Final Proposal

Erin Davis

Professor Vander Zee

Intro. To English Studies

March 28, 2016

Ballybucklebo: Pastoralism throughout Irish Political Upheaval in Relation to Patrick Taylor’s Novel, An Irish Country Doctor

The fictional town of Ballybucklebo is, as imagined by author Patrick Taylor in his novel An Irish Country Doctor, nestled in the rolling hills of Ireland’s County Down and embodies 20th century pastoralism at its finest. Though Ireland, especially in the early to mid-1900s, experienced significant religious and political turmoil, this particular Irish village refrains from any tension or violence—a true pastoral ideal.

The latter idea is one in which I will be exploring for this paper—both the pastoral ideal and its significance in British and Irish history. Pastoralism is a flattering concept in itself, and appears in countless essays and poetry, especially throughout the 18th and 19th centuries. Thus, it is interesting that this tradition still holds strong today, despite the disappearance of small villages and the homogenization of peoples through cities and dominant culture. Many of the critics that I have chosen for this paper have been far more interested in the literary and social presence of pastoralism, arguing that there is a difference in pastoralism and what we, today, call “ideal”, noting that the former often eclipses the latter, though the two are often incorrectly interchanged. On the other hand, other critics focus more on the historical significance of Ireland’s time of unrest, such as the Easter Rising of 1916 and the ultimate split between Britain (Northern Ireland) and the Republic of Ireland, which includes prominent places such as Dublin and County Cork. I will be intertwining both of these views to place this idea of pastoralism within Ireland, through the context of Patrick’s Taylor’s An Irish Country Doctor, of which the author notes is based on his own experiences and boyhood.

In this essay, I will be exploring Patrick Taylor’s novel, An Irish Country Doctor, through the context of Irish pastoralism, utilizing a lens of political and religious upheaval in the early to mid-20th century. Though pastoralism has been a widely critiqued concept, I will be analyzing its significance to reality, researching whether or not Taylor’s harmonic village ever actually existed. Closer attention to actual historical context will not only help define pastoralism as a whole, but will show the disunion between Irish factions (loyalists and nationalists) and its significance to the ever-changing view of simplicity and rurality, suggesting that Taylor’s novel is but an escapist concept that brings together what once was and can never again be. The latter of which, to many (including me), appears to be a break within modern culture, for many still dote upon romantic scenes of the simple life, while others favor raw progression, never looking back to see what once was. However, I have always been attached to the pastoral, from reading Beatrix Potter as a child to finding An Irish Country series while randomly visiting the bookstore one Saturday morning. Hopefully, others will find intrinsic value in the world of the pastoral, wishing the preserve its peace and majesty within an ever-changing world…which leads to the question: Why is this such an attractive concept?

Irish-Country-Doctor

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