Contemporary Irish Culture And Politics

This book is a special issue of Modern Language Quarterly.

Irish culture is obsessed with the past, and this book asks why and how. In an innovative reading of Irish culture since 1980, Emilie Pine provides a new analysis of theatre, film, television, memoir and art, and interrogates the anti-nostalgia that characterizes so much of contemporary Irish culture.

This collection of essays brings together exciting, fresh work by young scholars working on vital aspects of modern Irish unionism. Its range is broad, taking in much material (literary, political, cultural, intellectual) which has previously been ignored. Using new and extensive sources, the contributors examine important features of modern unionism and do so in ways which challenge much previous thinking about the subject. The book will be of value to scholars working on any aspect of modern Ireland, and also to students and to a wider public with an interest in Irish history, politics, culture, and society.

In the last quarter century, Ireland has experienced dramatic political and economic change. This broad-ranging text provides an accessible and up-to-date introduction to Irish society, politics and culture, as well as developments in its economy and place in Europe and the world.

This Companion provides an authoritative introduction to the historical, social and stylistic complexities of modern Irish culture. It introduces Irish culture in its broadest sense and guides the reader through the cultural and theoretical debates that inform our understanding of modern Ireland. The range of topics covered by the contributors demonstrates a comprehensive understanding of Irish culture and the development of modern Ireland.

From the Revolutionary War forward, Irish immigrants have contributed significantly to the construction of the American Republic. Scholars have documented their experiences and explored their social, political, and cultural lives in countless books. Offering a fresh perspective, this volume traces the rich history of the Irish American diaspora press, uncovering the ways in which a lively print culture forged significant cultural, political, and even economic bonds between the Irish living in America and the Irish living in Ireland. As the only mass medium prior to the advent of radio, newspapers served to foster a sense of identity and a means of acculturation for those seeking to establish themselves in the land of opportunity. Irish American newspapers provided information about what was happening back home in Ireland as well as news about the events that were occurring within the local migrant community. They framed national events through Irish American eyes and explained the significance of what was happening to newly arrived immigrants who were unfamiliar with American history or culture. They also played a central role in the social life of Irish migrants and provided the comfort that came from knowing that, though they may have been far from home, they were not alone. Taking a long view through the prism of individual newspapers, editors, and journalists, the authors in this volume examine the emergence of the Irish American diaspora press and its profound contribution to the lives of Irish Americans over the course of the last two centuries.

This is not so much a book of commemoration as it is on or about commemoration. The title of this book is ambiguous, and intentionally so. On the one hand, there are echoes of 'Writing Ireland' or 'Imagining Ireland', or '(Re)-Inventing Ireland' - an active process shaping our perception of what Ireland is and how it has become what it is. On the other hand, there is an element of glancing back. Only what is gone, what is in the past, can be commemorated. Ireland, having undergone rapid and profound changes in the past decades, often kindles feelings of nostalgia, of an older Ireland having been lost in the 'filthy modern tide'. This is an examination - in an international, comparative context - of the role commemorations play in contemporary politics and society. This is a multi-disciplinary study by an array of distinguished authors: Peter Collins, Mary Daly, Tony Canavan, Owen Dudley Edwards, Paul Arthur, Christopher Harvie, Malcolm Anderson, Neal Ascherson, Gerald Dawe, Christopher Murray and Aidan Howard.