Book Review: Samuel Ferguson and the Culture of Nineteenth-Century Ireland

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,