The Ontological Imperative in Irish Writing

Abstract

There is a tendency to engage with Irish writing and culture in terms of identity. Epistemological concerns are therefore foregrounded with the emphasis on the intellect and the imagination and how it creates and apprehends itself in relation to the world about it. Identity, then, in either the political or historical sphere becomes a matter of narrative. This, it could be argued, fits neatly with Ireland’s conception of itself primarily as a culture where the act of story-telling is celebrated above all else. I want to argue that in the last thirty years there has been a recognition of ontological concerns in Irish writing; in other words, a shift in emphasis away from epistemology toward a questioning of Being – of what it is to exist. Of course, Being can only be imperfectly accessed through language so that words and narrative still remain of paramount importance. Yet, this shift signals a self-reflexive consideration of the ontological status of the text itself. Thus the act of writing is interrogated and its relationship to the ‘real’ world probed. Form now becomes important as writers struggle to find and sustain a structure/model in either poetry, prose or drama that will adequately express their predicament. John Banville’s novels are the most obvious example of books about the writing of books. Yet, in looking at the work of some other contemporary Irish writers like Brian Friel, Seamus Deane, Tom Murphy and Eilís Ní Dhuibhne it can be observed that each of them struggle with the telling of their stories, with attempting to give final shape and meaning to their narratives.