The Outer Edge Of Ulster: A Memoir of Social Life in Nineteenth-Century Donegal

by Hugh Dorian

In the 1890s, Hugh Dorian (1834-1914), a native of Fanaid on the Atlantic coast of north Donegal, completed a remarkable memoir which he entitled ‘Donegal Sixty Years Ago’. This fascinating text, although intended by Dorian for publication, is seeing the light of day only now, a century later. The author, an impoverished school-teacher and writing clerk, wrote with confidence and passion about the world of his childhood and the powerful alien forces that had destroyed that world. Dorian provides extraordinary insights into the sectarian tensions between Catholics and Protestants in what was a remote corner of Ulster, and also illuminates the social and political fissures within Catholic society in a period of rapid cultural change. Chapters in The Outer Edge of Ulster are devoted to strikingly frank discussions of the social position of craftsmen and musicians; local systems of land holding; the experience of famine; smallholder relationships with landlords and bailiffs; the rival systems of teaching in hedge-schools and the new national schools; the ritualized debates between community leaders at ‘nightly meetings’; the place of the poitín industry; and a broad array of popular beliefs, customs and practices.

352 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2000

Reviews

[Frank Adam · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Introduction is perhaps the key to the context of the setting of the book which is set in Fanad, north County Donegal, a forgotten part of Ulster. Why did Hugh Dorrian end up in Derry is explained in the introduction. It can be seen that there are several layers of interpretation within the narrative of the book some are overt and some are covert which the introduction elucidates. There is the impact of changes in society with different people being in charge of schools, churches and estates.

It is interesting to understand change and reaction when new Clergymen both Protestant and Roman Catholic take up their posts, or move on. The teaching and establishment of schools is given incontext, being a rural area harvesting crops or cutting turf had an impact on attendance. How the educational system functioned at the time is seen and the life before the advent of the electric light can be seen. The unruly episodes in the classroom as well as how justice is meted out throw light on such times.

Likewise different Landlords as well as Bailiffs bring changes, not necessarily beneficial to the Tenants.

It is indeed true that there are changes in rural society seen here as well as the Great Irish Famine. The changes in population and the use of the potato are seen. When providence supplies of food by a wreck on the Shore during this time of food shortages. It is interesting to see that the Red Coats did not hinder the people getting the food from the wreck under their watchful eye.

Land reform and an aggressive form of Landlord control using the clout of the Law on the Leitrim Estate is seen in the dire way that houses are demolished and people turfed out into the elements. It can be seen that unfettered commercial gain of the Landlord and Legal interests have severe impact on the hapless Tenant. The rugged nature of country also brings these burdens to the fore. The Revenue comes into the fore as part of the oppression.

Hugh Dorian also gives a commentary of customs of the life on the land from Births, Marriages and Death. He also gives commentary on collecting Kelp on the Sea Shore to illicit distillation of Poteen.

[Mir · Rating 4 out of 5]

As well as providing a an unusually detailed and long-spanning account of what life was like for the impoverished Irish of the 19th century, Dorian's memoir also highlights some of the most significant changes that occurred in this period, such as:

The increasing deferral of avoidance of marriage after the Famine (probably due to widespread trauma of watching family members die).

The shift to a primarily monolingual populace called the "Great Silence".

The burial of divisions with the Irish Catholic community in favor of alliance to promote Home Rule and land reform.

A literary revival which reconstructed and idealized West Ireland as the home of Irish identity and nationhood (versus Dorian's firsthand experience of degraded and downtrodden misery).

These changes were accelerated by the Famine. For one thing, it killed off the elderly, and marginalized groups like traveling musicians and storytellers, creating a rift in the oral tradition. Also, the work house experience introduced new notions of time and discipline, as well as contributing to the lasting bitterness towards England.