The Poet as Partial Historian: Richard Murphy’s ‘The Battle of Aughrim.

‘The Battle of Aughrim’ is a major achievement of modern Irish poetry but remains misrepresented in critical discourse. Written by Richard Murphy, the last poet of Ireland’s Protestant aristocracy, it has been respected as an ideologically balanced, historically objective treatment of the decisive battle of the Williamite War in Ireland that secured Protestant political dominance on the island for more than two centuries. In the manner of a historian, the poet took pains to carefully research the event, and the finished work has long been considered a model of accuracy and impartiality. This article argues that common critical perceptions of the poem are mistaken, that in fact, ‘The Battle of Aughrim’ does not equitably deal with the Anglo and Irish traditions of Murphy’s cultural identity but instead makes gestures of conciliation and sympathy towards the latter. This article conducts a parallel re-examination of the poem and historical record and calls for a greater consideration of the cultural climate in Ireland at the time of the poem’s composition. Doing so will validate the further contention that ‘The Battle of Aughrim’ actually caters to nationalist conceptions of Irishness and serves to palliate the poet’s insecurities regarding the notion of authentic Irish identity [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]