that the notion of elision - simply ignoring unhelpful evidence - threatens Irish history today. Regan believes that some historians have ignored unhelpful facts that perhaps do not further their point, or perhaps contradict them altogether. Each chapter of the book focuses on a period of Irish history that Regan believes to be inconsistent or incomplete in its facts. He asks the controversial questions about the period of history, such as: Why do some historians deny or marginalize the British threat of war and re-conquest in 1922? Why do so many Irish historians describe Michael Collins as a 'constitutionalist' or a 'democrat' when the evidence argues otherwise? Was the Irish Civil War really fought between 'democrats' defending the state against 'dictators' attempting its overthrow? Did the new state briefly experience a military-dictatorship under Collins in 1922? 'Thinking historically' is not about learning history or accepting the past as it is presented to us. It is, as Regan argues in this thought-provoking book, about developing the critical skills to interpret history for ourselves. As commemorations approach, this is a timely and provocative debate, discussing the uses and abuses of public history and the role of the historian in interpreting controversial histories.

Myth and the Irish State

Myth and the Irish State PDF Author: John M. Regan
Publisher: Irish Academic Press
ISBN: 0716532549
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 304

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Book Description
When we read a history we believe ourselves to be reading cold, hard, facts of the events that took place and how they occurred. But there is no real, truthful way to know the approach our historian has taken with the historical sources. This book deals with the uncertainty in writing history in the context of Irish history in particular. Regan argues in this book that the notion of elision, simply ignoring unhelpful evidence, threatens Irish history today. Regan believes that some historians have ignored unhelpful facts that perhaps do not further their point or perhaps contradict them altogether. Each chapter focuses on a period of Irish history that Regan believes to be inconsistent or incomplete in its facts. He asks the controversial questions about the period of history such as why do some historians deny or marginalise the British threat of war and re-conquest in 1922?, why do so many Irish historians describe Michael Collins as a constitutionalist or a democrat when the evidence argues otherwise? Was the Irish Civil War really fought between democrats defending the state, against dictators attempting its overthrow? Did the new state briefly experience a military-dictatorship under Collins in 1922? Thinking historically is not about learning history or accepting the past as it is presented to us it is, as Regan argues in his thought-provoking work, about developing the critical skills to interpret history for ourselves.

The Myth of Manliness in Irish National Culture, 1880-1922

The Myth of Manliness in Irish National Culture, 1880-1922 PDF Author: Joseph Valente
Publisher: University of Illinois Press
ISBN: 0252090322
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 305

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Book Description
This study aims to supply the first contextually precise account of the male gender anxieties and ambivalences haunting the culture of Irish nationalism in the period between the Act of Union and the founding of the Irish Free State. To this end, Joseph Valente focuses upon the Victorian ethos of manliness or manhood, the specific moral and political logic of which proved crucial to both the translation of British rule into British hegemony and the expression of Irish rebellion as Irish psychomachia. The influential operation of this ideological construct is traced through a wide variety of contexts, including the career of Ireland's dominant Parliamentary leader, Charles Stewart Parnell; the institutions of Irish Revivalism--cultural, educational, journalistic, and literary; the writings of both canonical authors (Yeats, Synge, Gregory, and Joyce) and subcanonical authors (James Stephens, Patrick Pearse, Lennox Robinson); and major political movements of the time, including suffragism, Sinn Fein, Na Fianna E Éireann, and the Volunteers. The construct of manliness remains very much alive today, underpinning the neo-imperialist marriage of ruthless aggression and the sanctities of duty, honor, and sacrifice. Mapping its earlier colonial and postcolonial formations can help us to understand its continuing geopolitical appeal and danger.

Education and Celtic Myth

Education and Celtic Myth PDF Author: Pádraic Frehan
Publisher: Brill
ISBN: 9401208654
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 355

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Book Description
The book examines one aspect of the national self-image of Ireland as it was trans-generationally transmitted in the Irish National School environment through the medium of the Celtic mythology tales. Celtic mythology embodied a unique Irishness without being contentious in the wider social and political spheres and the texts had the capability to impart a national self-image, a character and ideological model for the young generation to follow and exemplify, while concurrently act as a sanctuary in which a unique, neutral, Irish self-past and contemporary self-image could be connected to. From 1922 onwards a state-run National School curriculum was set up to propagate a national ideal through the teaching of the Irish language, Irish history and a rekindled awareness of Ireland’s unique past. The mythology tales were employed to portray this unique past and their inclusion in the textbooks provided a platform for the policies of the inculcation of national pride, self-respect and self-image in the Irish nation, official government and Department policy following the Second National Programme Conference and Report in 1926. The aim of this book is an imagological one focusing on what made these tales ideological. The study incorporates a triangular approach: contextual, intertextual and textual. It is at the point of intersection between 4 specialisms: the historical study of Irish nationalism; the history of culture and education in 20th century Ireland; imagology and corpus linguistics. The conclusions drawn are based upon factual, statistical information garnered from the analyses conducted on the corpus and utilise information that is concrete and not hypothetical. This volume is of interest for all those working in Irish school literature, Irish studies – especially cultural, intellectual and educational history of Ireland, imagology and European studies.

Discrimination in Northern Ireland, 1920-1939

Discrimination in Northern Ireland, 1920-1939 PDF Author: John O’Brien
Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing
ISBN: 1443818305
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 70

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Book Description
Throughout the period of devolved government in Northern Ireland between 1921 and 1972, allegations of discrimination by the Ulster Unionist government against the Catholic and nationalist minority have been constant. These accusations of discrimination were regularly made concerning education, employment, public housing and representation. This book aims to examine these nationalist allegations and assess whether or not discrimination did occur and if so, the extent to which the minority became disadvantaged as a result. This volume focuses on the inter-war period, 1920-39, and evaluates the policies and practices of successive Unionist governments. In essence, it attempts to ascertain whether or not the charges of overt discrimination levelled against the government were warranted. Previous literature on the topic has tended to be biased in favour of one side of the political divide, be it Ulster unionism or Irish nationalism. Drawing from a wide range of primary and secondary sources, this book has found that the need for mutual understanding is paramount. The Stormont administration’s need to concentrate all power in its own hands was most likely born out of a longing for security and self-preservation and motivated by siege mentality and internal threat. Is there a state in the world where there would not exist a bias, justified or unjustified, against those who refused to be loyal to or even recognise that state? Discriminatory practices, engaged in as a means to an end, may have become a way of life for some Protestants and unionists. It definitely came to be seen as such by the Catholic and nationalist minority, whether justified or not.

Ireland's Immortals

Ireland's Immortals PDF Author: Mark Williams
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 069118304X
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 608

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Book Description
A sweeping history of Ireland's native gods, from Iron Age cult and medieval saga to the Celtic Revival and contemporary fiction Ireland’s Immortals tells the story of one of the world’s great mythologies. The first account of the gods of Irish myth to take in the whole sweep of Irish literature in both the nation’s languages, the book describes how Ireland’s pagan divinities were transformed into literary characters in the medieval Christian era—and how they were recast again during the Celtic Revival of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. A lively narrative of supernatural beings and their fascinating and sometimes bizarre stories, Mark Williams’s comprehensive history traces how these gods—known as the Túatha Dé Danann—have shifted shape across the centuries. We meet the Morrígan, crow goddess of battle; the fire goddess Brigit, who moonlights as a Christian saint; the fairies who inspired J.R.R. Tolkien’s elves; and many others. Ireland’s Immortals illuminates why these mythical beings have loomed so large in the world’s imagination for so long.

Irish Freedom

Irish Freedom PDF Author: Richard English
Publisher: Pan Macmillan
ISBN: 0330475827
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 660

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Book Description
Richard English's brilliant new book, now available in paperback, is a compelling narrative history of Irish nationalism, in which events are not merely recounted but analysed. Full of rich detail, drawn from years of original research and also from the extensive specialist literature on the subject, it offers explanations of why Irish nationalists have believed and acted as they have, why their ideas and strategies have changed over time, and what effect Irish nationalism has had in shaping modern Ireland. It takes us from the Ulster Plantation to Home Rule, from the Famine of 1847 to the Hunger Strikes of the 1970s, from Parnell to Pearse, from Wolfe Tone to Gerry Adams, from the bitter struggle of the Civil War to the uneasy peace of the early twenty-first century. Is it imaginable that Ireland might – as some have suggested – be about to enter a post-nationalist period? Or will Irish nationalism remain a defining force on the island in future years? 'a courageous and successful attempt to synthesise the entire story between two covers for the neophyte and for the exhausted specialist alike' Tom Garvin, Irish Times

Myths and Folk-Lore of Ireland (Classic Reprint)

Myths and Folk-Lore of Ireland (Classic Reprint) PDF Author: Jeremiah Curtin
Publisher: Forgotten Books
ISBN: 9781528547284
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 354

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Book Description
Excerpt from Myths and Folk-Lore of Ireland Any one who reads the myth tales contained in this volume will find that they are well preserved. At first thought it may seem quite wonderful that tales of this kind should be found in such condi tion while the whole body of tales are passing away so rapidly; on examination, however, this will appear not only reasonable, but as the inevi table outcome Of the political and social condition Of the people. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

Saga and Myth in Ancient Ireland

Saga and Myth in Ancient Ireland PDF Author: Gerard Murphy
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 75

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Book Description


The White Plague

The White Plague PDF Author: Frank Herbert
Publisher: Macmillan
ISBN: 9780765317735
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 452

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Book Description
A gripping novel of global disaster—by the visionary creator of Dune.