Receiving news from the seat of war: Dublin audiences respond to Boer war entertainments

摘要

The Boer war and its popular representations were uniquely contentious in Ireland.\udOn the one hand, Ireland was a part of the United Kingdom, one of the 'home countries' of the British empire, with a population that contributed significantly to\udthe imperial project, most prominently represented in relation to the Boer war by\udLord Roberts, commander of British forces in South Africa in 1900. On the other hand, the majority of the Irish population supported a nationalist politics whose\udchief aim at the turn or the century was to gain 'home rule' for the country and\udwhich saw the war against the South African republics as another instance of British\udaggression against a small population determined to assert its independence. This\udled to a pro-Boer fever among a nationalist population that was ill disposed to the\udjingoistic pro-war sentiments expressed in much of popular culture coming from\udBritain. Boer war entertainments in Dubinl in were frequently contentious, prompting\udreflection on the possible ideological uses or new media forms.