Bibliography
Keith
Sidwell
Works edited
Contributions to journals
Sidwell, Keith, “Old English or Gael? Personal, cultural and political identity in Dermot O’Meara’s Ormonius”, Renæssanceforum 8 (2012): 155–165.
abstract:
Dermot O'Meara's didactic-epic Ormonius, published in 1615, focuses upon the military career of the 10th Earl of Ormond, Thomas Butler. In doing so, however, it also negotiates, sometimes subtly, sometimes rather bluntly, serious problems of identity, personal, cultural and political (national) caused by the peculiar circumstances of those, like Butler and his poet O'Meara, born in the Kingdom of Ireland, with strong local ties and an affection for the Irish language, in a period when the policies of the English government were more and more inclined towards centralisation and Anglicisation.
Renæssanceforum.dk: <link>
abstract:
Dermot O'Meara's didactic-epic Ormonius, published in 1615, focuses upon the military career of the 10th Earl of Ormond, Thomas Butler. In doing so, however, it also negotiates, sometimes subtly, sometimes rather bluntly, serious problems of identity, personal, cultural and political (national) caused by the peculiar circumstances of those, like Butler and his poet O'Meara, born in the Kingdom of Ireland, with strong local ties and an affection for the Irish language, in a period when the policies of the English government were more and more inclined towards centralisation and Anglicisation.
Sidwell, Keith, “Intimations of Irish: O’Meara’s Ormonius and the display of vernacular learning”, Renæssanceforum 6 (2010): 141–148.
abstract:
Dermot O'Meara's Latin epic Ormonius (London 1615) was written by a native speaker of Irish who was also (at least) a good English-speaker. Though O'Meara's competence in both vernaculars is clear from the introductory material and from the poem itself, he appears to draw more attention to his knowledge of Irish through the use of Latin calques on place-names which directly reflect their Irish meanings. It is possible that O'Meara expected his target-audience — Gaelic-speaking Scots in the circle of King James I? — to pick up and appreciate these nuances.
abstract:
Dermot O'Meara's Latin epic Ormonius (London 1615) was written by a native speaker of Irish who was also (at least) a good English-speaker. Though O'Meara's competence in both vernaculars is clear from the introductory material and from the poem itself, he appears to draw more attention to his knowledge of Irish through the use of Latin calques on place-names which directly reflect their Irish meanings. It is possible that O'Meara expected his target-audience — Gaelic-speaking Scots in the circle of King James I? — to pick up and appreciate these nuances.
