Mediating through translation: Irish cultural nationalism and European importations

This chapter looks at Irish translators who published in the Nation newspaper during the nineteenth century and examines how these translators mediated between cultures and acted as conduits for the spread of influential ideolo- gies. It considers clusters of translators and analyses the translations of major European writers by Irish translators such as James Clarence Mangan, Charles Meehan, Denis Florence MacCarthy and Lady Wilde. Particular attention is paid to members of Young Ireland, their relatives and associates who were active in translation (e.g. John O'Hagan, Susan Gavan Duffy, Michael Joseph Barry). The contribution questions if translation of European literature was framed by a nationalistic agenda and it also examines the impact of translation on emer- gent nationalism. The active participation of important figures of Irish cultural nationalism in translation has never been examined in a cohesive manner and this paper shows the value of examining this cohort as a group, highlighting the light it can shed on cultural activity in this period and in particular, the European influences on native trends. The chapter uses translation history to widen our understanding of cultural exchange in this period and creates new perspectives on historical, political and cultural debates of the era. With a few notable exceptions (O'Neill 1985, Cronin 1996, Milan 2012), studies of trans- lation in Ireland have largely been restricted to transfers between Irish and English (e.g. Welch 1988 and Tymoczko 1999). The chapter builds on this work in order to examine the ideas, forms and motifs that translators were importing from Europe and circulating, and how these influenced and challenged native trends and traditions.