Definition
In the most general sense, literature written in English, rather than Gaelic, by Irish authors. In its narrower and more common sense, literature written largely by Irish Protestants loyal to the English throne during the "Protestant Ascendancy" in Ireland, the period from the late 17th century until the end of English rule in 1921. During that period many of the most distinguished authors in English literature were born in Ireland, a fact that appears to have little influence on the work of George Farquahr, Richard Steele, Laurence Sterne, Richard Brinsley Sheridan, Oliver Goldsmith, Oscar Wilde, and George Bernard Shaw. With the exception of Shaw, all appeared to identify themselves as Englishmen.
Others, such as Edmund Burke and Jonathan Swift, while not identifying themselves as Irish, passionately denounced the oppressive features of English rule. Still others, such as the novelist Maria Edgeworth, the poet James Clarence Mangan, and the song composer Thomas Moore, drew upon Irish culture and themes to define their work.By the late 19th century a new group of Anglo Irish had arisen, impatient with England's refusal to grant Home Rule and defining themselves as Irish. Chief among these figures was William Butler Yeats, who returned to Celtic mythology as the inspirational source of his poetry. Yeats in turn influenced Lady Augusta Gregory, John Millington Synge, Sean O'Casey, and a host of talented writers who wrote for the Abbey Theatre. Their work spearheaded what came to be known as the Irish Renaissance. The establishment of the Irish republic in 1921 marked the end of "Anglo Irish" as a meaningful term, even in the six counties that constitute the Unionist state of Ulster (Northern Ireland). Distinguished Ulster poets such as John Montague, Seamus Heaney, and Derek Mahon identify themselves as Irish.
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