Irish Literature has a very large impact in Ireland today. The people of Ireland take great pride in their literary works, whether it is playwriting, poems, or novels. Even Irish short stories and Celtic mythology are shown off to the international eye. There are numerous emerging Irish novelists and writers such as Frank Delaney, and Colm Toibin that contribute to the popularity and prestige of modern Irish Literature.

      Irish Literature went through a “boom” of marvelous works during the 19th century. Led by William Yeats, John Synge, and James Joyce, Ireland produced two Nobel Prizes and some of the greatest plays, poems, and novels in the past couple centuries.  Modern Irish writers will most likely not experience the same amount of fame and success that past writers (Joyce, Yeats, etc) had. There is less respect for literature now that there was then. The literary world is being occupied by the wonders of television, the Internet, and, unfortunately, poorly made sitcoms and soap operas. Back in the 19th century, there was no Internet and TV to occupy the time of the Irish people. Instead of movies, they went and saw a play. Instead of watching a poorly made sitcom or soap opera, they read a wonderfully made book by James Joyce. The style of writing has also changed. Novels “back then” had a slower pace and more attention to detail than novels today. The writing was also more “mature” and sophisticated during the 19th century.

      Irish Literature is an extremely important topic to study because most students in school need experience with literature from another country. Only studying English literature gives the student a narrower knowledge about literature as a whole. Branching out and studying Irish literature as well gives the student more styles to use himself and a greater understanding of Ireland as a country. Ireland needs a revival. After suffering through the Irish Civil War and economic struggles, literature is one of the few remaining subjects that Ireland can still flourish in. Modern writers are trying their best to “re-spark” interest in literature, like Frank Delaney’s Ireland, which uses interesting storytelling to describe and retell the history of Ireland. The storytelling method that Delaney uses is a famous theme in Irish culture. In Ireland, back before a written language was developed, the Irish people passed down information and stories from generation to generation using speech. A father would tell a story to his son enough times so that the son could then repeat the story from memory to his children and so on. I enjoy learning about Irish Literature and the “big names” of it because I thoroughly enjoy literary study. With Irish heritage in my blood and literature on my mind, studying the culture and writing of Ireland is a perfect topic for me.

      From what I’ve learned about Irish Literature, I recognize the numerous connections from the writing to reality. Irish Literature bases itself off of family, culture, and storytelling. On the trip to Ireland, I spoke with an 80 year old Irishman who told me stories about their experiences during the depression and growing up in early 21st century Ireland. His story was much like others. His family barely had enough resources to get by. They ate anything that was soft enough to chew and drank any liquid available. More important than the details was the manner in which he presented this information. We were sitting around a table, and the man hunched over and got stern faced. He made it seem like this story was of grave importance and secrecy. He used hand motions and facial expressions to give us a visual of what life was truly like. I imagined that is how the Irish typically portray their stories. Storytelling is as much of a part of the culture in Ireland as eating McDonald’s and watching baseball is to America.

      Throughout Irish history, literature has played a large part in Ireland’s culture. Hopefully literature will continue to be important to the people of Ireland in the future.