Gaelic Prose in the Irish Free State 1922-1939

Philip O'Leary is Associate Professor in the Irish Studies program at Boston College. His book, Ideology and Innovation: The Prose Literature of the Gaelic Revival, 1881-1921, was awarded the 1995 Donald Murphy Prize by the American Conference for Irish Studies, and nominated for the 1995 Irish Times prize for non-fiction. He is co-General Editor of the Cambridge History of Irish Literature

• Preface; Introduction: A world turned rightside up?; Maimed from the start: Debates within the Gaelic literary movement in the new state; The real and better Ireland: Rural life in Gaelic prose; Bringing Mohammed to the mountain: New directions in Gaelic prose; Wellspring of nationality: The Gaelic writer and the Irish past; 'Rebuilding Tara in our mental world': The Gaelic author and the heroic tradition; Flawed, failed, forgotten? The question of translation; 'The trail of the serpent': The Gaelic movement and Irish literature in English; At the cow's rump or in the national theatre? Issues in Gaelic drama; Taking stock, taking chances; Notes; Selected bibliography; Index

"charts the fascinating period of the cultural renaissance when An Gum went on an unprecedented publishing spree of works into Irish ... this substantial volume is exceptionally well got up with silk marker and head and tail bands, real cloth and a jacket you won't want to throw away." Books Ireland Sept 2004 "[There are] a small select group of literary scholars who, though largely writing in English, have made a genuine contribution to the study of literature in Irish. The distinguishing marks of this group include not just their keen critical skills and ... their knowledge of Irish, but a deep understanding of the historical, political, and cultural contexts, and a respect for the tradition, as evidenced by their scrupulous use of primary sources. Declan Kiberd is one such scholar. Philip O'Leary is another." Canadian Journal of Irish Studies 31 (1) 2005 "This important work contributes not only to the Irish history of the book and print culture but also to Irish political and cultural studies and to the study of general and world histories of print culture, particularly those involving bilingual and multilingual societies." "This comprehensive history of Gaelic literature takes an unequalled position in this Gaelic Irish literary field of investigation: no extant work could compare with its scope and range of the literature and contexts." Irish Studies Review 13 (4) 2005