On the 5th of April, an in-person and online audience joined the Trinity Long Room Hub’s signature ‘Behind the Headlines’ discussion to hear from children’s literature expert Dr Jane Suzanne Carroll of Trinity’s School of English; constitutional expert, Dr David Kenny, School of Law; author and journalist Martina Devlin; and Beckett studies expert, Professor Nicholas Johnson from the School of Creative Arts, Trinity.

Introducing the panel, Professor Eve Patten, Director of the Trinity Long Room Hub questioned the sanctity of a work of art, asking “do we have the right to edit, to change, to update it?”

In her talk, Professor Jane Suzanne Carroll addressed the revision of children’s literature (“the only literature defined by its audience”) throughout the 20th century, exploring how words and illustrations in popular texts have been changed and adapted over the years to suit the tastes of new audiences. She argued that the idea we have just recently become concerned with sensitive material in children’s text is “complete nonsense” adding that “we’ve always been worried about this.”

Looking particularly at the Ladybird books and then to the illustrations from Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Professor Carroll showed how the infamous ‘Oompa Loompa’ characters have been subject to many revisions throughout the decades, from how they are described in the original 1964 edition to their revised appearance years later. Attendees also heard that Quentin Blake, the illustrator most intimately associated with Dahl’s books, was not the original illustrator of earlier editions of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

Moving on to the malleability of constitutional texts, Professor David Kenny said that “both law and literature are fundamentally about interpretation” and the “ways we try to structure our reality with language.” Asking “who owns the text, who decides what it says and what it means?”, Professor Kenny, who has been involved in constitutional mapping projects and discussions both in Ireland and around the world, reflected on how constitutions may be changed while still retaining the core identity of the text. He argued in fact that constitutions “have to adapt” and that “very few constitutions last unless they change.” Commenting on the constitutional future of Ireland and the potential for Irish unification, Professor Kenny said it “would probably require an entirely new constitution…where we retell the story of Ireland in a new way.”

Dr Martina Devlin is a journalist and the author of eight novels, including The House Where It Happened, a fictional account of Ireland's last witch trial, which took place at Carrickfergus, County Antrim. This novel, set in 1711, provided the subject of Dr Devlin’s talk which looked at revising history and how, since the publication of the novel in 2014, she has campaigned for a plaque commemorating the one man and eight women who became known as the ‘Islandmagee witches.’ She said, “rewriting history as fiction allows greater potential to explore human frailty”, arguing that “it breathes life” into the characters. Her aim with the ‘Islandmagee witches’ was to “shine a light” on these forgotten people and their stories.

Dr Martina Devlin is a journalist and the author of eight novels, including The House Where It Happened, a fictional account of Ireland's last witch trial, which took place at Carrickfergus, County Antrim. This novel, set in 1711, provided the subject of Dr Devlin’s talk which looked at revising history and how, since the publication of the novel in 2014, she has campaigned for a plaque commemorating the one man and eight women who became known as the ‘Islandmagee witches.’ She said, “rewriting history as fiction allows greater potential to explore human frailty”, arguing that “it breathes life” into the characters. Her aim with the ‘Islandmagee witches’ was to “shine a light” on these forgotten people and their stories.

Concluding the panel discussion by looking at the issues around rewriting and reworking in theatre, Associate Professor of Drama at Trinity College Dublin, Professor Nicholas Johnson said we might consider drama as a constant rewriting and that “each time we perform any older play...is a creation of a new world.”  Speaking about adaptation in relation to Beckett’s works, Professor Johnson discussed the recent controversy in the Netherlands around a production of Samuel Beckett’s ‘Waiting for Godot’ that was cancelled over a decision to audition only men for its five male characters. Emphasising the context in which theatre is performed, and the nature of change within the art form, he said “theatre, like constitutions, is for the living.”

About Behind the Headlines

The Trinity Long Room Hub’s ‘Behind the Headlines’ discussion series offers background analyses on current issues by experts drawing on the long-term perspectives of Arts & Humanities research. It aims to provide a forum that deepens understanding, combats simplification and creates space for informed and respectful public discourse.

The Trinity Long Room Hub Behind the Headlines series is supported by the John Pollard Foundation.