Ed. Kevin Barry, Tom Dunne, Richard Kearney, Edna Longley, Clare O’Halloran and Brian Walker

CONTENTS

[Section:] Famine Diaries

Jim Jackson, ‘Famine Diary - The Making of a Best Seller’, pp.1-8. Deliberates Gerald Keegan’s presentation of the famine period in Ireland by means of historical fiction, cross referencing it with Robert Seller’s ‘The summer of sorrows’ and his perspectives on the Canadian settlement era; outlines Keegan’s conclusion that the exile and deaths of thousands of Irish was the deliberate intention of the British government to get rid of the Irish people; catalogues the period from the famine to the coffin ships and the arrival in Canada; refers and quotes from opposing theories put forth by Mary E. Daly.

Paul Bew, ‘The Easter Rising: Lost Leaders and Lost Opportunities’, pp.9-13. Draws attention to Ireland’s political situation surrounding the 1916 rising highlighting the part taken by the Redmond government and the public disapproval of it; discusses Ireland’s tendency to hold dear periods of great suffering without facing the source of those problems, comparing the pride in the rising with present day attitudes against violence.

Donald Akenson, ‘The Irish in North America: Catholic or Protestant?’, pp.17-22. Reviews the notion that to be Irish, one must be Catholic which prevailed up until the 1980’s, largely due to people like Kenneth Duncan who believed the Irish to be Catholic, ill educated and backward and the influence of Daniel O’Connell and the fiction of Fr. Andrew M. Greely; notes this view has been proven to be a misconception as a result of two studies carried out, by the National Opinion Research Centre in the 70’s and the Gallup Polling Organisation in the 80’s.

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John H. Ahtes, ‘The Kennedys, Ireland and Irish America’, pp.23-34. Debates the ironic relationship which has existed between America, Ireland and Britain through out history, referring to the Kennedy myth outlined by Garry Wills who views the Kennedys as semi-British and semi-Irish, as is necessary to the occasion; traces their political interaction from the conventional P.J. Kennedy in 1907, the first in public life, J.F.K.’s visit in 1947 to his sister and on to economic aid in 1982 and Senator Kennedy’s powersharing debates in 1991; alludes to Martin Mansergh’s ‘The Spirit of the Nation’, James McGregor Burn’s ‘Edward Kennedy and the Camelot Legacy’ and Jack Holland’s ‘The American Connection’ which highlight the irresponsible nature of American imput to the Irish situation.

Maureen Murphy, ‘New Opportunities for New Irish’, pp.35-39. Examines the plight of the Irish illegal aliens in America and their changing situation and opinions, finding the ‘New Irish’ more urban, disinterested in Northern Ireland while affirming Irelands neutrality and contrasts these to the ‘Old Irish’ traditional views; considers the many educational opportunities now accessible to Irish-American immigrants noting an article in the American College Health journal by Dr. Miepje De Vryer which deals with the personal trauma involved when emigrating to a foreign country.

George O’Brien, ‘Ireland 2000: A Very Short Story’, pp.40-46. A letter from O’Brien to Prof. F.X. Clarity of the Dept. of English and Communication Studies, Central State Univ., Murphytown, W. Virginia discussing topics such as John Montague, Clarkes biography of Charles Olsen, Laurence J. McCaffrey on Irish Historical Studies and reminiscing on the Irish literary critical and cultural debates.

Medbh McGuckian, ‘Visiting Poet’, pp.47-49. ‘In the Rainshadow’ [poems].

Hiram Morgan, ‘Mid-Atlantic Blues’, pp.50-55. Positions himself in opposition to the much accepted thesis of Prof. D.B. Quinn and Prof. Nicholas Canny which places early modern Irish History in the context of the expansion of Europe; disagrees with their theories as they based their conjectures in the long-term effects on policy and on the opinions and politics of particular interest parties at specific periods in time, thus offering a slanted view of early history; vies for a balanced assessment of Ireland individually as kingdom and colony in W. Europe , thus achieving a balanced viewpoint.

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Helena Sheehan, ‘America Symptoms of Decline’, pp.56-63. Contemplates the social decline in America from the strength of the 50’s to the chaos of the 60’s, disillusionment of the 70’s and the backlash of the 80’s; notes the lack of support from the American public for the Gulf War which contradicts the image broadcast to the nation and world and solidifies this view with Noam Chomsky’s anti-war article in the ‘Guardian’; sees the American myth of rags to riches turn toward winning the lottery, a ‘Psychology of lottery’; summarises the racial, sexual and operational tensions and the fragmentation of civil societies prophesying a pessimistic future.

Victor Luftig, ‘A Standard of Sophistication and Service’: Joyce and the Tourism Trap’, pp.64-70. Cogitates the relationship Irish tourist industry has developed with its literary scholars in order to attract investment and money to this country; believes this continuous association with Joyce and Dublin, his wife and Galway, his father and Ennis etc. succeeds only in inhibiting Irish culture and impeding its pluralist European redefinition.

Paul Muldoon, ‘Milkweed and Monarch’, pp.71-72 [poem].

Medbh McGuckian, ‘Four Poems’: ‘Sleeping with the Sea’; ‘The Fissure of Sylvius’; ‘The Sleep Cure’; ‘On her Second Birthday’. [poems].

John Goodby, ‘The Kalif of Conamara’, pp.78 [poem].

Robert Lafont, ‘Nation and Empire’, translated by Miriam Lee, pp.79-89.

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