Douglas Hyde

by Dunleavy, Janet Egleson

• ISBN13: 9780520066847
• ISBN10: 0520066847
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1991-03-01
• Publisher: Univ of California Pr on Demand

Summary

In 1938, at an age when most men are long retired, Douglas Hyde (1860-1949) was elected first president of modern Ireland. The unanimous choice of delegates from all political factions, he was no stranger to public life or to fame. Until now, however, there has been no full-scale biography of this important historical and literary figure. Known as a tireless nationalist, Hyde attracted attention on both sides of the Atlantic from a very early age. He was hailed by Yeats as a source of the Irish Literary Renaissance; earned international recognition for his contributions to the theory and methodology of folklore; joined Lady Gregory, W. B. Yeats, George Moore, and Edward Martyn in shaping an Irish theater; and as president of the Gaelic League worked for twenty-two years on behalf of Irish Ireland. Yet in spite of these and other accomplishments Hyde remained an enigmatic figure throughout his life. Why did he become an Irish nationalist? Why were his two terms as Irish Free State senator so curiously passive? Why, when he had threatened it earlier, did he oppose the use of physical force in 1916? How did he nevertheless retain the support of his countrymen and the trust and friendship of such a man as Eamon de Valera?Douglas Hyde: A Maker of Modern Irelanddispels for the first time the myths and misinformation that have obscured the private life of this extraordinary scholar and statesman.

Author Biography

Janet Egleson Dunleavy and Gareth W. Dunleavy are both Professors of English and Comparative Literature at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	p. ix
Douglas Hyde and the Generational Imperative	p. 1
A Smiling Public Man	p. 5
The Budding Branch	p. 16
The Voices of the Fathers	p. 49
First Flowering	p. 81
Between Connacht and Dublin	p. 103
To Canada	p. 137
A Different America--A Different Ireland	p. 156
A Bridle for Proteus	p. 169
The Happiest of Men	p. 193
Plays and Players	p. 213
The Larger Stage	p. 227
With the Irish in America	p. 253
Triumphs and Troubles	p. 288
The Rocky Road to Revolution	p. 313
The Terrible Beauty	p. 329
In and Out of Public Life	p. 345
The Road to Aras an Uachtarain	p. 364
The Presidency	p. 392
Death and Dispersal	p. 430
Sources Consulted	p. 437
Index	p. 451
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