Literature & Writers

Oscar Wilde's rich and dramatic portrayals of the human condition came during the height of the Victorian Era that swept through London in the late 19th century. At a time when all citizens of Britain were finally able to embrace literature the wealthy and educated could only once afford, Wilde wrote many short stories, plays and poems that continue to inspire millions around the world.

Irish Writers Online is a no-frills, basic bio-bibliographical database of Irish writers, and related resources. It is used by students, academics, media and lovers of Irish Literature from more than 170 countries.

A list of famous Irish authors. These are considered as the legendary authors of Irish origin and best Irish writers of all time. This list of famous Irish authors is alphabetical and can be sorted by any column.

Peig Sayers (1873–1958) was an Irish author and seanachaí born in Dunquin (Dún Chaoin), County Kerry, Ireland. Seán Ó Súilleabháin, the former archivist for the Irish Folklore Commission, described her as "one of the greatest woman storytellers of recent times".

This paper examines the writings produced by a selection of travellers from England and the US during the Great Famine. The authors surveyed spent a period of time journeying throughout the country reporting their findings on the progress of the Famine. The accounts covered different areas and times, but together provide a thorough and detailed picture of conditions in Ireland in 1845-1850. The results are interesting because of physical descriptions and the insights offered into contemporary perceptions of the political and ideological arguments of the day.

On Thursday, November 26, 1998, Tony Blair made history by becoming the first British Prime Minister ever to address the Irish Parliament. That Parliament had been created 80 years earlier in open defiance of the British government which Blair now headed. Ireland had won its independence from Great Britain after a bloody insurrection in the early 1920s, marking the beginning of decades of intense animosity and outright violence. In this speech, Blair recalls his own Irish roots and declares an end to more than 800 years of enmity between England and Ireland.

Includes information and online works J. M. Synge, Padraic Colum, W. B. Yeats, Oscar Wilde, G. B. Shaw, and Oliver Goldsmith.

IASIL was formed in 1970 with the chartered aims of: Promoting the teaching and study of Irish literature in third-level education throughout the world and acilitating international contact between scholars researching in the field of Irish Literary Studies.

There have been critics, such as some of the more dogmatic New Critics, who have stressed that the literary work must be treated as a thing complete in itself; that neither the cultural context nor the author's life can add anything to the meaning of the work. Some, such as the more recent Deconstructionists, have asserted that even the text itself has no inherent meaning; that all meaning is projected onto the work by the reader.

Irish Pages is a biannual journal, edited in Belfast and publishing, in equal measure, writing from Ireland and overseas. Its policy is to publish poetry, short fiction, essays, creative non-fiction, memoir, essay reviews, nature-writing, translated work, literary journalism, and other autobiographical, historical, religious and scientific writing of literary distinction. There are no standard reviews or narrowly academic articles. Irish Language and Ulster Scots writing are published in the original, with English translations or glosses.

The Nobel Prize in Literature 1923 was awarded to William Butler Yeats "for his always inspired poetry, which in a highly artistic form gives expression to the spirit of a whole nation".

The Nobel Prize in Literature 1925 was awarded to George Bernard Shaw "for his work which is marked by both idealism and humanity, its stimulating satire often being infused with a singular poetic beauty".

The Nobel Prize in Literature 1969 was awarded to Samuel Beckett "for his writing, which - in new forms for the novel and drama - in the destitution of modern man acquires its elevation".

A website dedicated to one of the most successful playwrights of the late Victorian era - Oscar Wilde. Offers easy access to the extensive collection of his works, biography, and more.

Generally considered one of the most influential authors of the twentieth century, James Joyce was one of the first authors to challenge the traditional concept of what a novel could be, alienating most of his contemporaries while earning a reputation that endures in literary scholarship. He was educated at Jesuit schools, including University College, Dublin.

The Irish Writers’ Centre has long been a hub of literary activity in Dublin, supporting established and aspiring writers throughout Ireland from its base at the heart of Dublin's cultural quarter. It is a non-profit organisation, aimed at promoting the literature and writers in Ireland.

The Study Ireland poetry TV series is presented by Belfast novelist, Glenn Patterson. It features a wide range of contemporary poetic voices that explore five themes to give students a clear idea of how and why poems are written. This website contains audio and video clips from the programmes and teacher's notes. You can learn about the authors and read their poems online. So discover more about some of the world-famous poets from Northern Ireland.

A throughout list of names.

Julia M. Wright provides a bibliography of Irish literature from 1789-1840.

"The farther he goes the more good it does me. I don’t want philosophies, tracts, dogmas, creeds, ways out, truths, answers, nothing from the bargain basement. He is the most courageous, remorseless writer going and the more he grinds my nose in the shit the more I am grateful to him. He’s not f---ing me about, he’s not leading me up any garden path, he’s not slipping me a wink, he’s not flogging me a remedy or a path or a revelation or a basinful of breadcrumbs, he’s not selling me anything I don’t want to buy — he doesn’t give a bollock whether I buy or not — he hasn’t got his hand over his heart. Well, I’ll buy his goods, hook, line and sinker, because he leaves no stone unturned and no maggot lonely. He brings forth a body of beauty."

"Eavan Boland was born in Dublin, Ireland, in 1944. Her father was a diplomat and her mother was an expressionist painter. At the age of six, Boland and her family relocated to London, where she first encountered anti-Irish sentiment. She later returned to Dublin for school, and she received her B.A. from Trinity College in 1966. She was also educated in London and New York."

Umea Universitet's Brian Friel page, highlighting notes on "Dancing At Lughnasa".

"Heaney was born in County Derry, Northern Ireland, the eldest of 9 children and son of a Catholic farmer. Educated at Queen's College, Belfast, he became a lecturer in English literature at the university in 1966, when he also published his first collection of poems, Death of a Naturalist. The opening lines of the first poem of this acclaimed collection, Digging, prefigure the tension that energises so much of Heaney's work: a tension between art and life, past and present, violent action and peaceful contemplation."

Have a seat at the bar, and while I pour you a pint, let me explain the purpose of this site. At the Brazen Head, you will find a ball of electronic twine to aid you in your travels through the labyrinth of Dedalus. Here you will find information and resources on Joyce and his works, links to other Joyce sites across the Web, and miscellaneous Joycean tidbits. It is my intention to create a comfortable spot where long time enthusiasts of Joyce and those just beginning to read his work may visit and kick back to enjoy exploring the world of this delightfully mad Irishman.

The James Joyce Centre, Dublin is dedicated to promoting an understanding of the life and works of James Joyce. We are also the home of Bloomsday in Dublin, and organise events throughout the year to celebrate, discuss and promote the works of Ireland's greatest Modern writer.

Founded in 1988 the James Joyce Summer School is one of the foremost gatherings in the Joycean calendar. Each year scholars and lovers of Joyce gather from all corners of the globe to celebrate and analyse the work of this great writer. A unique aspect of the school is the fact that it gives Joycean enthusiasts the opportunity to savour and re-experience his writing in the context of the city which inspired and shaped it. The Summer School meets in Newman House where Joyce attended university and in Boston College-Ireland, both on St Stephen's Green in the heart of Dublin. This unique setting provides the perfect backdrop against which to reflect on Joyce's works and to assess his continuing influence on contemporary fiction in Ireland and elsewhere.

Frank McCourt's book Angela's Ashes is a fascinating read and drew me into the social history of the Limerick which existed just before my childhood. As our home is on the side of Limerick depicted in Frank's book I cycled and walked the roads and lanes of his memoirs and found it most interesting to talk to the people who grew up there during that time.

Edna O'Brien talks about her admiration for Joyce, the importance of myth, and how her new book, Wild Decembers - in which heartache is prefigured by a tractor - fits in with her own "inner gnaw".

Some excerpts of his work and some relevant articles.

The Life & Works of William Butler Yeats at the National Library of Ireland.

The Yeats Society was founded in Sligo in 1958 in order to commemorate and honour the memory of W.B. Yeats, and to promote appreciation of his poetry and other writings, and an awareness of the other members of this talented family.

In 1985 Niall Williams and Christine Breen moved from New York to a small cottage in the west of Ireland. Their popular book O Come Ye Back to Ireland was the story of their first year's adventures, and they've been living there and writing ever since.

Colm Toibin was born in Enniscorthy, Co. Wexford in 1955. He studied at University College Dublin and lived in Barcelona between 1975 and 1978. Out of his experience in Barcelona be produced two books, the novel ‘The South’ (shortlisted for the Whitbread First Novel Award and winner of the Irish Times/ Aer Lingus First Fiction Award) and ‘Homage to Barcelona’, both published in 1990. When he returned to Ireland in 1978 he worked as a journalist for ‘In Dublin’, ‘Hibernia’ and ‘The Sunday Tribune’, becoming features editor of ‘In Dublin’ in 1981 and editor of Magill, Ireland’s current affairs magazine, in 1982.

Oscar Wilde's rich and dramatic portrayals of the human condition came during the height of the Victorian Era that swept through London in the late 19th century. At a time when all citizens of Britain were finally able to embrace literature the wealthy and educated could only once afford, Wilde wrote many short stories, plays and poems that continue to inspire millions around the world.

"I was born on a storm-swept rock and hate the soft growth of sunbaked lands where there is no frost in men's bones. Swift thought and the flight of ravenous birds,and the squeal of hunted animals are to me reality."

Ernie O'Malley was born in Ellison Street, Castlebar, Co. Mayo in 1897. One of eleven children, Ernie and his brothers and sisters would spend most summers at the O'Malley family's rented house near Rosbeg, Westport, from where he would explore the area around Clew Bay, a wide bay that runs out to Clare Island and Achill Island on its northern shore.

"Wilde" is a film about the life of Oscar Wilde, the first modern man, with Wilde being played by British actor, Stephen Fry.

John Millington Synge (1871-1909), the writer and playwright, epitomises the trend among artists and writers at the turn of the 20th century to look to the west of Ireland for inspiration and for an 'authentically' Irish subject matter. It was a trend that also saw the artist Paul Henry and his painter wife Grace travel to Achill Island in 1909 and, some decades later, was part of the attraction of his Mayo homeland for writer Ernie O'Malley. Both Paul Henry and Ernie O'Malley were readers of JM Synge, as was the English novelist Graham Greene before he travelled to Achill in 1947.

Sodden with whisky, the elder Flann O'Brien struggled to keep his writing in tune with his preternaturally subtle ear. His first great novel At Swim-Two-Birds and a long-standing column in the Irish Times had long established hims as the prime wit of a generation of Dublin intellectuals disillusioned by the sham romanticism that clung to Irish letters after the Celtic Revival. As a comedian of the learned, O'Brien's humor was more bookish than pedestrian, more ironic than patriotic. Along with an ambiguous dedication to the tenets of High Modernism, O'Brien's best work showed a creative imagination torn between Roman Catholicism on the one hand, and a corrosive, almost nihilistic cynicism on the other.

G. Bernard Shaw (he hated the "George" and never used it, either personally or professionally) was born in 1856 in Dublin, in a lower-middle class family of Scottish-Protestant ancestry. His father was a failed corn-merchant, with a drinking problem and a squint (which Oscar Wilde's father, a leading Dublin surgeon, tried unsuccessfully to correct); his mother was a professional singer, the sole disciple of Vandeleur Lee, a voice teacher claiming to have a unique and original approach to singing.

Until now, fewer than 15 of the 124 pages of Stoker’s Dracula Notes, located at the Rosenbach Museum & Library in Philadelphia, have been published. Now, all 124 pages are available. These Notes were auctioned at Sotheby’s in London in 1913 and eventually made their way to the Rosenbach.

Amhlaoibh Ó Súilleabháin (May 1780 Killarney, County Kerry-1838 Callan, County Kilkenny) was an Irish language author, linen draper, politician, and one time hedge school master. He is also known as Humphrey O'Sullivan. He was deeply involved in Daniel O'Connell's Catholic Emancipation movement and in relief work among the poor of County Kilkenny. He was also an avid bird watcher and a collector of rare manuscripts in the Irish language.

Old Bailey, the main courthouse in London, had never presented a show quite like the three trials that captivated England and much of the literary world in the spring of 1895. Celebrity, sex, witty dialogue, political intrique, surprising twists, and important issues of art and morality--is it any surprise that the trials of Oscar Wilde continue to fascinate one hundred years after the death of one of Ireland's greatest authors and playrights?

The James Joyce Centre, Dublin is dedicated to promoting an understanding of the life and works of James Joyce. We are also the home of Bloomsday in Dublin, and organise events throughout the year to celebrate, discuss and promote the works of Ireland's greatest Modern writer.

Oliver Goldsmith (1730-1774), Anglo-Irish man of letters, poet and playwright wrote, The Vicar of Wakefield (1766). Goldsmith stood alone and did not subscribe to nor start any school. He died at forty-six a philosopher at heart, a kind old soul and friend to many including Dr. Samuel Johnson.

Bound volume of manuscripts and letters by Oscar Wilde, digitized by the Morgan Library in New York City.

A selection of famous quotes by Oscar Wilde.

Reading is very much an intimate, one-on-one experience, and yet festivals celebrating writers and books are flourishing across the world. As well as the obvious pleasure of seeing and hearing a writer who until then you had only encountered on the page, festivals offer much else besides.

The Arts Council of Northern Ireland is the primary public supporter of arts in the north of Ireland.

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A collection of over 80 primary source First World War letters sent from son to mother at home in Ireland.

Irish history online, Irish history articles, interviews, ebooks and podcasts.