Sender: The Irish Diaspora Studies List
From: Patrick O'Sullivan
Subject: IASIL Conference Maynooth postgraduate scholarships
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Postgraduate scholarships are available for the IASIL conference 2010: =
Irish
Literature and Culture - Old and New Knowledges. NUI Maynooth. 26-30 =
July
2010.


They will cover:

*=A0 Travel expenses which are offered as a flat rate contribution, =
depending
on the country where your university is located. Each country falls =
within a
specific cost band, listed in the Travel Cost Band document, which shows =
the
level of funding you may apply for. There are no appeals against the =
level
of funding assigned to a particular country. If your travel expenses =
fall
below the cost given for the country from which you travel, the residue =
of
the scholarship may be spent on subsistence and accommodation expenses.

*=A0A fee waiver for the conference. This will cover all lunches during =
the
conference; all teas/coffees in morning and afternoon breaks; the =
reception
on the opening night; the conference dinner.

*=A0Single room university accommodation for five nights

Full details and application forms will be posted shortly on the =
conference
website: http://www.iasil.org/maynooth/index.html=20

Sender: The Irish Diaspora Studies List
From: Patrick O'Sullivan
Subject: TOC STUDIES -DUBLIN-VOL 98; NUMB 391; 2009
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STUDIES -DUBLIN-
VOL 98; NUMB 391; 2009
ISSN 0039-3495

pp. 245-246
Editorial.
O Donoghue, F.

pp. 247-257
What now for Ireland?.
Coghlan, N.

pp. 259-272
Housing Ireland : Looking back, moving forward.
Punch, M.

pp. 273-283
Immigration and Social Cohesion.
Fanning, B.

pp. 285-308
Ethical causes and implications of the global financial crisis in Ireland:
Political Contagion and Political Transformation.
Kinsella, R.; Kinsella, M.

pp. 321-333
The first British Labour Government and the Irish Boundary Commission 1924.
Gibbons, I.

pp. 335-342
Irish Nationalism and European Integration, by Katy Hayward.
Swift, J.W.

pp. 343-344
No Coward Soul: a biography of Thekla Beere by Anna Bryson.
Kennedy, F.

pp. 345-346
Great Irish Lives, ed., Charles Lysaght.
O Keeffe, D.

pp. 347-349
Migration in Irish History, 1606-2007, by Patrick Fitzgerald and Brian
Lambkin.
Langan, M.D.

pp. 350-352
Elizabeth Bowen: New Critical Perspectives, ed., Susan Osborn.
Browne, A.

pp. 353-354
So you Can't Forgive... ? Moving Towards Freedom, by Brian Lennon, SJ; The
Recession and God: Reading the Signs of the Times, by Gerry O'Hanlon, SJ.
Bradley, F.

pp. 355-359
Touching Stones (Poems), by Liam Ryan Echoes from a Far Shore (Poems), by
David Hodges, OCSO.
Johnston, F.

pp. 360-362
Spanish-Irish Relations through the Ages, ed., Declan M. Downey.
O Donoghue, F.

Sender: The Irish Diaspora Studies List
From: Patrick O'Sullivan
Subject: Article, Kevin Kenny, Peaceable Kingdom Lost
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Those who follow the work and thought of Kevin Kenny...

Will want to be aware of his forthcoming book, and this recent article.

A new direction...

P.O'S.


Historically Speaking, Volume 10, Number 4, September 2009, pp. 29-31
(Article)

Peaceable Kingdom Lost
Kevin Kenny

'The Paxton Boys struck Conestoga Indiantown at dawn on December 14, 1763.
"Fifty-seven Men, from some of our Frontier Townships, who had projected the
Destruction of this little Commonwealth," Benjamin Franklin wrote in his
Narrative of the Late Massacres in Lancaster County, "came, all
well-mounted, and armed with Firelocks, Hangers [a kind of short sword] and
Hatchets, having travelled through the Country in the Night, to Conestogoe
Manor." Only six Indians were in the town at the time, "the rest being out
among the neighbouring White People, some to sell the Baskets, Brooms and
Bowls they manufactured." The Paxton Boys, frontier militiamen on an
unauthorized expedition, killed these six and burned their settlement to the
ground.1...'

Kevin Kenny is professor of history at Boston College, where his specialty
is North Atlantic migration in the 18th and 19th centuries. He is the author
of Peaceable Kingdom Lost: The Paxton Boys and the Destruction of William
Penn's Holy Experiment (Oxford University Press, 2009), The American Irish:
A History (Longman, 2000), and Making Sense of the Molly Maguires (Oxford
University Press, 1998).

Sender: The Irish Diaspora Studies List
From: Patrick O'Sullivan
Subject: Article, The Landscape of the Gaelic Imagination
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International Journal of Heritage Studies, Volume 15 Issue 2 & 3 2009

Is a special issue on Heritage and the Environment, mostly based on a
conference held at Sabhal M=F2r Ostaig, Skye, in June 2007.

Extract from the Editors' Introduction below... There is a considerable
overlap throughout the Special Issue with Irish themes, approaches and
subject matter - most visibly, perhaps, in Meg Bateman's article on 'The
Landscape of the Gaelic Imagination', which uses both Irish and Scottish
sources.

Abstract pasted in below...

P.O'S.


Heritage and the Environment=20
Authors: Hugh Cheape; Mary-Cate Garden; Fiona McLean=20
Published in: International Journal of Heritage Studies, Volume 15, =
Issue 2
& 3 March 2009 , pages 104 - 107=20
=20
=20
Nowhere do notions of landscape, identity and material culture come =
together
so vividly as within the discourses of heritage. It is therefore =
appropriate
that these themes are brought together in a special issue on Heritage =
and
the Environment, which arises out of a major international conference =
held
in the Isle of Skye, Scotland in June 2007. A collaboration between =
Sabhal
Mor Ostaig, Glasgow Caledonian University and Highland Council, the
conference took as its starting point the theme of 'heritage and the
environment' in order to investigate ideas including: identity, place,
material culture, ownership, marginality and a myriad of other issues
arising out of the interaction of groups and individuals with place and =
with
'the past'.

It is long acknowledged that there is a critical connection of place and
identity1 and that many of our experiences and engagement with memory =
and
identity are located within our broader surroundings=97with our =
'environment'.
Whilst, at first glance, suggesting a reliance on the material elements =
of
'the past' the notion of 'heritage' and heritage construction is, of =
course,
much more nuanced. '=93Heritage=94', says Laurajane Smith, 'is not =
a=93thing=94, it
is not a=93site=94, building or any other material object';2 rather, she =
goes on
to say, it is a social construction; heritage itself is a cultural =
process
of engaging and experiencing. For researchers like Smith, it is not so =
much
the physical place (although she does acknowledge its role) but rather =
what
individuals do with the site, the place or the landscape that is most
important.3 Critically, the Heritage and the Environment conference =
aimed to
explore this engagement and the experience(s) at a local level where the
subtleties and the richness of the interaction could be best viewed.
Although evident for some time, it is becoming increasingly apparent =
that
individual/local pasts are being subsumed.4 Ashworth et al.5 look to the
management of heritage in plural societies where they see that it is the
national stories or what Smith calls the 'authorised heritage =
discourse'6
that privilege the national or global heritage above the dynamic and =
vital
interactions of individuals and local communities with their larger
surroundings. This is despite the widespread acknowledgement of the role =
and
importance of 'the community' in the construction of 'the past', of =
place
and in identity.7 In short, heritage is not only about the =
interpretation of
the past in the present, heritage is also about a critical engagement of
self with society, of group with government and is about changing
perceptions and identities.


The Landscape of the Gaelic Imagination

Author: Meg Bateman a
Affiliation: a Sabhal Mr Ostaig, Isle of Skye,
Published in: International Journal of Heritage Studies, Volume 15, =
Issue 2
& 3 March 2009 , pages 142 - 152

Abstract
This paper is an attempt at constructing a model of the landscape of the
Gaelic imagination, including the otherworld, as evinced by place-names,
poetry, songs and tales. A major division is noted between those parts =
where
nature is domesticated, and the wilderness where nature is the ascendant
force, in constant need of propitiation. The model has its roots in =
pagan
Gaelic mythology, when the invading Gaels banished the spirits of the =
land
underground or across the sea, while still requiring union with them and
co-operation. Time in the otherworld is circular, and chaos, =
regeneration
and creativity both threaten and attract people. The model is partly
subsumed into Christianity, making exile attractive to a people who =
revered
the wilderness. Though this model is culturally specific, it is argued =
that
it expresses a fundamental need for negotiation between man and nature,
which remains a major concern to our survival on the planet.
Keywords: Landscape; Gaelic; Otherworld; Supernatural; Fairies;
Earth-Goddess

Sender: The Irish Diaspora Studies List
From: Patrick O'Sullivan
Subject: Gladstone and freedom of New Ross
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Subject: Gladstone and freedom of New Ross
From: Patrick Maume

From: Patrick Maume
Here's a little oddity. Last week I was at the Irish government-sponsored
seminar on Gladstone and Ireland at St. Deiniol's Library in Hawarden, and I
saw a carved wooden freedom box sitting on a bookcase. I knew it was Irish
because it had Erin (with harp) on top, and it had a coat of arms but no
name.
I checked out the coat of arms on Wikipedia when I got back
(running through the list of Irish towns) and I found it is the coat of arms
of New Ross in Wexford. I didn't know the New Ross town council
awarded civic freedoms. I suppose it must date from post-1886, as I don't
think Gladstone visited New Ross on his only Irish stay in 1877. Does
anyone have any more information on this?
Best wishes,
Patrick

Sender: The Irish Diaspora Studies List
From: Patrick O'Sullivan
Subject: BREAND=?iso-8859-1?Q?=C1N_?= MAC LUA MEMORIAL LECTURE by Dr
Martin Mansergh
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From: Artistic Director [mailto:ad[at]irishculturalcentre.co.uk]=20
Subject:=20
BREAND=C1N MAC LUA MEMORIAL LECTURE by Dr Martin Mansergh=20
Thursday, 15 October 2009 - 7:30pm
Free Entry
=20

Dear Patrick,

I was wondering if you could please add the following lecture to your
website?

BREAND=C1N MAC LUA MEMORIAL LECTURE by Dr Martin Mansergh TD - 15 Oct =
2009 -
7:30pm

BRENDAN MAC LUA MEMORIAL LECTURE =96 FREE ENTRY
=A0
The inaugural annual Breand=E1n Mac Lua Memorial Lecture commemorating =
the
late founder and former editor of the "Irish Post" takes place on =
Thursday
15 October (730pm).
=A0
The lecturer will be Irish government minister Dr Martin Mansergh TD who
will be speaking on the subject "The Background Story of the Irish Peace
Process 1987 -2009".
=A0
There is no-one more qualified to speak on this subject than Dr =
Mansergh.
The Oxford-educated son of eminent Anglo-Irish historian, Nicholas =
Mansergh,
Dr Mansergh served under three successive Fianna Fail leaders (Charles
Haughey, Albert Reynolds and Bertie Ahern) since the mid-1980s as =
Director
of Reserch, Policy and Special Advisor on Northern Ireland involved in
discussions beween nationalist parties in the North and the Irish
Government.
=A0
Dr Mansergh has therefore played a key role in the Northern Ireland =
Peace
Process over the past twenty years. A former Senator in the Irish =
Parliament
he was elected TD (Member of Parliament) for Tipperary South =
constituency in
2007 and is now Minister of State in the current Irish Government.


To book a place please email =96 ad[at]irishculturalcentre.co.uk
=A0
7.30pm
Irish Cultural Centre
Black=92s Road
Hammersmith
W6 9DT

Many thanks Patrick,

Collette Mackin
=A0
Artistic Director
Irish Cultural Centre
Hammersmith
London
W6 9DT
=A0
e: ad[at]irishculturalcentre.co.uk
w: www.irishculturalcentre.co.uk

t: 02085638232
f: 02085638232
=A0

Sender: The Irish Diaspora Studies List
From: Patrick O'Sullivan
Subject: Book Notice, Jorge Edmundo Murray,
BECOMING GAUCHOS INGELESES: Diasporic Models in Irish - Argentine
Literature
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From: Academicapress[at]aol.com [mailto:Academicapress[at]aol.com]=20
=A0
We are expanding our Irish Research Studies series and are committed to
publishing scholarship in Irish diasporic research.=A0 Below is a new =
release
you and/or your university library may find of interest.=A0 We are =
distributed
in UK by Eurospan Group (London).
=A0
If you are aware of=A0recent dissertations that deserve publication,
please=A0let us know...we would be happy to follow up.
=A0
Sincerely,
=A0
Robert Redfern-West
=A0
R.H.Redfern-West,Director
Maunsel & Co.,Publishers (Dublin)
Academica Press,LLC
Box 60728
Cambridge Station
Palo Alto,CA 94306
650-329-0685 Telephone/Telefax
www.academicapress.com
=A0=20
Maunsel & Co.,Publishers (Dublin)
ACADEMICA PRESS, LLC
Advanced Book Information

Title: BECOMING GAUCHOS INGELESES: Diasporic Models in Irish =96 =
Argentine
Literature=20

Author: Jorge Edmundo Murray
Credentials: MA,University of Geneva, author of IRLANDES: Private =
Narratives
of the Irish Emigration to Argentina,1844 =96 1912; Co-editor, Irish =
Migration
Studies in Latin America=20
=93In presenting this literature, Murray demonstrates both its =
specificity as
Irish-Argentine, and its character as representative of immigrant
literatures in general. In doing so, he reminds us of the crucial issues =
at
stake both in the phenomenon of migration and in the cultural constructs =
to
which migration gives rise. These include the reality and idea of
=93diaspora,=94 the experience of exile, the shifting notion of =
=93home,=94 the
ambivalences of nostalgia, and the ambiguities of =93cultural =
identity.=94 With
respect to the latter, there is irony in the fact that in Argentina the
Irish were called Ingleses, when one considers the extent to which =
British
policies formulated in England contributed to the conditions that forced =
so
many Irish into emigration. But as Murray shows, Irish-Argentine =
literature
does not register the same sense of oppression that we find in Irish
literature of the same period=97it is moved by different sentiments, and
reflects a rather more complex set of myths and loyalties. If on one =
hand,
the Irish =93home=94 is the object of a nostalgic idealisation, on the =
other
hand, Argentine-Irish writers are forward-looking, and embrace their new
land with the frank and open-hearted spirit of Joyce=92s fictional =
emigrant.
If some Irish-Argentines hold nationalist Irish sympathies, others =
express
the desire to participate in a more generally Anglophone culture in
Argentina, so that =93English=94 comes to mean, even for the Irish in =
Argentina,
English-speaking rather than =93of England.=94 In tracing the shifting =
meanings
of words, the changing senses of identity, and the relocations of =
literary
form, Murray=92s work is written under the sign of migration. As an
interrogation of writing as migratory in several senses, this book has
relevance for a good deal more than the particular historical phenomenon =
and
the works of literature which are its primary concern. =93
From the foreword by Dr.David Spurr=20

Description: This monograph fills a large gap in the literary and =
cultural
history of the Irish diaspora=97The Argentine Republic in the 19th and =
20th
centuries. Since 2000 there has been a growing research interest in the
Irish in Latin America and the Caribbean . This work is the only modern
research by a skilled scholar on the topic of the literature of the =
Irish
Argentine. The work has ground breaking material on specific authors, =
their
economic and their demographic milieu as well as assessments on Irish =
allied
cultural activities (journalism, politics and music).
Contents include:
-Introduction
-Nineteenth-century Emigration to Argentina
-Irish-Argentine Literature
-Autobiography: Edward Robbins, John Brabazon and J.Macnie
-Fiction: Katherine Nevin and William Bulfin
-Becoming Irish =96 Argentine
-Chronology
Irish Research Series,No.57


Market: Irish Studies, Irish Literature, Argentine Literature 19th-20th =
c,
Irish in Latin America,Latin American Studies/ literature; =
Irish-Argentine
Literature
Release Date: 06/ 19/2009
Copyright: 2009
ISBN/Price: Cloth: 978-1-933146676/ 1933146-67-2; $79.95
Trim Size: 6 x 9
Pages: 156

Index: Yes
Bibliography: Yes
Illustrations: Yes; 8 b/w photos
CIP: Yes

Publisher: Academica Press, LLC
Box 60728 Cambridge Station
Palo Alto,CA 94306

Contact: Robert Redfern-West=20
academicapress[at]gmail.com
(650)329-0685
See our website for more information: www.Academicapress.com

Sender: The Irish Diaspora Studies List
From: Patrick O'Sullivan
Subject: Book Notice,
RENOGOTIATING AND RESISTING NATIONALISM IN 20TH-CENTURY IRISH
DRAMA
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RENOGOTIATING AND RESISTING NATIONALISM IN 20TH-CENTURY IRISH DRAMA
Edited by Scott Boltwood
Colin Smythe Limited, 2009. Xvi, 211 pp.

Ulster Editions and Monographs (General Editor, Robert Welch). Vol. 15
=A338.00

ISBN 978-0-86140-464-3 hb.

The essays in this collection seek to refine our understanding of the =
often
polyvalent and conflicted engagement that Irish dramatists have entered =
into
with nationalism, a cultural and political movement that they have often
attempted to simultaneously resist and renegotiate.

These ten essays construct a genealogy of dissent, of loyal opposition,
revealing the apprehension and dissatisfaction with which the twentieth
century's most influential playwrights have sometimes viewed the Irish
state, from its emergence in the early 1900s to its maturity at the
century's end.=20

The articles on W.B. Yeats, Augusta Gregory, J.M. Synge, and Sean =
O'Casey
reveal the early Abbey Theatre's struggle to critique the failures of =
and
influence the development of the early state and its proscriptive brand =
of
nationalist Irishness.=20

The essays exploring the later plays of Samuel Beckett, Brian Friel, =
Frank
McGuinness, Anne Devlin, Christina Reid, Marie Jones, and Marina Carr =
expose
both the conceptual and political failures of mainstream Irishness in =
the
second half of the twentieth century to satisfy the material or =
political
aspirations of people on either side of the Irish border.=20

While many of this collection's essays share a common postcolonial
interpretive strategy, individual articles also employ the strategies of
ecocriticism, social anthropology, structuralism, feminism, and =
nationalist
theory. The fifteenth volume in the Ulster Editions and Monographs =
series


CONTENTS
Scott Boltwood. Introduction

Colonialism and the Free State:
Hyangsoon Yi. The Traveller in Irish Drama and the Works of J.M.Synge =
and
Seamus O'Kelly
Barbara Suess. Individualism and the Acceptance of Other: Yeats and =
Where
There is Nothing
Scott Boltwood. 'I keep silence for good or evil': Lady Gregory's Cloon
plays and Home Rule
Paul Cantor. O'Casey's Juno and the Paycock and the Problematic Freedom =
of
the Irish Free State

The Republic and the North
Paul Davies. Earthing the Void: Beckett, Bio-regionalism, and =
Eco-poetics
Shaun Richards. Brian Friel: Seizing the Moment of Flux
Ros Dixon. Chekhov Bogged Down? Tom Kilroy's version of The Seagull
Susan Cannon Harris. Her Blood and Her Brother: Gender and Sacrifice in
Frank McGuinness's Carthaginians
Rebecca Pelan. Two's Company, Three's a Community: Women's Drama from
Northern Ireland
Maria-Elena Doyle. 'What Sort of Monsters Must We Have Been': Irishness =
and
the Gothic in McDonagh, Carr and McPherson

Notes - Bibliography - Contributors - Index

The Editor:
Scott Boltwood has written on Dion Boucicault, Lady Gregory, Brian =
Friel,
and the Ulster Group Theatre; his book Brian Friel, Ireland, and The =
North
(2007) is published by Cambridge University Press. He has been a =
Visiting
Professor of Drama at Queen's University, Belfast; a Research Fellow at =
the
Academy of Irish Cultural Heritages in Derry, Northern Ireland; and a
Visiting Professor of English at the University of Ulster, Coleraine. He =
is
currently an Associate Professor of English at Emory & Henry College.


You can order this book online at
http://www.colinsmythe.co.uk/

Or you can send your order to
Colin Smythe Ltd.
P.O. Box 6
Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire SL9 8XA

Tel : (44)1753 886000
Fax: (44)1753 886469

e-mail: cpsmythe[at]aol.com

Sender: The Irish Diaspora Studies List
From: Patrick O'Sullivan
Subject: CFP THE PATRIOTISM OF THE EXPATRIATES, Nicosia & London
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THE PATRIOTISM OF THE EXPATRIATES. Diasporas and national consciousness
between Europe, the Mediterranean and beyond in the long 19th century

Call for Papers Deadline: 2009-11-30

A common feature of several European national movements of the nineteenth
century was their development outside the territorial space of the state or
states they aimed at creating. National consciousness was often developed
and elaborated within the circles of diaspora intellectuals and patriots
living in exile.

The aim of the conference is to explore the role intellectual and
revolutionary diasporas played in creating, disseminating and negotiating
ideas, and in producing shared values, principles and discursive patterns
among patriots of different national origins.

It seeks to study how ideas are shaped, how they circulate, and the
contribution that diasporas themselves gave to the main ideological currents
advocating change in the post-revolutionary world: patriotism,
republicanism, liberalism, etc. It will focus on the interaction between the
intellectual communities of the European and Mediterranean centres and these
diasporas, as well as contacts and exchanges between different diasporas. It
hopes to look not only at displaced intellectuals from Europe and the
Mediterranean, but also at those coming to these regions from other
continents.

By looking at trans-national exchanges and trans-national civil societies,
it seeks to de-nationalize the study of national consciousness, encourage
comparative analysis and study the connections, relations and exchanges
between different intellectual traditions and currents. It is hoped that the
conference will represent an opportunity to discuss, question and revise
some of the theoretical frameworks used by historiography to explore and
interpret the circulation of ideas between Europe, the Mediterranean and the
rest of the world, and that it will provide an opportunity to improve our
understanding of the intellectual and cultural dynamics facilitated by the
cross-border and cross national encounters.

The conference will be held in two parts:
a) A one-day workshop to be held in Nicosia (University of Nicosia).
Date : 30 May 2010
b) A two-day conference to be held in London (Queen Mary College,
University of London) Date : 10-1 September 2010

Dr. Maurizio Isabella, Hist. Dept., Queen Mary College, University of London

Mile End Road, London EI 4NS, UK

Dr Konstantina Zanou, University of Nicosia, Cyrpus, czanou[at]gmail.com
Email: m.isabella[at]qmul.ac.uk, czanou[at]gmail.com

Sender: The Irish Diaspora Studies List
From: Patrick O'Sullivan
Subject: Irish Literature Seminar Series, University of Oxford,
Wednesdays, 5.15 pm, Michaelmas Term
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Forwarded on behalf of Tom Walker (thomas.walker[at]lincoln.ox.ac.uk)

Please find below the details for a forthcoming seminar series at the
University
of Oxford:

Bards to Banville: An Irish Literature Seminar

Wednesdays, 5.15 pm, Michaelmas Term
The Old Library, Hertford College, Oxford

14 October
Professor David Womersley (St Catherine's College, Oxford)
The Art of Political Trapanning: Swift on the Cause, Curse and Cure of Party

28 October
Professor Roy Foster (Hertford College, Oxford)
Lost in the Big House: Anglo-Irishry and the Uses of the Supernatural

11 November
Dr John Redmond (University of Liverpool)
Is Derek Mahon a Public Poet?

25 November
Dr Catherine Rees (Loughborough University)
Political Impotence and Social Sterility: Gender and Confusion in the Plays
of
Martin McDonagh


All are welcome. Drinks will follow.

Convenors: thomas.walker[at]lincoln.ox.ac.uk, sarah.bennett[at]hertford.ox.ac.uk

Sender: The Irish Diaspora Studies List
From: Patrick O'Sullivan
Subject: Book Review, Briody,
The Irish Folklore Commission 1935-1970. History, Ideology,
Methodology
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In the latest issue of the journal Folklore there is a review by Finnish =
scholar Ulrika Wolf-Knuts of...

The Irish Folklore Commission 1935-1970. History, Ideology, Methodology. =
By Micheal Briody, Studia Fennica Folkloristica 17. Helsinki: Finnish =
Literature Society, 2007, 535 pp., =E2=82=AC35.00/25.99 (pbk), ISBN =
978-951-746-947-0

The review is very favourable - extracts below - though the reviewer =
takes a bit of time to clear her mind...

It does look as if Micheal Briody has produced an important piece of =
work which will be consulted by everyone who uses this folkloric =
material.=20

P.O'S.


The Irish Folklore Commission 1935-1970. History, Ideology, Methodology
Author: Wolf-Knuts, Ulrika 1
Source: Folklore, Volume 120, Number 2, August 2009 , pp. 228-230(3)
Publisher: Routledge, part of the Taylor & Francis Group

...In his extremely detailed and thorough doctoral dissertation on the =
Irish Folklore Commission from its establishment in 1935 until 1970 =
after which it became a part of University College Dublin, Mchel Briody =
chose to work in an historical, descriptive way. The book contains =
information on the historical background of the Commission, the dominant =
national ideology of the period, and the methodology involved in the =
collecting and archiving of the folklore material in question. Briody =
covers the entire history of the Commission, as well as the history of =
independent Ireland, and he concludes with some reflections on the =
import of decisions made in the 1970s, when the Commission became the =
Department of Irish Folklore at University College Dublin.

Well aware of the risk of making anachronistic statements, Briody =
describes the political ideology outside the Commission that led to a =
positive attitude towards its foundation by those who were well-placed =
to aid its establishment, supported by government funding. This is, =
according to the author, the first time this whole process has been =
analysed in detail...

...Briody also examines what was not recorded by the Commission, such as =
urban folklore and recent traditions. English-language folklore was much =
less documented than that in Irish. We see parallels here in Finland, =
where, generally speaking, Finnish folklore was not documented by the =
Finland-Swedish collectors or vice versa.

The author gives a detailed overview of the collectors=E2=80=94who they =
were, how they worked, and where they travelled. Their work outlook and =
record are impressive, for they were part of a full-time network, =
although there were also part-time collectors. The full-time collectors =
kept field diaries, which provide detailed information on fieldwork =
activities not readily available elsewhere. It is also worth mentioning =
the schoolchildren whom the Commission involved in the collection of =
folklore. Briody explains how the Schools Scheme of 1937-38 was =
initiated and brought to fruition, thus bringing an awareness of the =
work of the Commission to a generation of rural schoolchildren...

...This book is, to a large extent, a biography of Samus Duilearga, the =
=E2=80=9Cgrand old man=E2=80=9D of Irish folklore collecting and =
folkloristics. Duilearga evidently had an iron will, saw clearly what =
he wanted to do, and did it according to his plans. If these failed he =
found other ways to achieve his mission. Nevertheless, the incorporation =
of the Irish Folklore Commission into University College Dublin in 1971 =
was not an entirely positive event, according to Briody. Times had =
changed and the tide had turned in a way that was not always favourable =
to folkloristics or to the arts in general. There were other factors =
involved also. First, some of those idealists who had made the =
Commission a valuable and respected institution were no longer active. =
Second, the Irish language did not enjoy such a central position as it =
had hitherto in people's minds, nationalism had faded somewhat, and it =
was no longer so obvious that Irish culture needed to be protected and =
promoted. Third, there was a general lack of resources in the country, =
which also affected the universities. In the final analysis, what the =
Commission achieved for Ireland, and what the people involved managed to =
do for Irish and international folkloristics, can only be judged in our =
own day. Certainly, my own knowledge of the field of Irish folklore =
collecting and folkloristics has grown immensely from reading Briody's =
dissertation.

Sender: The Irish Diaspora Studies List
From: Patrick O'Sullivan
Subject: Book Review, Irish in Scotland: Martin J. Mitchell (ed.)
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An appreciative book review has appeared in The Expository Times....

Extracts below... The point about Handley is well made.

P.O'S.

Book Review: Dispelling Myths About the Irish in Scotland: Martin J.
Mitchell (ed.),...
McKinney The Expository Times.2009; 121: 46=20

Dispelling Myths about the Irish in Scotland=20

Martin J. Mitchell (ed.), The Irish in Scotland=20
(Edinburgh: John Donald, 2008. =A320.00. pp. 254.=20
ISBN 978=961=96904607=9683=960).=20

This edited collection, featuring key scholars such as=20
t. m. Devine, michael rosie, elaine W. McFarland,=20
Bernard Aspinwall and martin J. mitchell, is a very=20
welcome addition to the academic study of the irish=20
in scotland in the last two centuries (the irish being=20
the largest immigrant group in that period). A wide=20
range of topics are covered including: the famines; the=20
political inclinations and participation of the irish;=20
the contribution of the irish Catholics in the Great=20
War and sectarianism and employment...

There are also fascinating chapters on the protestant=20
irish. ian meredith argues that at least half of the=20
irish protestant immigrants came from the Church=20
of ireland (low Church and often orangemen)=20
and joined the scottish episcopal Church, but=20
clashed with scottish and english members as the=20
Church became increasingly high. eric Kaufmann,=20
settling an academic dispute, demonstrates that the=20
revival in orangeism in nineteenth-century scotland=20
was the result of irish protestant immigration and=20
not local resurgence. he describes an increasingly=20
secular contemporary organization, estranged from=20
mainstream protestantism, struggling to maintain a=20
respectable public image and discipline the =91rougher=92,=20
more intemperate members. mitchell et al. are to=20
be congratulated for providing a rewarding and=20
enlightening contribution to scholarship. Perhaps the=20
next stage would be a systematic and critical revision=20
of some of the =91seminal=92 sources =96 probably overdue=20
for writers such as Handley. This is an essential text=20
for this area of study.=20

Stephen J. MCKinney=20
University of Glasgow=20

Sender: The Irish Diaspora Studies List
From: Patrick O'Sullivan
Subject: Book Review, Michael P. Carroll,
American Catholics in the Protestant Imagination
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A critical review of Michael Carroll's book has appeared in the Journal =
of Religion. Extracts below...

Michael P. Carroll, American Catholics in the Protestant Imagination: =
Rethinking the Academic Study of Religion

Kristy Nabhan=E2=80=90Warren
The Journal of Religion. Volume 89, Issue 4, Page 629=E2=80=93631, Oct =
2009

Book Review=20
Carroll, Michael P. American Catholics in the Protestant Imagination: =
Rethinking the Academic Study of Religion. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins =
University Press, 2007. vii+219 pp. $49.95 (cloth).
Kristy Nabhan=E2=80=90Warren,=20

Augustana College.

In American Catholics and the Protestant Imagination, the sociologist of =
religion Michael P. Carroll deconstructs time=E2=80=90honored =
metanarratives in American religious history, what he calls =
=E2=80=9CStandard Stories.=E2=80=9D His questions are historiographical: =
what explains the rise of these stories, why have they (mostly) been =
uncritically accepted, and are they correct? He then delves into the =
complex and varied histories of Irish immigrant, Italian American, =
Cajun/Acadian, and Hispanic American Catholics in order to assess =
whether there is any historical credibility to the standard stories. =
These stories are, according to Carroll, the following: (1) =
Colonial=E2=80=90era Irish immigrants were devout; (2) =
post=E2=80=90Famine Irish immigrants were intensely devotional; (3) =
mid=E2=80=90 to late nineteenth=E2=80=90century Italian American =
Catholics brought with them intense local and quasi=E2=80=90pagan =
devotions from their villages; (4) Acadian/Cajun Catholics were =
especially =E2=80=9Cgood Catholics=E2=80=9D; and (5) Hispanic Catholics =
are matricentric in their beliefs and practices. In all cases, Carroll =
claims that these stories and the historiographies informing them are =
misinformed at best, self=E2=80=90serving =E2=80=9Cfaux =
histories=E2=80=9D at worst, informed not by historical truths but by =
what he views as a deeply internalized Protestant lens that religious =
studies scholars, historians, and sociologists have invoked =
uncritically. This Protestant bias, Carroll contends, needs to be =
critically examined as it continues to shape the field of American =
religious history and challenged if we are to write empirical histories =
and sociologies of American religion that get the stories right.

This Protestant bias/imagination that informs so many of our histories =
and sociologies of American religion, according to Carroll, rests on =
scholars=E2=80=99 internalization of distinctively Protestant modes of =
thought and has led to what Carroll sees as the insidious Protestant =
degradation narrative that posits Roman Catholicism as encrusting =
Christianity with =E2=80=9Ca number of sacramental and/or magical =
practices=E2=80=9D (93). All of the standard stories Carroll takes to =
task are posited as a result of scholars=E2=80=99 internalization and =
even promotion of the degradation narrative as well as the interrelated =
belief that Catholicism is primitive and premodern, with its emphasis on =
what he sees as =E2=80=9Cvisual imagery, mystery, mysterious healing, =
and so forth=E2=80=9D (148).

The problem is that Carroll assumes that scholars=E2=80=99 emphasis on =
the mystical, other=E2=80=90worldly aspects of Catholicism stems from a =
deep distrust of Catholicism, when in many cases the scholars themselves =
are products of the Catholic culture about which they write...

...Carroll is a passionate critic and writer; his ambitiousness is =
admirable and commendable. He is committed in his endeavor to uncover =
what he considers a Protestant bias in historiography on American =
religions, which he sees as making American Catholics and their history =
into an =E2=80=9Cother,=E2=80=9D a degraded form of Protestantism. And =
he is quite right in that older models of scholarship in particular have =
perpetuated a Protestant lens and have viewed Catholic history through =
that distorted lens. But newer ethnographies and cultural histories of =
Catholics do not fit the Protestant lens/bias on which Carroll is so =
insistent, and American Catholics in particular can hardly be said to =
have internalized a Protestant bias and =E2=80=9Cotherization=E2=80=9D =
of American Catholic history. These scholars embrace what distinguishes =
Catholic history, make it their own, and tell new stories not wedded to =
a Protestant imagination.

Sender: The Irish Diaspora Studies List
From: Patrick O'Sullivan
Subject: Article, Diasporic subjectivity as an ethical position
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South Asian Diaspora is a new journal which has appeared on Informaworld and
Taylor & Francis.

South Asian Diaspora, Volume 1 Issue 1 2009
Is the Free Sample issue

In Issue 2 there is an article, Dibyesh Anand, 'Diasporic subjectivity as an
ethical position' - it is a personal exploration of the diasporic solution,
which will interest many Ir-D members. Abstract pasted in below...

Generally the journal is worth browsing - its use of the term 'diaspora'
seems to solve some problems for the journal team and their contributors.
The use is quite delicate - or do I mean robust? - given the very different
origins of the peoples subsumed into a 'South Asian Diaspora'.

I have written to the journal's editor, Ajaya K. Sahoo - University of
Hyderabad, India, offering our good wishes.

P.O'S.

South Asian Diaspora

Aims & Scope

'The South Asian Diaspora, shaped by dispersions of people, goods, ideas and
beliefs that flowed from and through the Indian Subcontinent which is
currently one of the world's largest diasporas. India, Pakistan, Bangladesh,
Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bhutan and the Maldives all anchor a sense of home for
people who have moved outside the region through the centuries. These
territories evoke emotional, social, political, economic, cultural and
literary affiliations as well which find expression in multiple ways. The
diaspora is also marked by struggles over meanings and tensions both amongst
the diasporics and with people in the countries where the diasporics now
inhabit. In South Asian Diaspora we aim to explore some of the issues that
the South Asian diaspora presents for the contemporary world.'

Article
Diasporic subjectivity as an ethical position

Author: Dibyesh Anand a
Affiliation: a Centre for the Study of Democracy, Westminster University,
London, UK

Published in: South Asian Diaspora, Volume 1, Issue 2 September 2009 ,
pages 103 - 111

Abstract
The paper highlights some of the ways in which diasporas challenge the
dominant narratives of belonging that give primacy to the bounded community
of nation-states. It argues for a critical appropriation of diasporic
subjectivity as an ethical position that reveals the contested and
constructed nature of culture. This position requires analytical frameworks
that recognise power relations behind cultural claims and allow us to
appreciate the silenced and marginalised voices subsumed under the
categories of diaspora and culture.
Keywords: subjectivity; diaspora; belonging; community; culture

Sender: The Irish Diaspora Studies List
From: Patrick O'Sullivan
Subject: Article,Who Killed Meyer Hasenfus? Organized Crime,
Policing and Informing on the Witwatersrand, 1902-8
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This article turned up in our alerts because of mentions of those London
Irish gangsters - and some Irish American gangsters.

But the article will interest a number of Ir-D members. It has good
observations on policing within the British Empire, and brings an 'Atlantic'
perspective to the study of organised crime in this period.

P.O'S.

History Workshop Journal 2009 67(1):1-22;
Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of History Workshop Journal
(2009)

Who Killed Meyer Hasenfus? Organized Crime, Policing and Informing on the
Witwatersrand, 1902-8

Charles van Onselen

For three decades, dating back to 1886, the gold mining industry at the
heart of South Africa's industrial revolution underwrote a social structure
in which men outnumbered women to an alarming degree. This imbalance spawned
a trade in commercial sex which for many years was dominated by Russo-Polish
gangsters. The prevalence of 'organized vice' posed a dilemma for successive
governments, which sought to retain the appeal of prostitutes in labour
markets characterized by shortages of male workers while simultaneously
seeking to eliminate the worst excesses of organized crime. This already
delicate balance was upset after the South African War (1899-1902) when
London Irish and Cockney Jews arrived to contest the hegemony of East
European underworld elements. As part of an effort to infiltrate 'foreign'
Russo-Polish gangs, the Milner administration resorted to the use of
informers, thereby further inflaming conflict between East European and
'English' gangsters. The economic downturn of 1906-8 set the stage for a
tragedy culminating in the death of an informer, Meyer Hasenfus. But amidst
all the complexities it became exceedingly difficult to determine
culpability and several independent-minded prostitutes, led by a woman
centrally involved in the Hasenfus case, used the moment to stage a revolt
and cast off the yokes of their pimps. The death of Hasenfus marked a
turning point in the history of local crime.

Sender: The Irish Diaspora Studies List
From: Patrick O'Sullivan
Subject: The truth about the English
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Comedian Dara O Briain - an affable chap, often seen on British =
television -
has a forthcoming book...

Tickling the English: Notes on a Country and its People by an Irish =
Funnyman
on Tour by Dara O Briain, published by Michael Joseph at =A318.99.=20

And you can read extracts from it on The Guardian web site.

Below, extracts from the extracts.

P.O'S.

The truth about the English
Growing up in Ireland, the comedian saw England as a strange and foreign
place. So what does he think of the English now that he lives here?
=20
Dara O Briain
The Guardian, Friday 2 October 2009

...If the English were to be glibly summed up as pragmatic but a bit =
moany,
though, then this is the perfect capital city for them. The city is =
massive,
and Londoners negotiate daily a ludicrously complicated transport =
system, by
underground, overground, bus and boat. This gives them endless =
opportunities
to complain, but it also forces them to perform route calculations of
astonishing complexity, usually without even looking up, for fear they =
might
make eye-contact, or show weakness, or share a human moment with a =
fellow
commuter, which is not the way things are done in London....

...The nature of English drinking has always been a subject of debate in =
the
country, with a certain aspirational tendency which presumes that, with =
just
the right tweak in the licensing laws, an eruption of cafes will occur =
and
it'll be just a couple of glasses of chardonnay before the match. With =
the
perfect piece of legislation, you'll all go Mediterranean.

This is never going to happen. Your drinking is all about binges and =
serious
drunkenness, more in keeping with the Germanic and Nordic (and Irish)
attitude to alcohol...

...we aren't taught a lot of English history in Irish schools. So you =
can
understand my glee at discovering the gin epidemic. We get a lot of =
grief,
the Irish, about being heavy drinkers, but you . . . had a gin epidemic. =
Oh
sure, we like a pint now and again but . . . you had an epidemic . . . =
of
gin. This is like finding out that your disciplinarian stepfather =
actually
has a teenage police record for possession of marijuana...

...In the last few years, there has been a campaign to re-launch St =
George's
Day, in an effort to find a few non-sporting occasions for =
self-celebration.
It was in part another expression of that bizarre section of England =
that
likes to perceive itself the victim of a terrible injustice. How can the
Celts have their day? Why has everyone heard of Paddy's Day and not of =
brave
St George? Where are our parades?

There are a couple of simple reasons why St Patrick's Day is a massive
global success story and St George's Day is not. Obviously, there's the
drinking, the parades and the enormous Irish diaspora, which clung to =
the
festival as a celebration of home and developed it into the cavalcade of
Guinness and green that it is today.

England can have none of this. You have a diaspora, of sorts, in the =
sense
that you have expats all over the world. This is fundamentally different =
to
Ireland, however, in that your diaspora is mainly in Provence, where =
they
moved of their own accord...

...Every year, we see the footage of drunken American kids wearing "Kiss =
Me,
I'm Irish" T-shirts and getting hammered in our honour. Even at home, =
the
day has always been a bit of an underage drinking festival. I appreciate =
the
craic as much as anyone; I just dislike the entire nation being reduced =
to a
caricature. All those campaigning furiously for a St George's festival =
might
be wise to ask themselves if they want to see England narrowed down to a =
man
in a cartoon dragon costume running down Fifth Avenue. "Tally-ho!" =
they'll
shout, in a Dick Van Dyke English accent. "Tally-ho!"

SOURCE
http://www.guardian.co.uk/global/2009/oct/02/dara-obriain-england-footbal=
l-l
ondon

Sender: The Irish Diaspora Studies List
From: Patrick O'Sullivan
Subject: CFP ACIS Conference 2010, State College, PA.
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2010 ACIS Conference

Call for Papers
Deadline: 24 November, 2009

The 2010 national meeting of the American Conference for Irish Studies will
be held on 5 - 8 May 2010 at the Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel in
State College, PA.

There will be an opening reception on Wednesday evening, May 5th, and
concurrent panels will begin on Thursday morning, May 6th. The announced
theme is intended to encourage a broad range of paper topics.

Papers are welcome on any Irish Studies topic, including traditional
concerns of the discipline and evolving areas of interest in the visual,
literary, and interdisciplinary areas. We welcome proposals for individual
papers, which, if accepted, will be placed within a relevant panel.

Proposals for panels are especially welcome, and panels have been proposed
on Reassessing Diasporic Studies within Irish Studies and Reassessing Irish
Historiography. Additional papers are welcome on such topics as evolving
literary and visual arts movements, the culture and literature of Northern
Ireland, and other related topics!

Plenary speakers confirmed to date are Dean John Harrington (Fordham
University) and Dr. James Smith (Boston College). Moya Cannon will be
reading from her poetry at a special session. U.S carriers offer frequent
flights to State College, PA. Further details will be posted as they become
available. A conference website is also under development.

Due Date for Conference Paper Proposals: Tuesday, 24 November 2009. Please
send your 250 word (or less) abstract to Dr. Tramble T. Turner at
ttt3[at]psu.edu. If you have questions or would like additional information,
please contact me at 215 868.5848 (mobile), 215 881.7532 (office), or via
e-mail at ttt3[at]psu.edu. Dr. Tramble T. Turner Associate Professor of English
Penn State Abington 1600 Woodland Rd. Abington, PA 19001

Contact: Tramble Turner
ttt3[at]psu.edu

Sender: The Irish Diaspora Studies List
From: Patrick O'Sullivan
Subject: Aricle, Same-sex marriage and the Irish Constitution
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Same-sex marriage and the Irish Constitution
Author: O'Sullivan, Aisling 1

Source: The International Journal of Human Rights, Volume 13, Numbers 2-3,
April 2009 , pp. 477-492(16)
Publisher: Routledge, part of the Taylor & Francis Group

Abstract:
This paper examines the recent Irish High Court case of Zappone and Gilligan
v. Revenue Commissioners and Others, a challenge to the constitutionality of
the state's interpretation of the Irish Tax Code vis-a-vis the foreign
marriage of a same-sex couple and their right to marry each other under
Irish law. The right to marry and the nature of marriage are undefined in
the Irish Constitution. Thus, a progressive interpretation may take into
account contemporary knowledge of sexuality and sexual orientation and norms
of equality and non-discrimination. This paper also discusses the 'living
document' approach to constitutional interpretation and argues that the High
Court misapplied the methodology of Supreme Court Justice Murray in Sinnott
v. Minister for Education, a methodology which may offer the means to
interpret the Irish Constitution as protecting the right to marry another
person of the same sex.

Keywords: constitutional interpretation; right to marry; same-sex marriage;
Ireland

Affiliations: 1: Irish Centre for Human Rights, National University of
Ireland, Galway, Ireland

Sender: The Irish Diaspora Studies List
From: Patrick O'Sullivan
Subject: Article,
Home Thoughts from Abroad: Diasporas and Peace-Building in
Northern Ireland and Sri Lanka
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Home Thoughts from Abroad: Diasporas and Peace-Building in Northern Ireland
and Sri Lanka

Authors: Cochrane, Feargal1; Baser, Bahar2; Swain, Ashok3

Source: Studies in Conflict and Terrorism, Volume 32, Number 8, August 2009
, pp. 681-704(24)
Publisher: Routledge, part of the Taylor & Francis Group

Abstract:
This article looks at the dynamics of Diaspora groups as a possible catalyst
for peace-building within violent segmented societies. With the help of two
case studies, Irish-America's role in Northern Ireland and Sri Lankan Tamil
Diaspora's role in Sri Lanka, it locates the variable impacts of Diaspora
involvement in violent conflicts within their homelands. Despite their
unique histories and individual complexity, both of these cases illustrate
that Diasporas have a significant role to play in peace-building, are
diverse rather than homogenous communities, and that they represent an
important and often underutilized resource to bring negotiated settlement to
violent conflicts.

Affiliations: 1: Richardson Institute for Peace and Conflict Research,
Lancaster University, Lancaster, UK 2: Department of Social and Political
Sciences, European University Institute, Florence, Italy 3: Department of
Peace and Conflict Research, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden,Uppsala
Centre for Sustainable Development, Uppsala, Sweden

Sender: The Irish Diaspora Studies List
From: Patrick O'Sullivan
Subject: Irish Literary Festival, Porto, 9-10 October
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Irish Literary Festival=20
Fundamental Sounds: Voices from Ireland=20
6 | 11 October 2009 | Porto, Portugal
Lectures | Readings | Theatre=A0| Music
Guest writers: Paul Muldoon | Tom Murphy | Glenn Patterson
________________________________________
Organisation: CETAPS (Centre for English, Translation and =
Anglo-Portuguese
Studies), Faculdade de Letras da Universidade do Porto
Sponsored by Funda=E7=E3o para a Ci=EAncia e a Tecnologia | Culture =
Ireland |
Embassy of Ireland | Department of Foreign Affairs
Collaboration: TNSJ | Centro de Estudos de Teatro da Universidade de =
Lisboa
| ASS=E9DIO=20
=A0
For more information, please contact the organisers at =
rchomem[at]netcabo.pt
or check the latest version of the programme at
http://sigarra.up.pt/flup/noticias_geral.ver_noticia?P_NR=3D2795