Various studies of the long-standing relationship between French and Irish cultures have revealed multiple evidence of mutual exchange. Yet, the role played by translation and translators has been largely neglected as a contribution to this relationship and to Hiberno-French cultural developments. This doctoral research on Franco-Irish translation relationships in nineteenth-century Ireland aims at redressing this omission, thereby supporting the idea that translation history is a useful tool for widening and adjusting our perspective on past cultural exchanges. Through the lens of translation, the present study underlines some of the key political and cultural debates in nineteenth-century Ireland, shedding light on the contribution of Ireland’s agents of translation to these debates. In addition to conceptual underpinnings drawn from the field of translation studies, and with particular attention paid to historical context, this research aims at showing key aspects of French-Irish cultural interaction in the nineteenth century. In this regard, it is situated at an interdisciplinary crossroads between the fields of translation studies, history and Franco-Irish studies, highlighting the contribution which translation history can make to each of these disciplines.
Chapter 1 presents an outline of research methods and conceptual methodology. Chapter 2 provides an overview of the historical and contextual backgrounds to the Franco-Irish relationship and to translation in nineteenth-century Ireland. Chapters 3 to 6 present the overall findings of this research. Largely based on an investigation of Ireland’s translation holdings, as well as surviving materials such as periodicals and catalogues, these chapters map out the translation landscape and offer an analysis of sociohistorical trends in nineteenth-century translation of French writing in Ireland. Chapter 7 introduces a key moment of the Franco-Irish relationship in the nineteenth century. It draws attention to English-language translations by Irish translators from the French of Béranger, a songwriter who indeed emerged as one of the most significant figures. Lastly, an overall conclusion summarizes the main aspects of both analyses, and highlights the achievements of this research.