Irish Republican Literature, 1968-1998

Between 1968 and 1998, Ireland saw an intense struggle for national self-determination waged on its own soil. This struggle was an extension of a centuries-long fight to free Ireland from British rule and establish an Irish Republic encompassing the entirety of the island. The present work examines the literary productions of Irish Republicans and analyzes the ways in which this literature interrogates notions of history and negotiates power within continually evolving conceptions of nationalism. By examining Irish Republican texts written between the resumption of armed conflict in the north of Ireland in 1968 and the Good Friday Agreement of 1998, David F. Fanning places the literature produced by members of the Irish Republican movement within the context of Irish history as well as within the history of Irish literature, demonstrating Irish Republican literature''s important place in discussions of the interplay between history and expression and between writing and warfare.