Ó Buachalla, Breandán.

Aisling Ghéar – Na Stíobhartaigh agus an tAos Léinn, 1603-1788.

Baile Átha Cliath, An Clóchomhar Tta, 1996. Octavo. x, 808 pages. Original blue hardcover with original dustjacket in protective mylar. Pastedowns beautifully illustrated with Gaelic poetry. Near fine condition. Extremely rare publication !

Contains, for example, the following: An Náisiún Éireannach: Reiligiún, Ríogachas is Atharga / An Seacaibíteachas: Reibiliún, Reitric is Ideolaíocht / An Aisling Pholaitiúil: Meisiasachas, Míleannachas is Tairngreacht / Foinsí / Innéascanna etc.

In this magisterial study of eighteenth century Aisling – ‘visionary’ – poetry, Aisling Ghear, Ó Buachalla begins his analysis of the concept with the accession of the first Stuart-King, James VI of Scotland, to the throne of the three kingdoms and follows it chronologically – more or less – through the poetry, politics, and religious conflict of the following two centuries. He places the poetry in its political context – both Irish and European.

Ghéar provides a fascinating exploration of the mental environment of eighteenth century Ireland that enabled Aisling poetry to flourish, an environment altogether alien to the rational and scientific thought modes of modern times. The analysis highlights three facets: messianism, the cult of the charismatic leader, hailed as one destined to liberate the Gaeil from foreign bondage; millenialism, the expectation of a golden age of peace and abundance to coincide with the rule of the messianic ruler; and prophecy, the foretelling of the future, usually in the form of cryptic utterances. (Brendan Bradshaw, ‘Breandán Ó Buachalla’s “Aisling Ghéar”: A Belated Tribute,’ Studies: An Irish Quarterly Review, Vol. 105, No. 420, (Winter 2016/2017), pp. 490.)
Breandán Ó Buachalla (1936 – 20 May 2010) was an Irish scholar of the Irish language. According to Raidió Teilifís Éireann, he was “the leading authority on Gaelic poetry and writing in early modern Ireland” and “one of the most prominent Irish language academics of his generation”. The Irish Times described him as “eminent”.
He taught at Queen’s University Belfast and was a Professor of Irish at the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies’s School of Celtic Studies for five years between 1973 and 1978. Following this Ó Buachalla was Professor of Modern Irish Language and Literature at University College Dublin for eighteen years between 1978 and 1996.He was a visiting professor at three institutes in the United States: these were the University of Notre Dame, New York University, and Boston College. He also achieved the Parnell Fellowship at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom. At the time of his death he was Professor of Irish at the University of Notre Dame, the only faculty of Modern Irish outside Ireland. His magnum opus was his seventeenth century literary and political study, Aisling Ghéar. A noted critic at the time of its publication described Aisling Ghear as “one of the largest and most important single volumes to come out of Ireland for a long time. ″ (Liam Mac Coil, Irish Times, Jul 19, 1997)

• Keywords: 17th Century · 18th Century · Catalogue Irish History Two – Origins of Irish Identity · Gaeilge – Rare · Gaelic · Gaelic Language · Gaelic Poetry · Intellectual History · Irish History · Irish Language · Irish Poetry · Irish Political History · Jacobean Era · Jacobite Movement · National Identity
• Language: Gaeilge
• Inventory Number: 120368AB

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