ABSTRACT

Two significant figures of the Celtic Renaissance are William Carleton and William Sharp. Nevertheless, in the 1930s and 1940s, Neil Gunn revived mysticism and folklore. The Irish Literary Revival is primarily the focus of critics when speaking of the Celtic Renaissance. Through their attention to the supernatural folklore of rural regions in particular, Carleton and Sharp challenge the cultural dominance of English industrialism, the complacency of mundane rationality, and the narrative totalitarianism of realism. Carleton's emphasis on both his rural roots and transcendent cosmopolitanism exemplifies the dynamic of writers who use folklore in the nineteenth century; despite their passionate interest in country lore, concerned that they not appear intellectually tainted by interaction with folk culture. The tale of Gloom's influence on Mnus MacCodrum demonstrates not only Gloom's mechanics of folkloric manipulation and Sharp's presentation of the psychological force of fantastic folklore, but also how certain supernatural folk beliefs are tied intimately to perceptions of racial difference and defending communal interests.