Introduction

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Melanie Swiatloch
sharply in their way of celebrating William of Orange. As “unionists have relatively
few myths” (McCall 23) the Williamite reorganisation of Ireland and for
instance the Siege of Derry 1689 are central themes for them. For unionists the
marching season thus represents the revolt against Catholic intrusions on hegemonic
rights – “compromise would be to surrender” McCall explains (ibid. 23). In
Where They Were Missed the Orange culture and Celtic myths clash time and again.
For the older generation as Saoirse’s mother, myth makes up a vital part of their
cultural kinship. Manus Dennehy, a farmer living nearby Saoirse’s aunt and uncle,
is also a great story teller. Saoirse loves him for that and because “he knows all the
stories of Donegal, and he knows all about the Síde” (Caldwell 121). He tells stories
of Roan Inish (Seal Island), a small island outside of Gweebarra Bay and a
selchie, a seal-girl, and knows a great deal about Tir-nan-Og, the otherworld in
which Saoirse assumes her sister Daisy to be (ibid. 123ff). These stories always
have a special meaning to the story-teller or the listener. Manus, for instance, connects
the selchie to his dead mother who drowned in the sea when he was still a
child (ibid.127), Saoirse on the other hand wants to bring back Daisy from the
“castle in the sky” in Tir-nan-Og where she believes Daisy to be residing after her
death (ibid. 126). Generally, these myths also represent a connection to the countryside
and the old traditions.
This leads directly to the aspect of territory which is often accompanied with
strong emotional reactions. In times of war, for example, people are even willing
to sacrifice their own lives for the nation. The reason for this is a strong bonding
of the individual to the land and the existing beliefs (Mitchel 55ff). In Northern
Ireland this is again a difficult case as the supposed enemy is living within the
same territory. While republicans want to reunite the North with the South and
thus incorporate the territory into the rest of Ireland, unionists rather want to
maintain the boundaries of 1922 and stay in connection with the British motherland.
Anderson’s imagined community by contrast focuses mainly on the aspect of
language and therefore fits modern times better. The days of the nation are not
over, yet, as nations are still needed to provide people with political stability and
personal security but nationality has lost its climax. Other people can thus also be
“invited into the language community” (Anderson 145). In One by One in the Darkness,
for instance, territory or the place of home, makes up an essential part of the
sisters’ lives. The novel begins at their home in the country and it also ends there.
Inbetween many references to nature are made. Cate remembers places such as
the Glens of Antrim or the Giant’s Causeway they often visited during childhood
(Madden 82). Even when grown up Cate enjoys driving without aim through the
countryside. “Swatragh and Draperstown; Magherafelt and Toome; Plumbridge
and Castledawson: her family couldn’t understand her interest in these places”
(ibid. 82). All these places, no matter how beautiful they are, always show the
other side of Northern Ireland, too. People have marked these places to demon-