Then to Death Walked, Softly Smiling

Violence and Martyrdom in Modern Irish Republican Ballads

Bibliographic Data

ID2736928
AuthorsSeán Ó Cadhla (Dublin Institute of Technology, corresponding author)
Year2017
Volume61
Issue2
Pages262-286
Publication date2017-07-01
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueEthnomusicology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0014-1836 • E-ISSN: 2156-7417
PublisherUniversity of Illinois Press (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.5406/ethnomusicology.61.2.0262
OpenAlexW2736879825
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited11

This article critically considers the representation of death within the song tradition of modern Irish Republicanism. I explore how such representations have changed in parallel with the various ideological metamorphoses that Irish Republicanism has undergone, specifically in the twentieth century. I argue that the centrality of self-sacrifice has resulted in the development of ballad narratives that deliberately obfuscate on the issue of Republican violence, resulting in the deaths of all Republican militants (regardless of cause or context), ultimately portrayed as a form of heroic self-martyrdom. San alt seo, déantar anailís chriticiúil ar léiriú an bháis i dtraidisiún amhránaíocht Phoblachtach na hÉireann. Tugtar faoi deara na hathruithe a d'éirigh don léiriú seo mar throradh ar na claochlaithe idé-eolaíochta éagsúla a tháinig ar an bPoblachtachas le linn an fichiú haois go háirithe. Maítear ann go maolaítear foréigean Poblachtach sna bailéid atá faoi chaibidil d'aon ghnó, chun bás an mhíleataigh Phoblachtaigh a chur in iúl mar fhéiníobairt laochúil, beag beann ar chúis nó ar chomhthéacs

Art · Ballad · Irish · Linguistics · Literature · History · Irish and British Studies · Philosophy

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