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This course explores key thematic and formal preoccupations of leading Irish fiction writers of the contemporary era, whose work has flourished during a period of seismic social, cultural and political change. The course examines issues that have inspired writers from different social and regional backgrounds, and analyses how they have engaged with a host of insistent and often divisive issues, including: the legacies of the colonial past; the erosion of traditional social and political value systems; changing attitudes to gender, religion and sexuality; the relationship between Irish history, trauma and identity; the exposure of hidden injustices and abusive practices within families and institutions; and the treatment of often stigmatised groups such as the unemployed and the mentally ill. Writers studied include Anne Enright, Eimear McBride, Patrick McCabe, John McGahern and Sally Rooney. The course is taught by means of a weekly 2-hour lecture and a 1-hour seminar.  

To introduce students to the formal, thematic and linguistic diversity of Irish fiction since 1990;

To develop students’ knowledge of the social, literary, cultural and historical contexts that shape and inform the work of Irish fiction writers since 1990;

To explore the ways in which contemporary Irish fiction writers have interrogated and reconfigured personal, communal and national identities in different contexts and circumstances;

To develop students’ understanding of the varieties of fictional response by writers to issues of weighty significance in post-1990 Irish society;

To examine the role of contemporary Irish fiction writers in reimagining a society undergoing profound social, cultural, political, economic and attitudinal change;

To engage with theoretical perspectives and selected critical writings on Irish fiction since 1990;

To develop skills of critical thought, speech, and writing in relation to the study of contemporary Irish fiction.  

By the end of this course, students should be able to:

display a thorough familiarity with a range of works by contemporary Irish fiction writers;

demonstrate, under invigilated exam conditions, a secure knowledge of the key thematic concerns, formal choices and narrative strategies of leading Irish fiction writers since 1990;

evince a critical understanding of the literary, cultural and historical contexts that have shaped the canon of contemporary Irish fiction;

display a critical appreciation of the ways in which contemporary Irish fiction writers have engaged with the multifaceted changes in post-1990 Irish society and their impact on national and self-understanding;  

demonstrate an ability to apply relevant critical and theoretical perspectives and concepts to post-1990 Irish fiction. 

Please see recommended reading

Online written exam: 80%; Online multiple choice exam: 20%

Enright, Anne. The Gathering (Vintage, 2008)  

McBride, Eimear. A Girl is a Half-formed Thing (Faber, 2014)  

McCabe, Patrick. The Butcher Boy (Picador, 2007)  

McGahern, John. Amongst Women (Faber, 2008)  

Rooney, Sally. Normal People (Faber, 2018)  

Trevor, William. Felicia’s Journey (Penguin, 2010).