This study focuses on how the tradition of mumming in County Fermanagh is defined.
Several factors have contributed to the processes of redefinition mumming has been subjected
to. The violent conflict, which is agreed to have erupted in the province of Ulster in 1969,
played an integral role in the severe decline of mumming around this period. In the 1980s, it
was revived and mumming groups became a common sight around Christmas time, in local
towns and villages. This continued until the 2000s. However, at present there remains only
one mumming group practicing the tradition in Fermanagh: The Aughakillymaude (ACK-LAMAD)
Mummers. This thesis explores how mumming has been redefined by both the
mummers and the audience.
Throughout the thesis, it is argued that while social practices are viewed as possessing
longevity and immutability both time and context act to change and define them. mumming
exists on the margins of Irish cultural activity. There are no academic departments established
to study it, no dedicated archives to store its history, nor are there rules or regulations to bind
its existence. Its continuation depends on those involved redefining the tradition. The
mummers eke out a space for it through touristic and non-touristic avenues, by framing the
tradition as unconventional and marginal. The study challenges notions of the audience, the
commodification of tradition, masking, the ability to speak about conflict, reviving a tradition,
and the musician. By doing this, it examines how a tradition which exists without any
formalities to govern it continues to be redefined and practiced on the margins of Irish cultural
activity
