The Emigrants of Ahadarra by William Carleton
"The Emigrants of Ahadarra" by William Carleton is a narrative set in 19th-century Ireland that explores themes of social class, betrayal, and the dire consequences of deceit. The story primarily revolves around Hyacinth "Hycy" Burke, the son of a wealthy peasant, whose dissolute behavior leads him to partner with whiskey smugglers after his father reduces his allowance. Hycy's attempts to seduce the beautiful Kathleen Cavanagh are thwarted, sparking a vengeful plot against her true love, Bryan M'Mahon, which involves manipulation and the potential ruination of Bryan's family.
As Hycy's schemes unfold, they inadvertently draw in various community members, including a virtuous beggar girl and a drunken schoolmaster, who ultimately work together to expose Hycy's villainy. The narrative culminates in a courtroom drama where Hycy's criminal actions are revealed, highlighting the interconnectedness of personal and community struggles in a period marked by economic hardship and social injustice. The story concludes with Bryan and Kathleen's reconciliation and the forced emigration of Hycy and his accomplices, reflecting the broader theme of displacement that characterized many lives in Ireland during that era.
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The Emigrants of Ahadarra by William Carleton
First published: 1848
Type of work: Novel
Type of plot: Regional
Time of plot: 1840’s
Locale: Ireland
Principal characters
Bryan M’Mahon , an honest young farmerKathleen Cavanagh , Bryan’s belovedHyacinth “Hycy” Burke , a well-to-do libertine and rascalJemmy Burke , Hycy’s fatherNanny Peety , a beggar girlKate Hogan , Nanny’s aunt, a tinker’s wifePatrick O’Finigan , a drunken schoolmaster
The Story:
Hyacinth “Hycy” Burke is the son of a wealthy and respected peasant who has allowed his wife, a woman with social pretensions of her own, to spoil the boy. With his mother’s approval, Hycy has become a dissolute young man. Because his father, Jemmy Burke, tries to curb him by reducing his allowance, Hycy enters into partnership with whiskey smugglers to supplement his diminished income.
When one of the prettiest young women in the area, Kathleen Cavanagh, catches Hycy’s eye, he determines to seduce her. Unfortunately for his plans, he misdirects two letters. One, intended for Kathleen, goes instead to Bryan M’Mahon, who truly loves Kathleen; another, intended for young M’Mahon, goes to Kathleen. Later, after being publicly snubbed on more than one occasion, Hycy resolves to have revenge on Kathleen and her true admirer. Any additional villainy can scarcely put him in greater danger than he is already in; he has already been an accomplice to burglarizing his father’s house, has taken a large sum of money, and has been an active accomplice of smugglers. It is through his fellow smugglers that he plans to get his revenge.
A law in Ireland requires the inhabitants of a township to pay fines for any illegal distillation and smuggling of whiskey in their township if the actual culprits are not known. Bryan M’Mahon’s farm at Ahadarra covers an entire township, and if he were to be required to pay such a fine by himself, he would be ruined. To carry out his plan, Hycy enlists the help of the nephew of the local goods inspector. Hycy promises the nephew the chance to lease a fine farm if the latter will press Hycy’s suit for his sister’s hand. The farm, of course, is Bryan M’Mahon’s.
Bryan is not the only member of his family facing tragedy. Both his and his father’s farm leases have run out, and death has prevented the absentee landlord from renewing them. The new landlord, a well-meaning but weak and inexperienced young man, is ruled by his agent, who wishes to see the M’Mahons lose their farms, leased by the family for generations.
Hycy carefully makes his plans. What he fails to realize, however, is that he has made enemies while Bryan has made friends; consequently, some persons who know of his villainy are prepared to take measures to thwart him. Nanny Peety, a pretty, virtuous beggar girl, resents Hycy for his many attempts to seduce her. She knows something of his plans, and she was a witness to the burglary that Hycy and his accomplice committed. Nanny’s aunt, Kate Hogan, loves her niece and also thinks highly of Kathleen Cavanagh. She is willing and able to help them, because she is married to one of Hycy’s smuggling associates. Patrick O’Finigan, a drunken schoolmaster, is also friendly to Kathleen and Bryan.
The plot against Bryan is put into operation when an anonymous letter from Hycy sends the inspector to discover the illicit still at Ahadarra, on Bryan’s farm. Faced with financial ruin and his family’s loss of their leases, the young peasant does not know what to do. Because his own honesty keeps him from believing that Hycy is working against him in such a manner, Bryan even takes advice from the man who is bent on ruining him. A parliamentary election is taking place in which the M’Mahons’ landlord is standing for a seat. The voting results in a tie until Bryan, angry with his landlord and following Hycy’s advice, votes for his landlord’s opponent. By doing so, he makes himself appear false in everyone’s eyes, for his landlord is a liberal who favors the Irish peasantry and religious freedom, while the opponent is a conservative who works against the peasants and the Roman Catholic Church. By taking Hycy’s advice, Bryan finds himself worse off than before.
When Hycy sends another letter and encloses in it a fifty-pound note, it looks as if Bryan has accepted a bribe for his vote. The evidence is so damning that even Kathleen, who loves Bryan sincerely, is forced to believe him guilty. Faced with calamity and disfavor in his community, Bryan and his family plan, like many unfortunate Irish at the time, to emigrate to America in order to start a new and more successful life.
Bryan’s friends, however, go to work for him. Displeased at Hycy’s treatment of her niece and the troubles facing Kathleen when she loses her beloved, Kate Hogan begins investigating Hycy’s activities. She, Patrick O’Finigan, Nanny Peety’s father, and others gather additional information about Hycy and present it to the magistrates with their demands for a hearing. At the hearing, it is proved that Hycy robbed his father, had been an accomplice of the whiskey smugglers, had placed the still at Ahadarra to incriminate Bryan, had plotted to make his victim appear to have taken a bribe, and had also become a counterfeiter. Confronted with the proof, Jemmy Burke gives his son two hundred pounds to leave the country and stay away. Hycy’s accomplices are arrested, convicted, and transported as criminals from Ireland, thus becoming the “emigrants” of Ahadarra. Cleared of all charges, Bryan resumes his rightful place in the community and in the affections of Kathleen.
Bibliography
Brand, Gordon, ed. William Carleton: The Authentic Voice. Illustrated by Sam Craig. Gerrards Cross, England: Colin Smythe, 2006. Compendium of materials about Carleton includes primary source documents, a chronology of the events of his life, a history of his publications, and detailed maps of the countryside that provided the settings for his works of fiction. Also reprints selected lectures about Carleton that were delivered at the William Carleton Summer School from 1992 through 2005, including discussions of Carleton’s “embattled” place in Irish literature and his depictions of the peasantry, Ulster Catholics, Protestants, and Protestantism.
Flanagan, Thomas. The Irish Novelists, 1800-1850. 1959. Reprint. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1976. Influential overview did much to reestablish Carleton in the context of nineteenth century Irish literature and culture. Devotes three chapters to Carleton’s work, though treatment of the short fiction is more extensive than that of the novels. Emphasizes the content of the works rather than their form.
Kiely, Benedict. Poor Scholar: A Study of the Works and Days of William Carleton, 1794-1869. 1948. Reprint. Dublin: Wolfhound Press, 1997. Accessible and sympathetic introduction to the novelist’s world draws on Carleton’s autobiography. Emphasizes Carleton’s peasant background, awareness of which is indispensable for an appreciation of his work. Offers commentary on his major novels, including The Emigrants of Ahadarra.
Krause, David. Revisionary Views: Some Counter-statements About Irish Life and Literature. Dublin: Maunsel, 2002. Collection of essays includes an analysis of Carleton’s writing by a scholar who has sought to redeem his reputation.
‗‗‗‗‗‗‗. William Carleton, the Novelist: His Carnival and Pastoral World of Tragicomedy. Lanham, Md.: University Press of America, 2000. Argues that Carleton has been unfairly denigrated by academic critics and attempts to alter this situation by describing why at least six of Carleton’s novels are major works of fiction. Devotes a chapter to analysis of The Emigrants of Ahadarra.
Sloan, Barry. The Pioneers of Anglo-Irish Fiction, 1800-1850. Gerrards Cross, England: Colin Smythe, 1986. Study of the woks of Irish writers of the early nineteenth century includes coverage of the various phases of Carleton’s career as a novelist. Includes brief commentary on The Emigrants of Ahadarra that locates the novel in the appropriate phase and enables the reader to see connections between the novel’s preoccupations and those of other Irish fiction of the time. Includes an elaborate chronology of the literary period in question.
Sullivan, Eileen. William Carleton. Boston: Twayne, 1983. Provides a critical introduction to Carleton’s life and works. Discussion of The Emigrants of Ahadarra links it to Oliver Goldsmith’s poem The Deserted Village (1770), and the significance of the novel’s theme of reconciliation is briefly noted.
Wolff, Robert Lee. William Carleton, Irish Peasant Novelist: A Preface to His Fiction. New York: Garland, 1980. Presents a brief general overview of Carleton’s fiction. Discussion of The Emigrants of Ahadarra focuses on the way the novel treats the social aspects of emigration and outlines the novel’s political context.