Beware of Imitations - by Jeffrey O'Leary (Hardcover)

About the Book

Beware of Imitations explores the complex history of Irish involvement at world's fairs beginning in the late nineteenth century. It focuses on the various groups that controlled how Irishness appeared in the Atlantic world and provides readers with a detailed study weaving together themes of power, authenticity and heritage commodification.

Book Synopsis

By the late nineteenth century, world's fairs became important sites that showcased the industrial and commercial prowess of Western nations while simultaneously controlling the cultural representations of non-industrial societies through stereotypical and idealized renderings of those communities to its visitors. Who controlled the portrayal of the Irish and their heritage at these events? This volume explores various groups that exerted dominance regarding the display of Irish history and culture along myriad fairgrounds since the 1880s and the effects these actions had on how the global community perceived Ireland.

Beware of Imitations argues that world's fairs and other exhibitions in Europe and the United States emerged as marketplaces that meditated Irishness in what this work terms a 'manufactured reality'. The groups that exercised power over various Irish displays included female British philanthropists, an entity of the British Parliament called the Department of Agriculture and Technical Instruction for Ireland, the American Irish and, eventually, the Irish themselves. All of these groups contributed in different ways to the creation, commodification and evolution of Irishness within the Atlantic world.

The most common way that these groups portrayed a 'real' Ireland at these events occurred in the form of faux Irish villages that contained historic reproductions of well-known sites, such as Blarney Castle, along with the importation of Irish sod, water and people to live and work in these synthetic village landscapes where they sold arts and crafts.

By utilizing the themes of power, authenticity and commodification of heritage, this work shows that many constituencies vied to hold power regarding the display of Ireland at these Atlantic-based extravaganzas. Their actions collectively highlighted that the malleability of an Irish identity certainly was in the eye of the beholder.

Review Quotes

National identities don't just happen; Jeffrey M. O'Leary's Beware of Imitations details how they are invented and constructed by both insiders and outsiders, government officials, business interests, emigres and their descendants, tourists, and others. Likewise, world's fairs and expositions are more than a grand day out; these events are a showcase for identities, sites where millions encounter places, cultures, and people they might never otherwise get to know. Beware of Imitations adds new layers to our understanding of modern Irish history in particular and to the nature of national identity formation more generally. It is a fascinating book, packed with stories and anecdotes that will forever change readers' understanding of the story of Irishness.--Eric G. E. Zuelow, author of Making Ireland Irish: Tourism and National Identity since the Civil War

In 1898 Lady Augusta Gregory lamented that the Irish were known only by the mask 'thrust upon' them. 'We have worn the mask ... too long ...' It was time 'to appear in our own form'. But, who were the mask-makers and what was 'our own form'? Jeffrey O'Leary, in this splendid new book, deals with both. The mask was the work of British 'imperial mothers', the 'manufactured reality' seen in mockups of Irish villages at fairs and expositions all over the world. It was also self-fashioned; the Irish also thrust masks upon themselves. One consequence was that their 'own form' was a 'malleable' product, one full of 'imitations'. This wise and insightful book is indispensable if Irishness, in its own true form, is ever to be understood. --David Emmons, author of Beyond the American Pale: The Irish in the West, 1845-1910

What does it mean to be Irish? And who gets to decide? In this beautifully argued and lavishly illustrated book, Jeffrey O'Leary explains how Irishness has been debated, contested, and constructed across local, national, and international settings since the nineteenth century. Brimming with insights about history and culture, Beware of Imitations is a genuine pleasure to read.--Kevin Kenny, author of The American Irish: A History