Irish Culture
extract from Encyclopaedia Brittanica

Copyright 1994-1998 Encyclopaedia Britannica

Cultural Life

The cultural milieu of Ireland has been shaped by the dynamic interplay between the ancient Celtic-derived traditions of the people and those imposed from outside, notably from Britain. This has produced a culture of rich, distinctive character in which the use of language--be it Irish or English--has always been the central element. Not surprisingly, Irish culture is best known through its literature, drama, and songs; above all, the Irish are renowned as masters of the art of conversation.

Use of the Irish language declined steadily during the 19th century and was nearly wiped out by the Great Potato Famine of the 1840s, which particularly affected the Irish-speaking population. But despite its decline the Irish language never ceased to exert a strong influence on Irish consciousness. From the mid-19th century, in the years following the famine, there was a resurgence in traditional native Irish language and culture. This Gaelic revival led, in turn, to the Irish literary renaissance of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, in which native expression was explored and renewed by a generation of writers and academics. It also produced a resurgence in traditional musical and dance forms. The cultural revivalism became an inspiration to the Irish nationalist struggle of the early decades of the 20th century.

Cultural Life

Literature

Theatre

Music and dance

Visual arts

Cultural institutions

The press and broadcasting

Daily Life

The arts

Literature

A flowering of Irish literary works occurred with the standardization of Irish in the mid-20th century. After World War II a new wave of poets, novelists, and dramatists produced a significant literature in modern Irish, among them Máirtín Ó Cadhain, Máirtín Ó Direáin, and Máire Mhac an tSaoi. Since the 1970s a younger generation of writers has made important contributions in Irish, notably Mícheál Ó Siadhail, Gabriel Rosenstock, Michael Hartnett, Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill, Áine Ní Ghlinn, and Cathal Ó Searcaigh.

Many modes of thought and expression characteristic of Irish-language formulations were gradually absorbed into the English spoken in Ireland. The remarkable contribution that Anglo-Irish literature and drama have made to the Western world may in part be ascribed to this linguistic cross-fertilization. It is also noteworthy that so small a country should produce so much creative literary genius. The great Anglo-Irish satirist Jonathan Swift, dean of St. Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin, drew upon his experience of life in Ireland for his writing, becoming in the process identified with his adopted country. Swift expressed the anger and frustration of the Anglo-Irish, effectively foretelling the resentment that was to lead to the creation of an independent Irish Parliament in 1782. The orator and political theorist Edmund Burke, the novelist George Augustus Moore, the poet and winner of the 1923 Nobel Prize for Literature William Butler Yeats, the author and playwright Samuel Beckett (winner of the Nobel Prize in 1969), the dramatist Sean O'Casey, and the modern prose masters James Joyce, Frank O'Connor, Sean O'Faolain, Flann O'Brien, and Liam O'Flaherty were all infused with Anglo-Irish traditions.

Irish writers in English maintained international standing throughout the 20th century. In the 1960s the poets Michael Longley, Eavan Boland, Brendan Kennelly, and Paul Durcan were widely published. The Ulster poet Seamus Heaney won the 1995 Nobel Prize for Literature. In fiction John McGahern, Edna O'Brien, Roddy Doyle, Dermot Healy, Colm Tobin, and William Trevor gained consistent international recognition and respect.

Theatre

Irish achievements in the theatre during the 19th and 20th centuries stand alongside those in literature. Notable dramatists of distinction include William Congreve, Oliver Goldsmith, Richard Brinsley Sheridan, Oscar Wilde, John Millington Synge, George Bernard Shaw (winner of the 1925 Nobel Prize), and Sean O'Casey and, more recently, Brian Friel, Sebastian Barry, and Billy Roche.

Dublin is the centre of Ireland's theatrical life. Its Abbey Theatre, founded in 1904 and rebuilt in the mid-1960s, stages classic Irish plays, as well as new works in both Irish and English. The Gate Theatre produces Irish and international drama, while the Peacock Theatre, incorporated into the Abbey Theatre building, concentrates on experimental plays and works in Irish. Theatres and theatre companies are found throughout the country, however, promoting a wide range of national and international drama. Galway's Druid Theatre is the most prominent of these regional operations. In addition, there is a vigorous amateur dramatic movement active around the country.

Music and dance

Irish traditional musical forms date from preliterate times. The Irish harp long had been the only instrument played, but subsequently a number of other instruments--such as the uilleann pipes (Irish bagpipes)--have been added. The revival of traditional music in the late 19th and early 20th centuries was followed by an even more energetic resurgence of it since the 1960s. Irish songs gained wide appeal in Europe in the 19th century, and the music brought to the United States by Irish immigrants formed one of the sources of traditional American music. More recently, elements of traditional Irish music have been appropriated by modern rock musicians to create a distinctive Irish popular music form with great international appeal.

Ireland has produced such world-renowned composers as John Field and Michael Balfe. The Wexford Opera Festival, held annually in the fall, draws a large international audience. The National Symphony Orchestra and the RTE Concert Orchestra--both based in Dublin and maintained by Radio Telefís Éireann (RTE), the state-owned broadcasting company--are the country's principal orchestral groups.

Ireland has a long tradition of folk dancing. Solo dancing is characterized by its lightning footwork and high kicks, all executed while the upper body is kept rigidly straight. The interest in Irish dancing, which grew apace with the revival of traditional music, led to the creation of the performance work Riverdance in the 1990s, which achieved wide international acclaim.

Visual arts

Several Irish artists, architects, and designers have achieved international success. In the first half of the 20th century several painters gained major international reputations, notably the portraitists Sir John Lavery and Roderic O'Conor and the figurative painters John ("Jack") Yeats (the brother of William Butler Yeats), Paul Henry, and William Orpen. They were followed in the second half of the century by modern artists led by Louis Le Brocquy, the Belfast-born Daniel O'Neill, and Norah McGuinness. Annual national art exhibitions, the most important of which is that of the Royal Hibernian Academy, are a regular feature of modern Irish cultural life. Moreover, the work of the Irish Georgian Society and of An Taisce (the National Trust) has helped to protect the architectural heritage of the country. Dublin has one of the best-preserved collections of 18th-century buildings in Europe.

Cultural institutions

Most of the country's major museums, libraries, and learned societies are located in Dublin, including the National Museum of Ireland, the National Gallery of Ireland, and the National Library of Ireland. Under British rule a number of Anglo-Irish cultural institutions were established there that successfully adapted to accommodate stronger nationalist sentiment during the 20th century. These include the Royal Irish Academy (1785) and the Royal Dublin Society (1731). Also important are the Royal Hibernian Academy of Arts (1823) and the Royal Irish Academy of Music (1856). A notable program is administered by the quasi-governmental Arts Council (An Chomhairle Ealaíon; 1951), which distributes annual state grants to assist the arts and artists. Individual writers, artists, and composers also are aided by tax concessions and by additional financial support from the Aosdána organization. The establishment of a national lottery in 1986 substantially increased funding for the arts and for sports.

Many institutions are specifically concerned with the popularization and preservation of aspects of traditional national culture. The Gaelic Athletic Association (Cumann Lúthchleas Gael; 1884) promotes the games of hurling and Gaelic football, while the Gaelic League (Conradh na Gaeilge; 1893) promotes the use of the Irish language. Other bodies concentrate on the organization of folk music festivals (feiseanna), at which there are competitions in traditional storytelling and dancing as well as in instrumental music and singing.

The press and broadcasting

Several daily newspapers are published, including some that have a national circulation. There also are a large number of regional weekly papers. Dublin is the centre of the publishing industry, and nearly all of the republic's periodicals are based there.

RTE, the national state-owned radio and television broadcaster, began radio service in January 1926 and television service in December 1961. It is financed by revenue from license fees and advertising and is governed by the government-appointed RTE Authority. There is an extensive independent radio network with many privately owned stations, and an independent Irish-language television station, Teilifís na Gaeilge, was established in 1996. RTE's monopoly situation is a technical rather than a practical matter, since most of the population receives broadcasts from the United Kingdom and other European countries and can subscribe to cable and satellite services.

Daily life

The Irish maintain a vibrant and lively popular culture. Thousands participate in the country's numerous amateur music, dance, and storytelling events. A great many also are engaged in a variety of crafts, producing such items as linens, embroidery, and knitwear. The celebrated Irish pub serves as a focal point for many small villages and urban neighbourhoods, a place where the great Irish passion for conversation, stories, and jokes can be indulged. The major professional sport is association football (soccer), while the indigenous sports of Gaelic football and hurling attract thousands of amateur participants.

Copyright 1994-1998 Encyclopaedia Britannica

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