Writing Ireland's Working Class

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-ix

   PDF

2. Introduction

   • Michael Pierse

   Pages 1-50

3. The Shadow of Seán: O’Casey, Commitment and the Literature of Dublin’s Working Class

   • Michael Pierse

   Pages 51-72

4. Angry Young Men: Class Injuries and Masculinity

   • Michael Pierse

   Pages 73-109

5. From Rocking the Cradle to Rocking the System: Writing Working-Class Women

   • Michael Pierse

   Pages 110-142

6. Industry and the City: Workers in Struggle

   • Michael Pierse

   Pages 143-166

7. Prison Stories: Writing Dublin at its Limits

   • Michael Pierse

   Pages 167-190

8. Return of the Oppressed: Sexual Repression, Culture and Class

   • Michael Pierse

   Pages 191-221

9. Revising the Revolution: Roddy Doyle’s A Star Called Henry, Historiography, Politics and Proletarian Consciousness

   • Michael Pierse

   Pages 222-246

10. Conclusion

    • Michael Pierse

    Pages 247-258

11. Back Matter

    Pages 259-345

    PDF

Exploring writing of working-class Dublin after Seán O'Casey, this book breaks new ground in Irish Studies, unearthing submerged narratives of class in Irish life. Examining how working-class identity is depicted by authors like Brendan Behan and Roddy Doyle, it discusses how this hidden, urban Ireland has appeared in the country's literature.

• culture
• English literature
• identity
• Narrative
• Seán O’Casey
• British and Irish Literature

'Sometimes books cross your path in which love and scholarship come together. Pierse writes about the culture of the neglected Dublin urban working class with passion and timeliness. [ ] This sparkling book will change the scope of Irish studies.'

Professor Sally R. Munt, Times Higher Education

'[Writing Ireland's Working Class] deserves to be read by anyone interested not only in Irish cultural studies, but also in the shape and flow of class dynamics within Irish society [ It] has provided a strong, cogent analysis from which future debates and discussions can develop and grow. [ ] It's a marvelous achievement, insightful and provocative, for which Pierse richly deserves our praise and thanks.'

Dr Conor McCabe, Irish Left Review

'A huge step forward in the overdue recovery and evaluation of Irish working-class writing, a labour of love in memory of those who often found neither labour nor love, yet, as the plays and novels discussed suggest, 'for a' that' retained a zest for life.'

- H. Gustav Klaus, University of Rostok, Germany

'This is a work which is rigorous in its commitment, not simply to its textual subjects, but to the larger cultural and social framework in which the study seeks to locate them [...] it can be strongly recommended to all those weary of the over-representation in criticism of certain Irish literary tropes and who might, following the Foreword, be interested in considering the potential re-shaping of the values and methods of the discipline of Irish Studies.'

- Professor Shaun Richards, University of Staffordshire, Irish University Review (Spring/Summer 2012)

MICHAEL PIERSE is a Communications teacher at Coláiste Íde CFE in Finglas, Dublin, Ireland. He is a former editor of the regional Cavan and Monaghan Echo newspaper group, and completed his PhD in English at Trinity College Dublin. He has published academic work on Flann O'Brien and Dermot Bolger, as well as many articles on social issues and current affairs.

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