Ireland is rich in its heritage of legendary stories that reach back to its ancient past more than 2,000 years ago. It is rich, too, in the realism and vitality of contemporary Irish writing that bridges the political divisions of the country. The dual nature of Irish literature is further reflected in its two distinct tongues--Gaelic and English.
   The dominant language of Irish literature today is English, and the Irish writers who use it are sometimes referred to as Anglo-Irish. But Irish literature, whether it speaks in Gaelic or English, is rooted deeply in the history and tradition that is uniquely Irish.

The First Written Literature

The earliest Irish literature was preserved orally by the Gaelic poets and storytellers. In the 5th century the Roman alphabet, which was adaptable to Gaelic, was introduced by missionaries. Over the centuries the monks began writing down many of the old tales, as well as new religious and secular works. One of the earliest masterpieces of Irish literature was 'The Book of the Dun Cow', a retelling of the Ulster cycle written in the 12th century.
   In the centuries that followed, Gaelic literature declined under the English conquest of Ireland. The literary tradition passed from the filid (poets) to the minstrels, and then to the common people. Most of the poetry, ballads, histories, and legends were preserved orally, while the manuscripts of the great old stories lay almost forgotten in the monasteries.

The 17th and 18th Centuries

There were few memorable Gaelic authors in the 17th and 18th centuries. Michael O'Clery (1575-1643), who feared that the ancient records of Ireland might be lost, became the chief author of a history called 'The Annals of the Four Masters'. Geoffrey Keating (1569-1644) wrote a masterpiece of Gaelic prose in his delightful history 'Foundation of Knowledge in Ireland'. The songs of the blind poet Turlogh Carolan (1670-1738) still survive.
   There was little incentive to write in Gaelic, for fewer Irish people were speaking it or reading it. The great Irish-born writers of this period were Anglo-Irish. Considered English, because of their language and culture, were such writers as Oliver Goldsmith, Richard Brinsley Sheridan, Richard Steele, and Jonathan Swift.
   As the 19th century began, a small band of Irish authors who wrote in English found their inspiration and their themes in their homeland. Perhaps the foremost of these was Maria Edgeworth (1767-1849). An Irish landlord's daughter, she wrote with insight and humor about troublesome landlords in her realistic novel, 'Castle Rackrent'. William Carleton (1794-1869) wrote movingly about his peasant background in 'Traits and Stories of the Irish Peasantry'. Thomas Moore (1779-1852), who set English words to Irish airs, sang about the political wrongs done to Ireland and so won English sympathy for its cause.
   One aspect of the revived nationalism was reflected in a renewed interest in Gaelic. Charlotte Brooke (1740-93) was in the forefront with her 'Reliques of Irish Poetry', a translation from Gaelic into English. Then scholars learned how to read the ancient Irish manuscripts that had been almost forgotten in the monasteries and began translating the old heroic tales. They provided inspiration for Samuel Ferguson (1810-86) in 'Deirdre's Lament for the Sons of Usnech' and 'Tales of the Western Gael'. James Clarence Mangan (1803-49), considered one of Ireland's finest poets, also used such themes.
   In mid-century, however, these literary stirrings diminished after the potato blight of 1845, 1846, and 1847 devastated all Ireland. Standish O'Grady (1846-1928) helped keep national literature alive with his exultant celebrations of Irish history and legend in 'History of Ireland' and 'Cuchulain and His Contemporaries'. The best-known writers born in Ireland in the same era--George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950) and Oscar Wilde (1854-1900)--wrote for an audience beyond their native land.

The Gaelic Revival

The potato famine brought starvation, grinding poverty, and a mass emigration of Irish to other lands. Despite this disaster, the literary revival of the Gaelic language endured.
   In 1842 the patriotic organization known as Young Ireland, led by Thomas Osborne Davis (1814-45), had founded the Nation. The patriotic verses written by Davis, such as "A Nation Once Again" and "The Battle of Fontenoy," were an inspiration for the 20th-century Sinn Fein ("we ourselves") nationalist movement. Among the other Irish writers published by the Nation were Thomas D'Arcy McGee (1825-68), a poet and patriot who later emigrated to Canada, where he became one of the principal Fathers of Confederation; Richard D'Alton Williams (1821?-62), a writer of ballads and humorous pieces, who emigrated to the United States in 1851; and Lady Jane Francesca Wilde (1826?-96), the mother of Oscar Wilde, who wrote poems under the pen name "Speranza."
   Another literary publication of the period was the Dublin University Magazine. Its contributors included Jeremiah Joseph Callanan (1795-1829), who wrote free adaptations of Gaelic verse.
   In 1893 the Gaelic League was founded to revive the Irish language and culture and to encourage authors to write in Gaelic. The organization was headed by Douglas Hyde (1860-1949), a poet and scholar who became the first president of the Irish Free State. Hyde's goal of making Gaelic a living language was exemplified in his 'Beside the Fire', 15 Gaelic tales with the English translation on facing pages. The translations used an English dialect, spoken in Ireland, that had strong echoes of Gaelic idioms and sentence construction.
   Modern Gaelic literature includes the short stories of Padraic O Conaire (1883-1928), whose work was alive with the color and character of the people of his native homeland, western Ireland. Two autobiographies that have been translated into English are 'The Islandman', by Tomas O Crohan, and 'Twenty Years A-growing', by Maurice O'Sullivan.
   Another outstanding 20th-century Gaelic writer was Brian O'Nolan (1911-66), a man of great talent and an outrageous sense of humor, who had a liking for pen names. As Flann O'Brien and Myles na gCopaleen he wrote brilliant columns for the Irish Times from 1944 to 1966 and published some satirical novels, including 'At Swim-Two Birds', one of the great comic novels of the century, and 'The Poor Mouth: a Bad Story About the Hard Life'.
   The 19th-century Gaelic revival was not a widespread movement, largely because it was overshadowed by the political struggles of the period and by the overwhelming need for land reform as a result of the famine. The revival did lay the groundwork, however, for an Irish literary renaissance. By the end of the century a flourishing new literary movement was centered on the spirit of Irish nationalism and the persistent interest in Gaelic culture.

The Irish Literary Renaissance

The pivotal figure in the Irish literary renaissance was William Butler Yeats (1865-1939). He promoted the movement into a vigorous literary force, not only in Ireland, but in all English-speaking countries. A poet and dramatist, he won the Nobel prize for literature in 1923
   Although he wrote in English, Yeats was steeped in a love of Gaelic tradition and folklore. 'The Celtic Twilight', his sketches of Irish storytellers and their tales, did much to create the image of what Irish writing and writers could and should be like. He also retold the ancient cycle tales in his long narrative poem 'The Wanderings of Oisin' and in his plays 'Deirdre' and 'On Baile's Strand', a masterpiece based on the Cuchulain legends.
   In 1897 Yeats, who dreamed of creating an Irish national theater, had a memorable meeting with two other playwrights--Lady Isabella Augusta Gregory (1852-1932) and Edward Martyn (1859-1923). With an associate, the novelist George Moore (1852-1933), they helped found the Abbey Theatre, which opened in Dublin in 1904.
   The Abbey Theatre became internationally famous through the plays of the greatest dramatist of the Irish renaissance, John Millington Synge (1871-1909). His terrible and beautiful one-act tragedy, 'Riders to the Sea', and his masterpiece, 'The Playboy of the Western World', expressed his deep understanding and love for his country and his people.
   Another notable playwright of the Irish renaissance was Lennox Robinson (1886-1958). His works ranged from the bitter realism of 'Patriots' to the comedy of 'The Whiteheaded Boy', his best-known play.
   Many of the later plays at the Abbey dealt with rural realism. Sean O'Casey, however, presented his powerful dramas of protest against the background of the slums. In 'The Shadow of a Gunman', 'Juno and the Paycock', and 'The Plough and the Stars', O'Casey painted a brilliant and sensitive picture of Irish life and courage. The Abbey Theatre made an indelible mark on Irish drama, and its influence can still be seen on such modern playwrights as Brendan Behan and Brian Friel.
   While Yeats cast a giant shadow over Irish poetry, there were other poets of note. Under the pen name of AE, George William Russell made a major contribution not only in his 'Collected Poems' but also in the love of the Celtic culture he inculcated in younger writers. One of his proteges was Padraic Colum, who made a lasting mark on Irish literature with 'Wild Earth'. James Stephens, another protege, wrote a classic prose fantasy, 'The Crock of Gold'.
   In his genius, James Joyce stood alone. Yet in the short stories collected in 'Dubliners', and in the novels 'Finnegans Wake' and 'Ulysses', Joyce showed that his roots, too, were imbedded in Irish soil. In contrast, George Moore, one of the early leaders in the literary renaissance, gave a devastatingly irreverent account of the movement in his autobiographical trilogy, 'Hail and Farewell'.

Irish Literature Since 1950

The establishment of the Irish Free State in 1922 and the independent Republic of Ireland in 1949 had created new problems for the Irish people. Many Irish writers or their families fought in the civil wars and against the British, and their experiences were reflected in their writing. For example, Sean O'Faolain, who fought in the Irish insurrection, portrayed his anger and disillusionment in the short-story collection 'Midsummer Night Madness'. Later, in his novels 'Bird Alone' and 'Come Back to Erin', he attacked Irish provincialism.
   Contemporary women writers spoke out with new honesty about their place in Irish society. Examples were 'Johnny I Hardly Knew You', by Edna O'Brien, and 'Women in the Wall', by Julia O'Faolain.
   The short-story form has always been one of the strengths of Irish writers. Mary Lavin demonstrated this in her collections 'A Single Lady' and 'Selected Stories'. Her writing often focused on the struggle for personal freedom as a universal need.
   Frank O'Connor was a master of the realistic short story, and his collection 'Guests of the Nation' typified the mixture of humor, disillusion, and acceptance of reality that characterized much of his work. He also wrote one of the finest of Irish autobiographies, 'An Only Child'.
   In 'Two Lovely Beasts and Other Stories', Liam O'Flaherty first won recognition as an outstanding short-story writer. But it was his novel 'The Informer', a powerful story of betrayal during the revolution, that brought him international acclaim. Other writers known for their novels as well as their short stories included Benedict Kiely, Bernard MacLaverty, John McGahern, and William Trevor.
   Patrick Kavanagh proved himself one of Ireland's finest lyric poets with the clear, singing imagery of 'Come Dance with Kitty Stobling'. Thomas Kinsella sang sadly of the spiritual state of Ireland today in 'Nightwalker' and lashed out with satiric bitterness at the Ulster crisis in 'Butcher's Dozen'. Brendan Kennelly created poetry of a stark and brilliant clarity in his poem cycle 'Islandman'. Seamus Heaney's poems reflected his interest in nature and in Irish history. In both poetry and critical works he also explored the function of language. Heaney lived and worked for several years in the United States before returning to Ireland. Other writers, notably Brian Moore and Samuel Beckett, left Ireland permanently to settle elsewhere. Brian Moore moved to Canada at the age of 27 but continued to feature Irish characters and settings in such novels as 'The Luck of Ginger Coffey'. Beckett, whose works examined the absurdity of the human condition, was one of the most influential writers of the 20th century. He lived in Paris, and most of his major works, including the play 'Waiting for Godot', were written in both French and English.