The internationally acclaimed interdisciplinary journal of the Irish American Cultural Institute, Éire-Ireland is the leading forum in the flourishing field of Irish Studies. Since 1966, Éire-Ireland has published a wide range of imaginative work and scholarly articles from all areas of the arts, humanities, and social sciences relating to Ireland and Irish America.

SUBSCRIPTIONS:   

The 2010 institutional subscription rate for  Éire-Ireland  is $100, plus shipping and handling ($5 within the US and $20 for international destinations).   A one-year subscription includes two double issues.  Please note:  The IACI does not offer refunds on subscriptions.    Please email Eire-Ireland with any questions. 

SUBMISSIONS: Éire-Ireland submissions should be prepared/sent as follows:

Literature & Arts Submissions:   MLA Style Manual, e-mailed to: eire_ireland@bc.edu 

History & Social Sciences Submissions: Chicago Manual of Style,  e-mailed to:    jsdonnel@wisc.edu

 

VOLUME 44 3 & 4 COVER NOTE

 War! Or no War “Fanny,” (Frances Flora Bond) Palmer, 1846.  Lithograph on woven paper, courtesy of the Library of Congress.

 In 1846, with a major influx of Irish immigrants to the United States just beginning, American caricaturists had yet to develop an extensive and easily recognized visual language to communicate Irishness. Instead of the more simian facial and body features they later sometimes borrowed from British caricatures of the Irish, American artists initially relied on external cues such as geographical markers and language to identify Irish ethnicity.

 The lithograph on the cover of this issue of Eire-Ireland depicts tensions around the land disputes in northern Oregon in the 1840s. Both Great Britain and the United States lay claim to this territory, and for some, as far away as in New York, the compromise of the 49th parallel boundary seemed inadequate.  In this 1846 print, the title War! Or no War indicates  the stakes for this controversy. Artist Fanny Palmer displays two Irish immigrants in conversation; the figure on the left takes the more pacifist stance, saying “Ike! say the 49th & let’s settle it amercably.” The more aggressive response is “No Sir-ee I goes for the hull of Oregon or none—I do & don’t do nor-thin else.”

 The artist carefully situates such debate in the Bowery (the men stand before the Bowery Theater), a New York City neighborhood known for its working-class Irish community. By identifying ungrammatical Irish speech patterns in her image, Palmer emphasizes how the Irish were becoming active political participants in their new home— a trend that intensified throughout the century, as this ethnic group became the country’s first organized voting bloc. But except for the prominent chins and highly developed upper bodies of the working class figures in the lithograph, it conveys only a faint taint of the characteristic simianality that was to develop in later nineteenth-century visual depictions of Irish Americans. 

See Sharrona Pearl, “White, with a Class-Based Blight: Drawing Irish Americans,” pp.  XX –XX.

This informative newsletter offers members insights into  Irish culture, history, and the latest happenings at the IACI.   Besides providing updates on IACI programming,  this publication offers feature articles, educational information, book reviews, and a wealth of other information.  The highlight for many readers is the center spread spotlighting a different topic in Irish history each issue.

Submissions:  Dúċas  submissions should be 1000-2000 words long, with high-resolution graphics if possible. Contributions may focus on any significant aspect of Irish or Irish-American literature, history, or culture. Dúċas aims to attract submissions from established researchers and writers as well as from those at the beginning of their careers.   Dúċas is distributed to IACI members and donors. Submissions should be e-mailed to jsdonnel@wisc.edu