• Irelands Culture 
• The Irish Language
• Literature in Irish
• Literature in English
• Art
• Architecture
• Music
• Film
• Sport

Ireland’s Culture

In today’s increasingly homogenous world contemporary Irish culture is reflective of a progressively pluralist, multicultural society. Generated by the slow, complex fusion of the traditions of the coloniser and the colonised, of British and Gaelic peoples, it is a rich weave of foreign and native influences, in which modern and traditional energies are in vibrant tension.

The traditional lore preserved by the early Irish poets has left a colourful heritage of mythical and historical stories. Modern writers in turn have drawn on these stories to enrich their own work. Irish folklore also draws on international motifs and forms such as wonder tales and the love songs of the troubadours.

Among the better known stories are those of the legendary heroes such as Fionn Mac Cumhaill who gained wisdom as a boy by tasting the ‘salmon of knowledge’, Balor, who killed his grandfather and whose horrific eye destroyed all on which it gazed, and Cú Chulainn, hero of the epic poem the Táin Bó Cúailgne (The Cattle Raid of Cooley).

Much lore also centres on the patron saints of various localities. These saints appear in legend as miracle workers who used their sacred powers to banish monsters, cure illnesses and provide food for the people in time of need. The most celebrated of these are the national saint, Patrick, Colm Cille and Saint Brigid, who as protectress of farming and livestock, preserves many of the attributes of an earth goddess.

Ireland is famous for its fairy-lore which is connected to early Celtic beliefs of the dead living on as a dazzling community in their burial chambers. Many stories are told of humans being brought into fairy raths (ancient earthwork structures). The wailing of a special female spirit, the bean sí, heralds a death.

A wide range of beliefs and practices are associated with death and burial. The ‘waking’ of the dead was an important social ritual which involved praying, singing, storytelling and games to pay tribute to the one who had died.

The indigenous festivals of the Irish calendar such as Lá Fhéile Bríde (Saint Brigid’s feast - 1 February), Lúnasa (August) and Oíche Shamhna (Hallowe’en) all had their own special forms of amusements and preserved vestiges of earlier rituals.

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The Irish Language

Irish is the State’s first official language. It is one of the Celtic family of languages and is closely related to Scots Gaelic, Welsh and Breton. Most people spoke Irish until the early nineteenth century but by 1891 over 85 per cent spoke English only. The latest figures available show that 43 per cent of adults say they have a knowledge of Irish.

The State actively encourages the use of Irish. Today it is widely spoken in areas known as the Gaeltacht, situated mainly along the western seaboard. The

Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs has responsibility for promoting the cultural, social and economic welfare of the Gaeltacht through Údarás na Gaeltachta (Gaeltacht Authority), a statutory board under its aegis, which serves as a development authority for Gaeltacht areas with some of its members being elected by the people of the Gaeltacht. The Irish Language Agency (Foras na Gaeilge) of the Language Body (An Foras Teanga), one of the six all-island bodies established following the Good Friday Agreement, has responsibility for the promotion and encouragement of the use of Irish as a vernacular throughout the island of Ireland. Irish is a core subject in primary and secondary schools and a growing number of schools offer tuition exclusively through Irish (Gaelscoileanna). There is a national radio service (Raidio na Gaeltachta) and an Irish language television service (TG4). In addition, there are two Irish Language weekly newspapers: Lá and Foinse. On 1 January 2007, the Irish language became the 23rd official language of the European Union.

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Literature in Irish

Written literature in Old Irish dates from the sixth century. Work surviving from that period includes prose sagas, historical and legal material, commentaries on biblical texts and lyrical and devotional poetry. During the early modern period (1250-1650) secular schools trained poets (filidh) to compose elaborate verse often in praise of their patrons. Fenian (Ossianic) literature was popular at this time and continued to influence writers in English through to the nineteenth century. The works centre on the legendary hero Fionn Mac Cumhaill, his son Oisín and their followers, the Fianna. When the Gaelic order ended in the seventeenth century these poets lost their patrons and were displaced. At this point, Irish prose writers began to preserve a record of Gaelic civilisation. Through the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, members of the clergy, schoolteachers, artisans and some colourful poets continued to write in Irish. One of the best known poets of this time is Brian Merriman (1747-1805) author of the frequently translated Cúirt an Mheán Oíche (Midnight Court).

In the twentieth century writers such as Patrick Pearse (1879-1916) and Pádraic Ó Conaire (1883-1928) opened Irish literature to European influences. Distinguished writers and poets of the modern era include Liam Ó Flaithearta (1896-1984), Máirtín Ó Cadhain (1906-70), Seosamh Mac Grianna (1901-90), Máirtín Ó Direáin (1910-1988), Seán Ó Ríordáin (1916-77), Máire Mhac an tSaoi (b. 1922), Seán Ó Tuama (b. 1926) and Michael Hartnett (1941-99). Some wrote in English and Irish often translating the work of their peers as well as early texts. Although few wrote for the stage, among those who did were Douglas Hyde (1860-1949), the first president of Ireland, Brendan Behan (1923-64), Máiréad Ní Ghráda (1899-1971) and Cristóir Ó Floinn (b. 1927).

Over a hundred new titles in Irish are published every year, including books for children. Foremost among these contemporary writers are Liam Ó Muirthile (b. 1950), Nuala Ní Dhómhnaill (b. 1952), Áine Ní Ghlinn (b. 1955), Cathal Ó Searcaigh (b. 1956), Biddy Jenkinson (b. 1949) and Colm Breathnach (b. 1961).

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Literature in English

Writing in English has flourished in Ireland since the eighteenth century. Among the first generation of these writers were the satirist Jonathan Swift (1667-1745), author of Gulliver’s Travels (1726), the political essayist Edmund Burke (1729-97) and the dramatists Oliver Goldsmith (1728-74) and Richard Brinsley Sheridan (1751-1816).

Building on that tradition of brilliant wit, Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) and George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950) wrote major works for the London stage. Shaw won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1925. Through the nineteenth century a growing interest in Ireland’s ancient Celtic culture influenced Irish writers, most significantly William Butler Yeats (1865-1939) whose work inspired the modern renaissance in Irish writing. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature in 1923. With his friends Lady Gregory (1852-1932) and Edward Martyn (1859-1924) he established an Irish National Theatre (the Abbey Theatre) to create an identifiably Irish literature in English. Some of the theatre’s early works created a storm of controversy but are now firm favourites in the repertoire, for example John Millington Synge’s (1871-1909) work, The Playboy of the Western World (1907) and Seán O’Casey’s (1880-1964) The Plough and the Stars (1926).

James Joyce (1882-1941), no admirer of the Yeatsian literary revival, left Ireland in the early years of the twentieth century settling ultimately in Paris. His pioneering modernist novel, Ulysses (1922) grafts the street life of his native Dublin onto the plot of Homer’s Odyssey to chronicle a single day in the lives of its protagonists Leopold and Molly Bloom and Stephen Dedalus. Joyce’s parodic playfulness inspired the work of Brian O’Nolan (Flann O’Brien) (1911-1966), who also wrote in Irish. Another Dublin exile in Paris, Samuel Beckett (1906-1989) wrote in a minimalist vein, often in French. His play, Waiting for Godot (1953) has become a twentieth century classic of absurdism. He received the Nobel Prize for literature in 1969.

French authors provided a model for short story writers Frank O’Connor (1903-66) and Seán Ó Faoláin (1900-91) who blended continental realism with the native oral tradition to create the modern Irish short story. The form expanded in Illustration showing some of Ireland’s best known writers: James Joyce, Flann O’Brien, Brendan Behan, Samuel Beckett, W.B. Yeats & Oscar Wilde the hands of Liam O’Flaherty (1896-1984), Mary Lavin (1912-96), John McGahern (1934-2006), William Trevor (b. 1928) and Bernard MacLaverty (b. 1942).

The generation of poets after Yeats included very different talents in Patrick Kavanagh (1904-67) and Louis MacNeice (1907-1963). Kavanagh’s example as a poet of rural realism inspired Seamus Heaney (b. 1939) whose vision of the redemptive power of poetry earned him a Nobel Prize for literature in 1995. Among his contemporaries, Thomas Kinsella (b. 1928), John Montague (b. 1929), Michael Longley (b. 1939) and Derek Mahon (b. 1941) have explored the complexities of modern Ireland in work covering historical, political and existential themes. Women poets, Eavan Boland (b. 1945), Eiléan Ní Chuilleanáin (b. 1942), Medbh McGuckian (b. 1950) and Paula Meehan (b. 1955) challenge the traditional male domination of Irish literature.

Likewise, in fiction, women have been to the fore. Writers such as Somerville (1858-1949) and Ross (1862-1915), Elizabeth Bowen (1899-1973) and Molly Keane (1905-1996) were born into and chronicled the fading world of the Anglo-Irish aristocracy. This world provides the setting too for many of the novels of Jennifer Johnston (b. 1930) and John Banville (b. 1945).

The establishment of the new state gave writers a new focus on the Catholic bourgeoisie, including Kate O’Brien (1897-1974), Edna O Brien (b.1930) and Colm Tóibín (b. 1955). The novels of John McGahern focus on the difficulties and beauty of life in rural Ireland and the writing of small-town life by Pat McCabe (b. 1955) sustains the familiar note of black comedy in Irish writing. The relative darkness of these novelists’ work is absent from the romances of Maeve Binchy, Deirdre Purcell and Marian Keyes.

In recent years, several internationally renowned Irish writers have won the prestigious Booker prize. Recent winners include Anne Enright (b. 1962) in 2007, John Banville (b. 1945) in 2005 and Roddy Doyle (b. 1958) in 1993, join Iris Murdoch (1919 – 1999) who won the prize in 1978.

For all its experimental beginnings, Irish drama is resolutely realist. Its major exponents today are Brian Friel (b. 1929), author of Dancing at Lughnasa, Tom Kilroy (b. 1934), Tom Murphy (b. 1935), Frank McGuinness (b.1953), Sebastian Barry (b. 1955), Marina Carr (b. 1965), Martin McDonagh (b. 1971) and Conor McPherson (b. 1971). In their work, lines of satire and dark comedy cross with a lyrical sensibility to produce a disturbing vision of contemporary Ireland.

Irish theatre companies such as the Abbey, the Druid and the Gate regularly tour their productions to international venues and host the work of visiting theatre companies to Ireland.

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Art

The earliest Irish art consists of carvings on megalithic monuments dating from 3500 B.C. Celtic art reached its apogee in the manuscripts of the gospels such as the books of Durrow and Kells. These feature interlaced animal and geometric forms in bright primary colours. After the ninth century Irish art absorbed Viking, Romanesque and Gothic influences producing, for example, richly carved stone High Crosses.

From the mid-seventeenth century decorative arts such as goldsmithery, plasterwork and glass flourished in conjunction with the large-scale public buildings of the time. After the Act of Union (1801) many artists moved to London but those who remained in Ireland established organisations which today continue to support artists such as The Royal Hibernian Academy (RHA) (founded in 1823) which presents an annual exhibition of contemporary Irish painters and sculptors. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Irish painters looked to the French Impressionists for a new idiom. These include William Leech (1881-1968), Walter Osborne (1859-1903), John Lavery (1856-1941) and Roderic O’Conor (1860-1940). Crossing from Impressionism to Expressionism, Jack B. Yeats (1871-1957) towers over his contemporaries much as his brother, the poet W.B. Yeats was pre-eminent among his peers.

Younger artists who trained under modernists in Paris include Evie Hone (1894-1955), Mainie Jellett (1897-1944) and Mary Swanzy (1882-1978). In 1943 a group of younger artists founded the Irish Exhibition of Living Art as a reaction to the conventionality of the RHA. These artists, working in an abstract expressionist mode, include Louis le Brocquy (b. 1916), Norah McGuinness (1901-80) and Patrick Scott (b. 1921). Close to them too are Tony O’Malley (1913-2003), Camille Souter (b. 1929) and Barrie Cooke (b. 1931) who experiment within the tradition of landscape painting and often use tropical and desert settings for their work. A strong new expressionist movement emerged in the late twentieth century including Brian Maguire (b. 1951), Eithne Jordan (b. 1954), Michael Mulcahy (b. 1952), Michael Cullen (b. 1946), Dorothy Cross (b. 1956) and Alice Maher (b. 1956).

Sculpture in the nineteenth century was heroic and monumental as exemplified by the statues of Oliver Goldsmith and Edmund Burke by John Henry Foley (1819-1974) outside Trinity College, Dublin. This tradition continued into the twentieth century with the works of Oisin Kelly (1915-1981), Seamus Murphy (1907-74) and Hilary Heron (1923-77) pioneering the use of new casting techniques and promoting the concept of an Irish vernacular sculpture. Contemporary sculpture is more abstract and witty as can be seen in the diverse work of John Behan (b. 1932), Michael Warren (b. 1950), Edward Delaney (b. 1930), Eilis O’Connell (b. 1953), and Kathy Prendergast (b. 1958).

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Architecture

The earliest examples of architecture visible in Ireland today are megalithic tombs (3500-2000 B.C.). These include dolmens (three or more standing stones supporting one or two capstones) and passage graves such as Newgrange. Stone Age techniques survived into the twelfth century and are still visible in the beehive structure of early churches and monasteries such as those on Skellig Michael and Gallarus Oratory in County Kerry. During the Iron Age (after 500 B.C.) large circular stone forts were built, usually on hilltops such as Dun Aengus on the Aran Islands.

The Round Tower is almost exclusive to Ireland and is found in many parts of the country. Built from the tenth to the twelfth centuries on monastic sites, the most notable being at Clonmacnoise in County Offaly, round towers were frequently more than 30 metres high. Their primary purpose seems to have been to serve as bell towers although the raised level of the doorway would suggest they may also have had defensive uses. After this period, Romanesque architecture with its intricate and ornate carved stonework influenced the shape of Irish churches, the finest examples being Cormac’s Chapel on the Rock of Cashel in County Tipperary and Clonfert Cathedral in County Galway. The arrival of the Anglo-Normans heralded the introduction of the early Gothic style of architecture, with the two Dublin cathedrals, Christ Church and Saint Patrick’s, being the most notable. The Normans built substantial castles with large rectangular keeps, many of which, like Trim in County Meath and Carrickfergus in County Antrim, still figure on the landscape. The fifteenth century castle at Cahir in County Tipperary is the most impressive of the surviving feudal strongholds.

Classical buildings date from the late seventeenth century. At the turn of the eighteenth century Palladian mansions were emulating Italian palazzos, but by the end of the century, this style had given way to neo-classicism and Dublin became an outstanding example of Georgian architecture. Key buildings from this period include the Custom House and the Four Courts in Dublin, with their distinctive copper domes, designed by James Gandon (1743-1823). By the nineteenth century Gothic revivalism was in vogue influencing the design of churches such as Saint Finn Barre’s Cathedral (1867) in Cork and adapted to domestic architecture in the construction of Ashford Castle (c.1870), County Mayo.

Preservation and revival of old buildings became increasingly important towards the end of the last century with major projects such as the Royal Hospital Kilmainham, now the home of the Irish Museum of Modern Art (IMMA), the The Custom House, Dublin Castle and the Casino at Marino, Dublin, being fine examples of architectural restoration. Temple Bar, the Historic Area Restoration Project (HARP) around Smithfield and the docklands where the Irish Financial Services Centre (IFSC) is located, are three notable urban development initiatives in Dublin. Over the twentieth century Irish cities have expanded rapidly and the emphasis today is on innovative high density housing.

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Music

Music has always been an important part of Irish culture, from the traditional accompaniment to festivals and funerals in the form of playing and ballad singing, to Irish dancing which is very much alive in Irish communities around the world. The harp was the dominant instrument in early historical times. One of the earliest Irish composers whose work survives is Turlough O’Carolan (1670-1738), the blind harpist and one of the last of the ancient bardic tradition.

There is also a classical tradition in the forms pioneered by other European composers. Eighteenth century Dublin was an important musical centre and Handel chose to premiere his Messiah there in 1742. John Field (1782-1837), creator of the nocturne, influenced composers such as Chopin and Glinka, and himself taught music in Moscow, where he is buried. Around the turn of the twentieth century two composers, Charles Villiers Stanford (1852-1924) and Hamilton Harty (1879-1941), created Irish symphonies drawing on native songs. In the twentieth century traditional Irish music inspired modern composers such as Seán Ó Riada (1931-71), A.J. Potter (1918-80), Seoirse Bodley (b. 1933) and the crossover artists Shaun Davey (b. 1948), Ronan Guilfoyle (b. 1958) and Mícheál Ó Súilleabháin (b. 1950).

In the 1930s and 1940s Brian Boydell (1917-2000), Frederick May (1911-1985) and Aloys Fleischmann (1910-1992) brought a progressive continental European dimension to Irish art music. This continues in the work of Raymond Deane (b. 1953) who studied in Germany, and Gerald Barry (b. 1952) whose operas include The Intelligence Park, and John Buckley (b. 1951). Young classical composers include Grainne Mulvey (b. 1966), Ian Wilson (b. 1964), Benjamin Dwyer (b. 1965) and Elaine Agnew (b. 1967).

Traditional Irish music is now popular in many countries through the influence of groups as diverse as Clannad, the Chieftains, Altan, Dervish, Lunasa and Anuna, all of whom perform in a modern context without compromising the integrity of the original sound. Reflecting this versatility is the phenomenon of Riverdance, with music composed by Bill Whelan, combining the best of Irish song, music and dance. Siamsa Tíre, based in Tralee, County Kerry, is a world-renowned folk dance company while Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann play a prominent part in the development and preservation of Irish traditional music and dance. On the jazz scene guitarist Louis Stewart has played with leading international musicians. Popular bands such as U2, Ash, Snow Patrol and Westlife top the charts at home and abroad, as do individual singers Van Morrison, Sinéad O’Connor, Damien Rice and Enya.

There are three full-time professional orchestras and three main opera companies performing in Ireland. There is also a wealth of individual classical musical talent such as the well known pianists John O’Conor, and the up and coming Finghin Collins. Well established on the international concert circuit are Bernadette Greevy, Ann Murray and Suzanne Murphy.

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Film

Films have been made in and about Ireland since the Lumiére Brothers filmed in Sackville (now O’Connell) Street in 1897. In 1910 the American, Sidney Olcott, filmed The Lad from Old Ireland in New York and Kerry, the first film ever made on two continents. Ireland has since played host to many international directors - Alfred Hitchcock, John Ford, Francis Ford Coppola, John Huston and Stephen Spielberg.

Throughout the last century Irish film makers were prolific in their production of amateur films, newsreels, documentaries and informational films. It was not until the 1970s however that a new wave of indigenously produced fiction films began to provide a striking alternative to foreign produced representations of Ireland.

Irish film makers Bob Quinn, Joe Comerford, Cathal Black, Pat Murphy and Thaddeus O’Sullivan produced work that dealt with previously unexplored issues of culture, class, gender and nationality. Their work and that of subsequent producers, directors and screen writers is facilitated by the Irish Film Board who fund production and distribution of feature films, shorts, animated films and Irish language productions.

Irish films have enjoyed international acclaim such as Michael Collins (Neil Jordan 1996), I Went Down (Paddy Breathnach 1997), The General (John Boorman 1998), Nora (Pat Murphy 2000), About Adam (Gerry Stembridge 2001), When Brendan met Trudy (Kieron J. Walsh 2001) and Disco Pigs (Kirsten Sheridan 2001).

Annual film festivals in Dublin, Cork, Galway and Belfast showcase Irish and international films while a year-round venue for art house cinema is provided at the Irish Film Centre in Dublin, the Kino in Cork and the Town Hall in Galway.

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Sport

Among the most popular sports are Ireland’s traditional games, Gaelic football, hurling and camogie, which are played almost exclusively in Ireland and in Irish communities abroad.  Games in the All-Ireland hurling and football championships attract large attendances throughout the summer months culminating in the finals, the highlight of Ireland’s sporting year, which are held in Croke Park in Dublin.

The Irish bloodstock industry is considered one of the finest in the world.

Soccer is popular at all ages from school to senior level in domestic competitions with many players performing with distinction in clubs in Britain.  The Irish International team, which plays as the Republic of Ireland, has over the past number of years enjoyed some success and is well supported by enthusiastic and friendly fans.

Rugby football is popular at club and schools level with the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) fielding teams in the annual Six Nations championship.  Irish rugby players have participated in the British and Irish Lions tours as players, coaches and managers.

Ireland has a strong reputation for field sports such as shooting, fishing and also for equestrian events, show jumping and horse racing. The Irish bloodstock industry is considered one of the finest in the world. As Ireland has over 3,000 kilometres of coastline and numerous inland waterways, sailing and boating are long-established sports. A wide range of marine leisure activities such as fishing, water-skiing, canoeing, wind-surfing, diving and swimming are also pursued.

Over 400 golf courses offer facilities through the country.  All-Ireland teams compete in international amateur golfing competitions with the major Irish tournaments on the international professional circuit being the Irish Open and the Smurfit European Open.

The Ryder Cup was held in Ireland in 2006, with top Irish golfers Pádraig Harrington, Darren Clarke and Paul McGinley contributing to the European team’s victory over the United States.  Harrington later went on to win the British Open Championship, one of golf’s four “Majors”, in Carnoustie, Scotland in July 2007.

Ireland has a history of successfully hosting prestigious sporting events and hosted the Special Olympics in June 2003.  This was the largest sporting event ever to take place in Ireland.  Over 7,000 special athletes from 160 countries came to Ireland to participate in this unique sporting achievement.

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