Hay, MarnieORCID: 0000-0002-7802-2096
(2004)
Explaining Uladh: cultural nationalism in Ulster.
In: FitzSimon, Betsey Taylor and Murphy, James H., (eds.)
The Irish Revival Reappraised.
Four Courts Press, Dublin, pp. 119-131.
ISBN 9 7818 5182 757 2
This article examines Uladh, a literary and critical magazine published by the Ulster Literary Theatre (ULT) in 1904-5. Although Uladh was modelled on W.B. Yeats' theatre journals Beltaine and Samhain, it differed from its models in two ways: it focused on Ulster, and it covered a far wider range of cultural topics than theatre. The magazine, however, was caught between a dismissive unionism and a southern Irish nationalism that disregarded Ulster's special circumstances. At the time of its inception, some critics misunderstood Uladh because of its blatant regionalism. As a manifestation of the Irish literary revival, Uladh promoted a sense of regional identity by explaining Ulster to itself and to the rest of Ireland. In doing so, it fanned the flames of a debate on Ulster's literary and cultural status that still continues.