Bailitheoirí Choimisiún Béaloideasa Éireann: Ról, Caidrimh agus Modheolaíocht

Abstract

Sa tráchtas seo, déantar staidéar agus anailís ar bhailiú agus ar bhailitheoirí an bhéaloidis. Cuirtear cur chuige agus bailitheoirí Choimisiún Béaloideasa Éireann i gcomhthéacs stair idirnáisiúnta bhailiú an bhéaloidis agus déantar léiriú ar na modhanna oibre éagsúla a cleachtadh sular bunaíodh CBÉ agus an dóigh a ndeachaigh siad i bhfeidhm ar Stiúrthóir an Choimisiúin, Séamus Ó Duilearga. Is cur chuige cróineolaíoch atá in úsáid sa tráchtas seo agus leanann leagan amach an tsaothair dul chun cinn agus scéal bhailiú an bhéaloidis in Éirinn, sa 20ú céad go háirithe. Tógtar ceisteanna taighde bunaithe ar chur chuige agus ar mhisean CBÉ agus lucht a stiúrtha, go háirithe maidir le caomhnú an ábhair in áit cur chun cinn an traidisiúin féin. Déantar grinnanailís agus suirbhé ar bhailitheoirí CBÉ, ar an dóigh ar ceapadh iad agus ar na modhanna oibre a bhíodh acu féin sa ghort. Pléitear stádas an bhailitheora sa phobal agus luaitear an chinsireacht, chomh maith leis an oibiachtúlacht, mar fheiniméin i bpróiseas an bhailithe. Mar chás-staidéar, déantar scrúdú ar shaol agus ar shaothar Sheáin Uí Eochaidh, a d’fheidhmigh le CBÉ ó thús go deireadh, agus pléitear an ról, agus an seasamh, a bhí ag an bhailitheoir sa phobal. Cuirtear béim faoi leith ar a chuid scríbhinní féin, idir dhialanna, chomhfhreagras agus léachtaí. Is í Cartlann Bhéaloideas Éireann, COBÁC, príomh-fhoinse taighde an tráchtais seo. Is tógáil ar an mhéid atá i mórshaothar Mhíchíl Briody, The Irish Folklore Commission 1935-1970: History, ideology, methodology (2007), atá sa tráchtas seo, agus déantar iarracht na bearnaí a aithníonn sé ina shaothar féin a líonadh anseo, go háirithe maidir le húsáid dhialanna agus chomhfhreagras na mbailitheoirí agus lucht ceannais CBÉ.

This thesis offers academic study and analysis based on the collectors and the collection of folklore. Both the collectors and their methodologies are contextualised alongside the international history of folklore collection and the various collecting methodologies are discussed. These methodologies are studied both before the Irish Folklore Commission (IFC) was founded in 1935 and how they impacted on the Commission’s Director, James Delargy. The thesis is structured using a chronological approach which follows the development of folklore scholarship in Ireland in the 19th and 20th centuries. The mission and methods of IFC and its pioneers and leaders are discussed with particular emphasis on preservation of material and the decline of tradition. The thesis offers analysis and a critical survey of the IFC collectors, their appointment, and their working methodologies in the field. The status of the collectors in the local communities is examined alongside discussions around the central themes of objectivity and censorship during field research. A case-study, examining the life and works of fulltime collector Seán Ó hEochaidh, stands as a final chapter which aims to debate concepts of roles, relationships and ethics within the community. Particular emphasis is placed on Ó hEochaidh’s own manuscripts, including diaries, formal correspondence, and lectures. The Irish Folklore Collection, UCD, is the main source of this primary material. This work is an extension to the work of Micheál Briody, The Irish Folklore Commission 1935-1970: History, ideology, methodology (2007), in which Briody himself identifies areas for further research and the importance of previously unpublished manuscripts. This thesis especially examines the above mentioned documentation between collectors and directors.

Date of Award	Jun 2015
Original language	Irish
Sponsors	Department for Employment and Learning, Northern Ireland
Supervisor	Fionntan De Brun (Supervisor) & Maxim Fomin (Supervisor)