A Critical Reappraisal of the Writings of Francis Sylvester Mahony

Fergus Dunne received his Ph.D. in Anglo-Irish literature at the University of Sussex. His dissertation presented a critical reappraisal of the texts and contexts of Francis Sylvester Mahony. He has published several articles on various aspects of Mahony’s literary and journalistic careers in international peer-reviewed journals.

Table of Contents



Introduction



Biographical Overview



Section 1.



1. Centrally Peripheral, Peripherally Central: The "Prout Papers" of Francis Sylvester Mahony



William Maginn, Cork, and Fraser’s Magazine



The "Prout Papers"



Mahony and O’Connell



Classicism and Cultural Continuity



Peripheral Considerations?



Conclusion



2. "Oppression Makes a Wise Man Mad": Representations of Jonathan Swift in the Writings of Francis Sylvester Mahony



Economic Patriot?



Fictional Considerations: Sincerity and Irony



Conclusion



3. "Attaining Majority" in the Celtic Peripheries: Francis Sylvester Mahony, Walter Scott, and "The Groves of Blarney"



"A Plea for Pilgrimages"



Antiquarianism and Narrative History



"The Groves of Blarney"



Conclusion



4. The Politics of Translation in "The Rogueries of Thomas Moore"



Moore as Nationalist Commentator



(Mis)representing the Irish Past



The Politicization of Historical Discourse



Equivalence and Politicized Translation



Conclusion



5. "Custom Doth Make Dotards of Us All": Peripheral Perspectives on the Center in the "Prout Papers" and Sartor Resartus



Mahony, Carlyle, and Sartor Resartus



Intercultural Dialogue: Scottish and Irish Correlations



Translating the Center and Periphery



Cultural Translation



Conclusion



Section 2.



6. "From Cork […] to St. Peter’s Cupola": The Idea of Italy in the Writings of Francis Sylvester Mahony



Mahony and The Daily News



Allegorizing Italian History



"The Fag End of an Old Reign"



"Unfurling the Banner of Reform"

Mahony, Young Ireland, and Roman Republicanism



Conclusion



7. "The Independent Expression of Public Opinion": The Paris Correspondence of Francis Sylvester Mahony



The Globe Correspondence in Context



Parisian Letters



Ultramontanism in France



Mahony and Archbishop Cullen



Progressive Liberalism and Fenian Republicanism



Conclusion



Section 3.



8. Fragments, Politics, and "The Bells of Shandon"



Literary and Local Contexts



"The Bells of Shandon"



Critical Reception



Conclusion



9. "Shameful Literary Traditions": Daniel Corkery and the Literary Reputation of Francis Sylvester Mahony



Nineteenth-Century Perspectives



Irish-Ireland, Daniel Corkery, and Literary Expatriation



Interpreting Mahony after Synge and Anglo-Irish Literature



Conclusion



10. Cosmopolitanism in the Margins: Francis Sylvester Mahony, James Clarence Mangan, and the Author-Translator in Nineteenth-Century Irish Literature



Mahony and Mangan as Irish Catholic Magazinists



Indirection and Pseudonymous Authorship



Parodic Translation and Literary Paternity



Conclusion