Mis-taken love: conversations on the problem of incest in an Irish context

An emotive consciousness of the issues surrounding incest frequently calls forth revulsion, outrage, fear, concern, and competition. Such responses often legitimate a range of actions that include the protection of children, the blaming of mothers, and the punishment of fathers. This article explores a "systemic" dis-position in conversations on father-daughter incest. The notion of a "Fifth Province" (from Celtic mythology) is invoked wherein all emotions, judgements, and descriptions can find acceptance, and whereby a language of control and competition, implicitly negating individuals and their relationships, is suspended as a rationale for action.