literature in english
literature in irish

 

literature in english

The English Language came to Ireland with the Normans in the 12th century. Though the Irish Language survives to this day, Irish Literature written in English has been renowned, since the days of Jonathan Swift's 'Gulliver's Travels' and Edmund Burke's 'Reflections Upon The Revolution In France'. Maria Edgeworth (1767-1849) was the first to deal specifically with Irish themes. She was followed by 19th century patriotic writers such as Thomas Davis, Samuel Ferguson and James Clarence Mangan. The work of these mid-19th century authors was the precursor to Ireland's most exciting period, known as the Celtic Revival, or Irish Literary Renaissance. Among the best known writers of this period this period were W.B. Yeats, Lady Gregory, James Stephens, John Millington Synge, George Russell and George Moore all of whom lived and worked in the late 19th and early 20th century. Perhaps the most outstanding Irish novelist of recent times is James Joyce, (1882-1941). His novel Ulysses remains one of the most celebrated works of prose fiction of the 20th century. Other distinguished modern Irish writers and poets include Flann O'Brien (1911-1966), Frank O'Connor (1903-1966), Patrick Kavanagh (1904-1967), Louis MacNeice (1907-1963), Mary Lavin (1912-1996), Thomas Kinsella (b.1928), Seamus Heaney (b. 1939), Elizabeth Bowen (1899-1973) and John McGahern (b. 1934). Ireland's theatrical works have been internationally renowned for even longer than her books. Oliver Goldsmith, Richard Brinsley Sheridan and Oscar Wilde were all luminaries of the London stage as far back as the 18th and 19th centuries. More recently, George Bernard Shaw is regarded as one of the great dramatists in the English Language. John Millington Synge, Sean O'Casey, Brendan Behan, Brian Friel and Hugh Leonard have also achieved international success. But perhaps the most enigmatic figure of Irish letters was the internationally acclaimed dramatist and novelist Samuel Beckett.

Beckett, Shaw, Yeats and Heaney were all awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. Novelist Roddy Doyle is a Booker Prize winner.

 

literature in irish

Written literature in Old Irish dates from the 6th century AD. Heroic sagas depicting the deeds of mythical warriors Cú Chulain and Fionn, along with lyrical and conventional poetry, survive from that time. The early modern period (1250-1650) produced bardic verse and prose but the literary language was then displaced by the vernacular form, which gave rise to an extensive, popular poetic literature. Modern writers in Irish, such as Patrick Pearse (1879-1916) and Pádraic O'Conaire (1883-1928), opened Irish literature to European influences after centuries of isolation. Distinguished writers and poets of the modern era include Seán Ó Ríordáin (1916-1977), Máirtín Ó Díreáin (1910-1988), Máire Mhac an tSaoi (b. 1922), Liam Ó Flaitheartaigh (1897-1984), Seosamh Mac Grianna (1901-1990), Máirtín Ó Cadhain and Brendan Behan (1923-1964). Among the leading contemporary figures are Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill (b. 1952), Micheál Ó Siadhail (b. 1947) and Liam Ó Muirthile (b. 1950). A significant number of these writers, including Pearse, Ó Flaitheartaigh and Ó Siadhail, have also written important creative work in English. Over one hundred new titles in the Irish language are published annually with books for children proving very popular.