One of the most enduring tropes of modern Irish history is the MOPE
thesis, the idea that the Irish were the Most Oppressed People Ever.
Political oppression, forced emigration and endemic poverty have been
central to the historiography of nineteenth-century Ireland. This volume
problematises the assumption of generalised misery and suggests the many
different, and often surprising, ways in which Irish people sought out,
expressed and wrote about happiness. Bringing together an international
group of established and emerging scholars, this volume considers the
emerging field of the history of emotion and what a history of happiness
in Ireland might look like. During the nineteenth century the concept of
happiness denoted a degree of luck or good fortune, but equally was
associated with the positive feelings produced from living a good and
moral life. Happiness could be found in achieving wealth, fame or
political success, but also in the relief of lulling a crying baby to
sleep.
Reading happiness in historical context indicates more than a simple
expression of contentment. In personal correspondence, diaries and
novels, the expression of happiness was laden with the expectations of
audience and author and informed by cultural ideas about what one could
or should be happy about. This volume explores how the idea of happiness
shaped social, literary, architectural and aesthetic aspirations across
the century.
CONTRIBUTORS: Ian d'Alton, Shannon Devlin, Anne Dolan, Simon Gallaher,
Paul Huddie, Kerron Ó Luain, David McCready, Ciara Thompson, Andrew
Tierney, Kristina Varade, Mai Yatani
