Introduction

Construction of Identity in Northern Irish Novels 223
played an important role with them and were treated with utter great care. Although
all the mentioned authors were familiar with the Irish language they chose
to write in English and did not put a special emphasis on Catholicism or the Irish
language as crucial Irish elements (ibid. 65). These early writers instead chose “to
appropriate English and reconstitute it as Anglo-Irish, a process that postcolonial
critics argue is effective in establishing a national identity by distancing the postcolonial
text from the imperial culture” (ibid. 66). As tools to achieve this goal
Storey mentions cultural allusions, allegory, native glossed or unglossed words and
the syntactic blending of native and colonial language into what became known as
Anglo-Irish. Thus lots of Gaelic names and words as well as lyrics from Irish
songs and references to Irish myths found their way into these writings (ibid.
66ff).
Moreover, O’Connor’s, O’Faolain’s and O’Flaherty’s writings were much influenced
by their Catholic nationalist backgrounds and their commitment to the
revolution and thus a political attitude can be found in their texts. Later writers
such as Fiona Barr or Anne Devlin lack this political judgment (Storey 71). In
addition Storey stresses a change in the setting of the novels. “Another difference
between the early stories and the later ones is the shift in setting, from the South,
where most of the Troubles of 1916-23 took place, to the North, where most of
the violence since the 1960s has occurred”, that is a change from the regions of
Munster to the city of Belfast (ibid. 71).
To come back to language it can be said that Ireland is in an inbetween state of
a monoglossic and a diglossic society. Whereas the South can be described as a
diglossic society with English as well as Irish as official languages, the North –
although there are still some native speakers of Irish as stated before – is rather a
monoglossic culture since official bilingualism does not exist. Still, writers from
the North incorporate the Irish language in their works in order to illustrate group
affiliations or heritage. In order to separate and break free from the colonising
power, or “the centre” as Ashcroft, Griffith and Tiffin call it, a reconstruction of
the language, in this case English, has to take place (ibid. 38).
One way of marking difference in the text and thus using both abrogation and
appropriation is the employment of untranslated words, something Lucy Caldwell
in Where They Were Missed makes use of. She often includes Irish words in the text
like “Sláinte 25”, “céadsearc 26” or the untranslated title of an Irish saga “Táin Bó
Cúailnge 27” (Caldwell 19, 35, 44). As stated by Ashcroft, Griffiths and Tiffin this is
done to demonstrate difference (Ashcroft 53) and cultural Otherness (ibid. 64).
25 Meaning “cheers”.
26 “First love” or a “beloved one”.
27 Meaning “The Cattle Raid of Cooley”, a legendary tale in which Cúchulainn also appears. It tells
the story of Maeve and Ailill, the queen and king of Connacht, who try to catch the Brown Bull
(Cooley) in the land of the Ulaid (Ulstermen) in County Louth. The Ulstermen and their king
Conchobar fall under a harmful spell, though. Only Cúchulainn remains to fight Maeve’s and
Ailill’s attempts (Gribben 279).