E e
Samuel Fe guson and he Cul u e o Nine een h
-
Cen u y I eland.
Dublin:Fou Cou s P ess, 2004.208 pages.
EUR
55.00.
Samuel Fe guson and he Cul u e o Nine een h
-
Cen u
y
l eland
opens wi h
an accoun o a pape ead by Samuel Fe guson o he Royal I ish
Academy
in
he in which he a gued ha i would be bo h
p e e able and possible o cons uc a ailway unnel unde he Li ey,
a he han o build a b idge o e i . Al hough Fe guson ma shalled
examples and enginee ing calcula ions in suppo o his p oposal,
Dublin iss illwi hou i s unnel unde he i e , and o he pas cen u y
he suppo s and gi de s o he Loop Line ailway b idge ha e
in e posed hemsel es be ween a gaze downs eam om
B idge and he splendou s o Gandon's Cus om House alongside he
lowe eaches o he wa e way. ci es his en husiasm o a unnel
as a eminde o he cul u al and in ellec ual mobili y o Fe guson. The
obscu ing o he Cus om House is emblema ic o one o he aspec s o
his s udy,
a
cen al chap e o which aluably demons a es how his
conce n wi h 'ou a chi ec u e' is consonan wi h his la ge p ojec o
engende a sense o ci ic assu ance and p ide in I eland's de eloping
senseo i sel du ing he mid
-
nine een h cen u y. I also o eshadowshe
e en ual conclusion, which is ha ul ima ely he igou o Fe guson's
in e en ionsin a ious domains p o ed ine ec ual and ha
hey
we e
bypassed. The ci ic ideals ad anced by Fe guson we e des ined o be
BOOK
REVIEWS
occluded by a mo e o ce ul na ionalis discou se. Ne e heless,
shines a aluable ligh on he hough and impulses ha anima ed a
signi ican s and o I ish his o y in he nine een h cen u y.
The i le o book is sligh ly misleading, as he ocus o he
a en ion
is
e y muchon he cul u e o nine een h
-
cen u y Dublin a he
han o I eland as a whole. She o e sa sc upulous and e ealing insigh
in o he conce ns o he in ellec ual li e o he ci y du ing i s Vic o ian
decades. An e iden bu la gely uns a ed h ead unning h ough he
ea men is he p og essi e eme gence o a cul u ally awa e and
educa ed middle
-
class cad e based la gely in he p o essions. Thissec o ,
ac i e h ough bodies and o gans such as he Royal I ish Academy,
T ini y College, poli ical g oupings, and he pe iodical publica ions, was
bidding o ake o e om he enligh ened ascendancy
as
he pace
-
se ing
elemen
in
I ish in ellec ual li e. aces how Fe guson in e sec ed
wi ha numbe o hesesphe es:asa p incipally in
Edinbu gh Magazine
and he
Dublin
Uni e si y
Magazine,
as a membe
-
and e en ually p esiden
-
o he as a poli ical ac i is o a b ie
pe iod, and asa lawye who had a ended T ini y.The ea e o he aspec s
o Fe guson's ca ee abou which has less osay, suchashis poe y
and
-
pe haps mo e ele an he e
-
his wo k as an a chi is , and his
a chaeological explo a ions ha combined summe excu sions wi h
ips o megali hic and ecclesias ical si es. These ac i i ies ha e been
w i en abou al eady: has w i en on Fe guson's
conce nsand p o essional esponsibili iesas Depu y Keepe o he Public
Reco ds in I eland, and R.A.S. and P oinseas Ni on
his wo k on insc ip ions, al hough wi hou in eg a ing hese a eas
o conce n in o he mo e gene al s eam o cul u al his o y in he way ha
app oach does.
sees Fe guson as a cen al igu e in he a emp o es ablish he
ci y as a iable and au onomous cul u al en i y. She iden i ies
a
pa icula h ead o cul u al na ionalism, and ollows i h ough his ea ly
con ibu ions o he
Dublin Uni e si y Magazine
in he his b ie
engagemen wi h he poli ics o he epeal mo emen in he his
subsequen w i ings ona chi ec u e,and hisendu ingin ol emen wi h
he Royal I ish Academy Fully h ee o he six chap e s concen a e on
Fe guson in he he i s decade o a ca ee ha las ed igh in o
he middle o he 1880s. The leng h as well as he ene gy o his
engagemen wi h Dublin's cul u al li e is wha makes Fe guson such a
use ully ep esen a i e igu e. As i u ns ou , he emphasison he1830s
doesno undulyskew ea men . The ea ly ma e ial se sa use ul
con ex , while he la e chap e s dealing wi h his in ol emen in he
P o es an Repeal Associa ion and wi h his iews on a chi ec u e a e
pa icula ly illumina ing in ha hey e eal he sus ained di e si y
o his in e es s go e ned by a adi ion o ci ic sensibili y. The
IRISH
UNIVERSITY
REVIEW
a chi ec u al w i ingsa e ea ed he e as a speci ic esponse o he ideas
o ideas ha Fe guson inds aes he ically eba ba i e in
hemsel es bu also a dis u bing asse ion o Ca holicism which migh
en ain pa icula isks o his nine een h
-
cen u y While he
wo k o and his ollowe ,
J.J.
McCa hy, le i s ma k on public
buildings in I eland, Fe guson in eighed agains he ideas o
suppo e in e iews, a icles, and lec u es. sees his
animus no as an aes he ic dispu e o as a p o es agains debased
alues in G ea B i ain, bu a he as sp inging om P o es an
insecu i y in he changing socie y o Vic o ian I eland. I is ano he
aspec o Fe guson's hough ha has no been su icien ly explo ed
be o e, and she is good on
J.J.
McCa hy busily building away
h oughou I eland while Fe guson e s a a w i ing desk in Dublin.
Howe e , he desc ip ion o Fe guson's engagemen wi h as a
'con on a ion' a he o e s a es he case
-
Fe guson e iewed and
w o e abou him nega i ely, bu sca cely no iced. The e was no
p ospec o a duel a dawn be ween he wo.
In ac Fe guson's gene al conce n wi h a chi ec u e and building
was a long
-
li ed one, ex ending om a leas his 1845 e iewo Geo ge
Pe ie's
Ecclesias ical A chi ec u e
in
I eland
(which p o ided him wi h a
sou ce o one o his poems, 'The Healing o Ca nach') h ough
o he unnelling p oposal a he end o his li e. His engagemen wi h
he P o es an Repeal Associa ion was mo e sho
-
li ed bu in ense. I
belongs o a pe iod in he la e sandwiched be ween his e u n
om se e al mon hs spen ou ing he con inen a e a heal h
b eakdown, and his ma iage o Ma y Guinness in 1848. E en s ha
may ha eimpelled his mo e in o poli ical agi a ion we e his dis ess a
he e ec so he amine, and eac ion o he dea h o Thomas Da is in
1845. Fu he mo e, one suspec s ha he e may also ha e been some
hin o a sligh oppo unism in ha his poems had been gi en
a
p ominen place in Ga an Du y's 1845 an hology
The Ballad
o
I eland,
and Fe guson may ha e seen his li e a y ca ee and epu a ion
being ad anced by a g ea e deg ee o alignmen wi h he eme gen
na ionalis spi i . Wha e e abou he in e nal poli icso he i sel ,
i is qui e clea ha , on his becoming engaged o Ma y Guinness, his
p ospec i e in
-
laws discou aged any epeal ac i i y. This p essu e
b ough an end o Fe guson's in ol emen wi h he associa ion. His
wi e's biog aphy is a majo sou ce o de ails o Fe guson's li e, and
gi en ha his wo k da es oma pe iod be o e hei ma iage and
was pe haps a subjec she el had o be ea ed wi h some
ci cumspec ion (al hough she does gi e he ex o his speech o he
opening mee ing o he associa ion), i is aluable o ha e
much mo e comp ehensi e accoun he e o he de ails and con ex o
he ini ia i e. We ha e no hi he o had a ull discussion o his pe iod
BOOK
REVIEWS
o Fe guson's li e, which is signi ican i o no hing else in ha i
p oduced his no able poem in memo y o Da is. aces he b ie
lame o he mo emen , and se s ou i s impo ance o Fe guson's
ela ionships wi h hiscon empo a ies and o his li e a y ca ee : a his
ime he also p oduced wo longe discu si e poems commen ing on
he s a e o I eland: 'Dublin' and 'Inhe i o and Economis '. Ul ima ely,
Fe guson u ned
om
he oo he me hods o achie ing his ends,
wo king he ea e h ough cul u al uni y a he han poli ical
agi a ion, and, as says, ' he emainde o his ca ee was
domina ed by his con inued ecou se o he social bonding agen s
which he iden i ied in his o y, an iqui y and li e a u e'.
The book is well p esen ed. One o wo oo no es ha e slipped ac oss
o he w ong page,
ad
appea s o
ad
and he
opening pa ag aph o Chap e Th ee sugges s ha he au ho belie es
ha he1830scons i u ed he hi d decade o he cen u y. Bu hese a e
minimal ca ils, o e ed by a e iewe asan indica ion ha he book has
indeed been ead wi h a en ion. I is no iceable ha he mos ecen
book
-
leng h s udy o Fe guson,
0
Samuel Fe guson:
agus Sao ha
(1993)is no ci ed; wo k, in con as o he
Dublin
-
cen ed app oach o p esen s us wi h a Fe guson who is
seen e y much asan Uls e poe , oo ed in he pa icula conce ns and
sensibili ies o his no he n o igins. sides eps any close
engagemen wi h he bo eal ounda ions o Fe guson's sensibili y as
aced by Duill, and by Te ence B own in
No he n Voices: Poe s om
Uls e
long be o e, and ins ead links Fe guson di ec ly in o he alues
o Edinbu gh and heSco ish enligh enmen .
Samuel and he Cul u e o Nine een h
-
Cen u y I eland
is a
sc upulous accoun o a s and o nine ee h
-
cen u y I ish cul u al
his o y. I does no o e jus ano he ea men o Fe guson's w i ing,
and i s each ex ends well beyond ha o a single
-
au ho s udy. The
book d aws e ec i ely on a b oad ange o ecen his o ical and
cul u al s udies oge he wi h a ca e ul use o manusc ip and p in ed
sou ces o ill in he backg ound agains which he w i e s and shape s
o nine een h
-
cen u y I eland de ined hemsel es.
PETER
Ma hew (edi o ),
The Camb idge Companion o
I ish Poe y.
Camb idge: Camb idge Uni e si y P ess, 2003. x
+
294
pages. GBP
15.95.
The would
-
be edi o
o
a
Camb idge
Companion o Con empo a y l ish
y
con on s a numbe o ne les ha equi e o be g asped. Indeed,