Mapping the Irish female canon: Contemporary Irish women's writing and publishing

This dissertation examines contemporary Irish women's writing within the context of Ireland's political, religious, and cultural development.;Chapter II investigates the changes in Irish society in the 1960s that contributed to the flowering of women's writing. In 1959, Sean Lemass replaced Eamon de Valera as Prime Minister. Lemass developed Ireland's economic base through foreign investments and moved the country from its isolationist stance. Religion and culture were transformed by Vatican II pronouncements, access to television, and a revival of publishing. Edna O'Brien spoke out against the hypocrisies of church and state in The Country Girls, The Lonely Girl, and Girls in Their Married Bliss.;Chapter III outlines the founding of the Irish Book Publishers Association in 1970 and the establishing of new publishing houses. Two ventures that furthered women's writing in the 1970s were David Marcus's New Irish Writing Page in The Irish Press and Catherine Rose's Arlen House, Ireland's first women's press. Entry into the European Economic Community and rise of the Women's Movement forced changes in society and the workplace that benefited women and stimulated their interest in writing.;Chapter IV chronicles the 1980s' resistance to the increased visibility of women in Irish life. Roisin Conroy's Attic Press, Ireland's first feminist publisher, experienced pressure from the religious right soon after its founding in 1984. Workshops and literary competitions for women were criticized for catering to women writers.;Chapter I analyzes women's position in Irish society when the Free State was founded in 1922. Although many were active in the fight for independence, few were publicly acknowledged. Anglo-Irish writers such as Maria Edgeworth had achieved prominence. But Gaelic-Irish women had not established a similar writing tradition due to large families and lack of educational opportunities. Conditions worsened with the 1929 Censorship Act and Eamon de Valera's 1937 Constitution, which emphasized woman's function as wife and mother.;Chapter V examines the minimal representation of women writers in The Field Day Anthology of Irish Writing (1991). The three-volume anthology was compiled by twenty-two male editors. The issue of canonicity is discussed through the observations of various writers and educators.