It’s somewhat misguided to label James Joyce as a disinterested novelist failing to address the average reader, churning out obscure prose from his modernist sanctuary. Indeed, he exhibited a keen passion for the political discourse and contemporary issues in Ireland.
Upon his departure from Dublin for the continent, he would regularly receive The United Irishman, a periodical. Though Joyce’s writing was often specifically about his hometown, his engagement extended to the whole of Ireland and he was deeply concerned with the sectarian tension that plagued the country, both pre and post-independence. Joyce embarked on writing Finnegans Wake in 1923 during the Civil War and Partition aftermath, and he concluded the novel in 1939. This provided him with an opportune timescale to delve into the emergence and subsequent growing pains of both the Free State and Northern Ireland.
In my publication, Finnegans Wake, Ulster and Partition, I delve into the abundant references to Ulster in the Wake, exploring its geographical, historical, and identity complexities. Joyce’s numerous indications in the Wake of the historical elements which catalysed the gradual distancing of part of Ulster from the remainder of Ireland are also analysed within the book. His depiction of Ulster lauds inclusivity and laments division.
Joyce intimated significant themes from the outset of his work, with the very first page of Finnegans Wake alluding to the partisan clash of loyalists and nationalists in Ireland: “the knock out in the park where oranges have been laid to rust upon the green.” In the Wake, he elevates his linguistic play to extraordinary new heights. Far from being devoid of meaning, his selection of words and phrases carry multiple interpretations, for example, this phrase potentially suggests an imposed orange on green land: speaking to the idea of colonisation.
Joyce proceeds to reference the diverse antagonistic sets in Irish history, including Williamites against Jacobites, Catholics versus Protestants, and pro-Treaty factions contrasting republicans, among others. He staunchly opposed physical violence and mourned the human propensity to establish barriers that segregate others, whether they’re cultural, psychological or physical. Consequently, in the Wake, boundaries repeatedly occur, typically portrayed in a negative or satirical context. His core focus of critique is undoubtedly the Anglo-Irish border.
In the early years of Ireland’s history, Northern Ulster, because of geographical convenience and shared cultural ties, forged a stronger relationship with Scotland than with the southern part of Ireland. This was primarily due to the fact that it was often simpler and quicker to travel by sea than to navigate the heavily forested hinterlands and mountains of the land. The Moyle, a brief maritime route, allowed easy transport between Ulster and Scotland; this particular sea route was mentioned several times in James Joyce’s Finnegans Wake.
Dating back to the fifth century, Gaels from the Antrim Dál Riada kingdom invaded southwestern Scotland, instigating a prolonged confrontation with the indigenous Picts. The term “Scoti,” was originally used to describe the Irish before its usage was extended across the Moyle – a fact that Joyce would have found intriguing. He would have also been amused by the irony that Ireland, primarily viewed as a country subjected to invasions and colonisation, during its formative years, was in fact a source of marauders and invaders.
However, as history progressed, the pattern of colonisation and plantation was inverted. Richard Barlow, in his book The Celtic Unconscious, underscores the significant Scottish influence present in Joyce’s works, which in turn, played a critical role in shaping Ulster’s history and identity.
Ulster’s major landmarks, including the Giant’s Causeway and Lough Neagh, repeatedly make their appearances in Finnegans Wake. Finn MacCool is traditionally believed to have constructed the Causeway to travel to Scotland to challenge an adversary. He is also credited with the creation of Lough Neagh, a remarkable feat achieved in a fit of rage when he yanked out a piece of the land and hurled it into the Irish Sea, forming the lake and the Isle of Man. Joyce playfully and satirically commemorates Finn’s achievements in Finnegans Wake.
Additionally, in the novel, Lough Neagh serves as a watery grave for the primary character, Humphrey Chimpden Earwicker, whose resting place is safeguarded by the mythological stone-turning powers of the lake’s water: “Landloughed by his neaghboormistress and perpetrified in his offsprung”.
Finn, the spearhead of the Fianna, held a relationship more intimately linked to the Leinster cycle of myths as compared to Ulster; however, Joyce also salutes Finn’s northern equivalent, Cuchulain, and Eamhain Macha (Emania), the base of the Red Branch knights in Armagh. Cuchulain is known for consistently safeguarding Ulster from southern and western invasions, his most legendary feat being the epic Táin Bó Cuailngne (Cattle Raid of Cooley). This narrative underscores the enduring conception of Ulster’s distinctiveness and the perceived necessity to fortify against its neighbours in the south.
This distinction is clearly outlined in Thomas Kinsella’s rendition of the Táin, detailing the negotiation for a truce by the respective kings of Connacht and Ulster. The deal, in Kinsella’s retelling, is thus: “Ailill concurred on behalf of Ireland’s men … and Conchubhar conceded on behalf of the men of Ulster”. It infers that the opposing armies were not considered compatriots but ambassadors of separate kingdoms, perhaps even different nations. It’s of no shock to find that Joyce references the Táin in the Wake. In Joyce’s vivid representation of contrasting opponents, enemies are fundamentally identical, manifesting the same fears and arguably, biases. Finn reflects Cuchulain, and Emania reflects the Hill of Allen, a stronghold of the Fianna, whilst loyalist azure reflects nationalist emerald. Joyce summons these comparisons in the Wake.
Beyond his ventures into Irish mythology and early history, Joyce frequently alludes to contemporary historical incidents which strengthened the connection between religion and politics, laying the groundwork towards separation. These episodes and eras cover the Jacobite war, the Battle of the Boyne, Oliver Cromwell’s brutal campaign, the uprising of 1798, movements for Catholic emancipation and home rule, Easter 1916 and the War of Independence.
Joyce is known for his utilization of comic subversion as a primary tool in his arsenal against the powerful, without hesitating to use it to its full extent. An instance of this can be observed in his proposition of “A big drum for Billy Dunboyne” as a present for William of Orange, in addition to his reproach of the Lord Protector known as “Bold boy Cromwell”. This portrayal of Cromwell as a mischievous child showcases Joyce’s mastery of ironic understatement. His fascination with the events of 1798 is thought to stem from not only the brutality enacted by both parties but also from its counter productivity.
Ulster Presbyterians were fervently involved in the rebellion. Although strains were felt between the two clusters, Catholic and Presbyterian rebels were early allies in the uprising. Eventually, this alliance fell apart and was irrevocably damaged upon the news of the alleged massacre of almost 200 non-combatant Protestants in Scullabogue, Co Wexford.
From that point onward, Ulster Presbyterians have been identified as among the most resolute unionists, a reality that Joyce likely found amusingly ironic. This dramatic shift in loyalty is referenced twice by Joyce in Finnegans Wake. Nonetheless, he demonstrates an equal distaste for both sectarian violence and hostility, making equal references to the sectarian clash in Dolly’s Brae, Co Down, in 1845. Following an Orange march through a primarily Catholic region, the violence resulted in many Catholic casualties and destruction of Catholic homes. In referencing Dolly’s Brae, Joyce might be highlighting recurring patterns in history, potentially foreseeing contemporary conflicts related to marching rights.
Unlike Finnegans Wake’s usually humour-filled undertone, Joyce’s allusions to Partition and the Border tend to be predominantly negative and melancholic. He likens partition to a treacherous act akin to that of Judas: “A phantom city … bowed and souled … for a price partitional of twenty six and six”, and he depicts the boundary as “borderation” or disturbance. He playfully modifies the names of newly formed Irish states – Saorstát Éireann (the Irish Free State) becomes “sorestate hearing”, while the northern state is associated with rage, as suggested in “Gently, gently, Northern Ire”.
The fierce competition between Earwicker’s twin sons, Shaun and Shem, serves as a central theme in Finnegans Wake. Notably, the twins represent the internal strife within Ireland. The sorrowful closing soliloquy of Anna Livia, the twins’ mother, reveals her distress: “What a complete contrast my sons are… As far apart as the North is from South… There seems to be no end to their quarrels.” Indeed, Anna’s despair mirrors the stark dissimilarities between her two sons, a feeling that was later substantiated by the breakout of the Troubles, particularly post the completion of Finnegans Wake by Joyce.
Joyce might have been reassured and encouraged by the 1998 Good Friday Agreement’s undertone of reconciliation. Within the pages of Finnegans Wake, Joyce fervently attempts to challenge strict allegiance to nationalistic, religious or political identities. Thus, he would have appreciated the adaptable stance on these identities encouraged by the agreement. Consequently, he might have expressed his disappointment over the prospect of borders re-emerging in the wake of Brexit and would have been intrigued at the thought of an electronic border along the Irish Sea for the management of trade and custom affairs. Joyce’s aversion for segregation and his endorsement of integration hold as much weight today as they did a hundred years ago when he penned down Finnegans Wake.
“Finnegans Wake, Ulster and Partition” has been released by Cork University Press.