Jailtacht

Diarmait Mac Giolla Chríost

Description

This book tells the dramatic and often surprising story of the learning of the Irish language by Irish Republican prisoners held in the infamous H-block cells during the bloody political conflict in Northern Ireland. Using research methods and techniques, the author closely analyses the emergence of the Irish language amongst republican prisoners and ex prisoners in Northern Ireland from the 1970s up until the present. This pioneering study shows how the language was used exclusively in parts of the prison, despite the efforts of the prison authorities to suppress the language, and the dramatic impact this had on Irish society. Drawing on interviews with the prisoners, and various other materials, Mac Giolla Chriost shows how these developments gave rise to the popular coinage of the term ‘Jailtacht’, a deformation of ‘Gaeltacht’ - the official Irish-speaking districts of the Republic of Ireland, to describe this unique linguistic phenomenon.
1 Introduction Context Methods Structure Ethics Subjectivity 2 Chronology 1972-1976, Internment 1976-1981, Protest 1981-1998, Strategic Engagement 3 Style Texts up to 1976 Texts, 1976-1981 Texts, 1981-1994 Texts, 1994-2008 4 Performance Stages Characters Silences 5 Visual Grammar Resources, 1981-1986 Resources, 1987-1992 Resources, 1993-2008 6 Ideology Fianna Fail Gaelic and Sinn Fein Irish An invented tradition Medievalism 'my own native tongue' Jailtacht, Gaoltacht and Ceathru na Gaeltachta 7 Conclusions Language and the Symbolic Terrain in Terrorism

Sujets

• Disciplines
• Language Arts
• Sociologie, société et politique
• Irlanda del Norte
• Linguistics
• Irish language
• 21st century
• Sociolinguistics
• 20th century
• Northern Ireland
• Irlande du Nord

Informations

• Publié par: University of Wales Press
• Date de parution: 15 mai 2012
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780708324974
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 3 Mo

Extrait

Jailtacht

The Irish Language, Symbolic Power and Political Violence in Northern Ireland, 1972–2008

Diarmait Mac Giolla Chríost

University of Wales Press

JAILTACHT

J

A

I

LTA

C

H

T

THE IRISH LANGUAGE, SYMBOLIC POWER AND POLITICAL VIOLENCE IN NORTHERN IRELAND, 1972–2008

DIARMAIT MAC GIOLLA CHRÍOST

U N I V E R S I T Y O F W A L E S P R E S S C A R D I F F 2 0 1 2

© Diarmait Mac Giolla Chríost, 2012

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any material form (including photocopying or storing it in any medium by electronic means and whether or not transiently or incidentally to some other use of this publication) without the written permission of the copyright owner. Applications for the copy right owner’s written permission to reproduce any part of this publication should be addressed to the University of Wales Press, 10 Columbus Walk, Brigantine Place, Cardiff CF10 4UP.

www.uwp.co.uk

British Library CIP Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

ISBN eISBN

9780708324967 9780708324974

The right of Diarmait Mac Giolla Chríost to be identied as author of this work has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 79 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

Designed and typeset by Chris Bell Printed by CPI Antony Rowe, Chippenham

CONTENTS

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

List of illustrations

Acknowledgements

Introduction

Chronology

Style

Performance

Visual Grammar

Ideology

Conclusions

Notes

Bibliography

Index

vii

xi

1

15

45

83

109

147

179

185

209

231

List of illustrations

FIGURES Figure 1:Plan of HMP the Maze source: Longwell, 1998: 233 Figure 2:HBlock architecture source: Longwell, 1998: 232

TABLES Table 1:List of prisoners in H5 D wing in December1997 source:http://republicannews.org/archive/1997/December04/04pris.html andhttp://www.irlnet.com/saoirse/(accessed 22 February 2009) Table 2:List of prisoners in H8 D wing in December1997 source:http://republicannews.org/archive/1997/December04/04pris.html andhttp://www.irlnet.com/saoirse/(accessed 22 February 2009)

PLATES Plate 1:Photograph of the Cages source: ‘Prison Struggle’, 1977: 33 Plate 2:Photograph of a ‘Gaeltacht Hut’ source: ‘Prison Struggle’, 1977: 34 Plate 3:Image from a ‘dirty protest’ cell showing clean patches of wall pos sibly used for Irish lessons source:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L965m4GB55c(accessed 12 January 2009) Plate 4:Image of protesting prisoner writing on cell wall source:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F4QDHYW7DP8&feature=rela ted(accessed 12 January 2009) Plate 5:Foghlaim na Gaeilge source: Faoi Ghlas ag Gaill, 1981: 6

viii

JAILTACHT

Plate 6:Hungerstrikers’ gravestone, 1981 source:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Mcelwee_grave.jpg Plate 7:‘Seabhac’, Glenfada Park / Rossville Street, Derry,c.1983 source: © Tony Crowley and with acknowledgement to the Claremont Colleges Digital Library Plate 8:‘Ní bheidh síocháin ann gan saoirse’, Shaws Road, Belfast,c.1983 source: © Tony Crowley and with acknowledgement to the Claremont Colleges Digital Library Plate 9:‘Guth Án Phobail’, Unity Flats, Belfast,c.1983 source: © Tony Crowley and with acknowledgement to the Claremont Colleges Digital Library Plate 10:‘Mise Éire 1’, Chamberlain Street, Derry,c.1983 source: indymediahttp://www.indymedia.ie/attachments/feb2006/mise_ eire.jpg Plate 11:‘Mise Éire 2’, Chamberlain Street, Derry,c.1983 source: Woods, 1995 Plate 12:‘Éire saor’, Turf Lodge, Belfast, 1982 source: Stanford Plate 13:‘Tiocfaidh ár lá 1, Hawthorn Street, Belfast,c.1984 source: Sinn Féin, 1984: 2 Plate 14:‘Tiocfaidh ár lá 2, Cable Street, Derry, 1984 source: Rolston, 1991: 102 Plate 15:‘I ndíl chuimhne’, St. James, Road, Belfast,c.1984 source: Rolston, 1992: 39 Plate 16:‘Loch gCál’, Springhill Avenue, Belfast, 1987 source: © Tony Crowley and with acknowledgement to the Claremont Colleges Digital Library Plate 17:‘Nuadha’, Springhill Avenue, Belfast, 1987 source: © Tony Crowley and with acknowledgement to the Claremont Colleges Digital Library Plate 18:‘Bua’, Cable Street, Derry, 1987 source: Rolston, 1991: 108 Plate 19:‘Fiche blian 1’, Lower Falls, Belfast,c.1989 source: the author Plate 20:‘Fiche blian 2’, Sevastopol Street /Falls Road, Belfast,c.1989 source: © Tony Crowley and with acknowledgement to the Claremont Colleges Digital Library Plate 21:‘An Ghaeilge’, Falls Road, Belfast,c.1989 source: © Tony Crowley and with acknowledgement to the Claremont Colleges Digital Library