‘The Fadgies: ‘an Irish-speaking colony’ in nineteenth-century Belfast'

This essay was the culmination of research in primary and secondary sources in the sociological and cultural history of Belfast. It represents the first scholarly essay to investigate the history of a community of native Irish speakers from Omeath, Co.Louth that settled, from the mid-nineteenth century onwards, in the Smithfield market area of Belfast where they worked as fish and fruit sellers. Besides examining the evidence of census returns, street directories and gravestone inscriptions to map out the geographical and chronological location of the Fadgies, the essay explores the very considerable influence that this community had on a key figure in the Northern revival, Seán Mac Maoláin. A final key consideration of this essay is the insight afforded into the attitudes of native Irish speakers to the urban revival of the language. This essay formed the basis of a TG4 commissioned TV documentary written and presented by the author entitled 'Scéal na Fadgies.