The Politics of Translation in Francis Sylvester Mahony's “The Rogueries of Thomas Moore”

Abstract

This article re-examines the satirical writings of the Irish wit, essayist and journalist, Francis Sylvester Mahony (1804–1866) (“Father Prout”), who in the 1830s authored a series of comic articles for the conservative London periodical, Fraser's Magazine. It focuses on his best-known essay, “The Rogueries of Thomas Moore” (1834), which provides an ironic commentary on the politicization of historical debate in post-Emancipation Ireland. The article looks afresh at his nuanced critique of the patriotic verse of Thomas Moore (1779–1852). The concept of “original translation,” or translation as “transformation,” is explored in relation to Mahony's supposed discovery of foreign-language precursors to Moore's nationalist ballad collection, the Irish Melodies. In addition, the article explores Mahony's parodic upending of Moore's efforts to recreate an authentic Gaelic past in his English-language poetry, as well as Mahony's subtle critique of the role played by translation in the politicized rewriting of Irish history. It also uses critical theory to examine Mahony's ironic conception of textual transformation in his reworked ballads, resituating his comic re-assessment of Moore's poetry in the broader context of the emergence of a post-Romantic literature in 1830s Ireland.