Irish Dramatic Movement
Irish Dramatic Movement
History
England's role in Ireland prior to this had dated back to the 12th century conquest of Ireland. Henry VIII took the title of "King of Ireland" in 1541. England's role in Ireland has been contested ever since.
When Charles II assumed the English throne in 1660, any Catholics who had lost their property through eviction were not able to reclaim it. James II followed on the throne, but fled to Ireland when William of Orange and his wife, protestant Mary Stuart, were invited by Parliament to assume the throne.
William's reign initiated a lengthy period of misery for Irish Catholics.
They were: * evicted from their property * restricted from accessing education, * unable to bear arms, * unable to pass land to their heirs * Unable to vote.
Some of these laws were less rigorously enforced in the late 18th century, providing the context for political upheaval at that time.
Political context
The Act of Union of 1809 brought Ireland into the United Kingdom. In the later 19thcentury, a greater awareness of nationalism was followed by the movement toward Irish rule led by politicians such as Charles Stewart Parnell. It aimed at the revival of the Irish language and independence from England.
There have been many periods of discontent between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, and between Ireland and the U.K. This tension came to a head in the late 1960s through the sharp contrasts between the rich and the poor, the powerful and the oppressed and the Catholics and the protestant Anglo-Irish. These divisions were also reflected in the theatre of the time.
Cultural context
Along with the quest for Nationalism, came the growth of Irish cultural identity, such as the foundation of the Irish Literary Theatre (later the Abbey Theatre) by the poet W.B. Yeats and the playwrights J.M. Synge and Lady Augusta Gregory in Dublin in 1899. The aim of this company was to "build up a Celtic and Irish school of dramatic
History
England's role in Ireland prior to this had dated back to the 12th century conquest of Ireland. Henry VIII took the title of "King of Ireland" in 1541. England's role in Ireland has been contested ever since.
When Charles II assumed the English throne in 1660, any Catholics who had lost their property through eviction were not able to reclaim it. James II followed on the throne, but fled to Ireland when William of Orange and his wife, protestant Mary Stuart, were invited by Parliament to assume the throne.
William's reign initiated a lengthy period of misery for Irish Catholics.
They were: * evicted from their property * restricted from accessing education, * unable to bear arms, * unable to pass land to their heirs * Unable to vote.
Some of these laws were less rigorously enforced in the late 18th century, providing the context for political upheaval at that time.
Political context
The Act of Union of 1809 brought Ireland into the United Kingdom. In the later 19thcentury, a greater awareness of nationalism was followed by the movement toward Irish rule led by politicians such as Charles Stewart Parnell. It aimed at the revival of the Irish language and independence from England.
There have been many periods of discontent between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, and between Ireland and the U.K. This tension came to a head in the late 1960s through the sharp contrasts between the rich and the poor, the powerful and the oppressed and the Catholics and the protestant Anglo-Irish. These divisions were also reflected in the theatre of the time.
Cultural context
Along with the quest for Nationalism, came the growth of Irish cultural identity, such as the foundation of the Irish Literary Theatre (later the Abbey Theatre) by the poet W.B. Yeats and the playwrights J.M. Synge and Lady Augusta Gregory in Dublin in 1899. The aim of this company was to "build up a Celtic and Irish school of dramatic