Irish Literary Studies Series No. 26.

Anglo-Irish Modernism and the Maternal argues that a focus on the construction of mother-figures in Irish culture illuminates the extraordinary achievement of the Irish modernists. Essentially, the seminal Irish modernists - Moore, Joyce, Synge, Yeats and O'Casey - resisted those mother-figures sanctioned by cultural discourses, re-writing her in order to elude her. In this, they not only re-constituted language and representation, they accessed and re-figured their own creative selves.

In Tragedy and Irish Literature, McDonald considers the culture of suffering, loss, and guilt in the work of J.M. Synge, Sean O'Casey and Samuel Beckett. He applies external ideas of tragedy to the three dramatists and also discerns particular sorts of tragedy within their own work. While alert to the real differences between the three writers, the book also traces common themes and preoccupations. It identifies a conflict between form and content, between heightened language and debased reality as the hallmark of Irish tragedy.

This book is a detailed compilation of writings and lectures about the life of James Larkin. It reviews his influence in history and on various movements across the country and abroad. James Larkin: Lion of the Fold includes writing by James Larkin and is a timely reminder of the long road that the Irish people have travelled together. The book considers much of the history of the early Irish Labour Movement and includes a vast range of opinion on James Larkin.

Sean O'Casey is recognized as one of the most important Irish playwrights of the 20th century. When he was in his early 20s, he committed himself to the nationalist struggle to free Ireland from English domination. During the Dublin General Strike and Lock-Out of 1913, he came to appreciate the importance of social class, and he rejected Irish nationalism in favor of international socialism. Though The Shadow of a Gunman and Juno and the Paycock helped save the Abbey Theatre from near bankruptcy, The Plough and the Stars drew open criticism in 1926, when nationalists rioted over O'Casey's treatment of the Easter Rebellion. This reference work is a comprehensive guide to O'Casey's plays. The volume begins with an introductory essay that discusses the political themes of his plays, the controversy surrounding his works in Ireland, the response to his plays in England and other countries, and the growth of academic interest in O'Casey in the 1960s. Plot summaries and critical overviews are provided for all of his dramatic works, and production credits are given for major performances of his plays. The volume includes extensive annotated bibliographical information for secondary sources, including reviews.