| Abstrakt: |
Charles Henry Wilson merits attention as the first person to publish a book of Irish Gaelic verse with English translations (1782). He followed this up with a second volume some ten years later, including three poems by the Scottish Gaelic poet Donnchadh Bàn Mac an tSaoir (1724-1812), one of which, however, is execrably translated. Wilson's second volume also included one example of genuine Ossianic Irish verse, the inclusion of this item deriving, no doubt, from the Ossianic controversy. In addition to his role as a translator, Wilson deserves consideration as an early Anglo-Irish novelist. The Irish Valet: or, Whimsical adventures of Paddy O'Haloran, published posthumously in London in 1811, is the subject of this article. Despite the author's choice of the adjective "whimsical" to describe his hero's adventures, it must be confessed that the humour often descends to an adolescent level. At the same time the novel has its serious moments, and a discussion on the priority of Ireland's claim to civilization as demonstrated by the aesthetic merits of ancient Irish music and poetry adds an important ideological dimension to the work. Interestingly, the key-phrases in this discussion echo the preface of Charlotte Brooke's famous volume Reliques of Irish Poetry (1789) a work that makes no mention of Wilson despite his being well known to the Brooke family and his pioneering role in translating Gaelic poetry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
