Riding the tiger: Ireland 1990-2011 in the fictional families of Colm Toibin, Anne Enright and Roddy Doyle

Danielle Margaret O'Leary

Research output: ThesisDoctoral Thesis

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Abstract

This thesis examines selected prose fiction of three major writers – Anne Enright, Roddy Doyle and Colm Tóibín – in relation to societal and economic change in Ireland in the prelude, duration and aftermath of the boom called the ‘Celtic Tiger’. In particular, the thesis discusses how their representations of Irish families trace major shifts in the nation’s life and consciousness over this period, and engage with broader questions of history, memory and national identity. The theme of the family has a long tradition in Irish fiction. It offers writers an opportunity for a rapprochement with the past that registers recent and contemporary developments: dissatisfaction with traditional nationalism and the rise of historical revisionism; the declining status and influence of religion, with associated changes in laws and community customs; sudden economic prosperity and decline, leading both to new levels of consumerism and to widespread unemployment; and the social challenge of greatly increased immigration. Other specific issues, such as the clerical sex abuse scandals of recent years, domestic violence, inter-generational conflict, and non-standard relationships are also articulated through the medium of their domestic narratives. The thesis examines a range of novels by Enright, Tóibín and Doyle from the 1990s to 2011, and also considers the significance of their collective turn to the explorative short story form as the boom declined. Overall, it concludes that the hectic circumstances of the Celtic Tiger’s rise and fall drew from these writers a major reassessment of the formerly accepted co-ordinates and goals of Irish society, saw them assert the necessity of a break with existing cultural visions, and challenged their imagination to provide new visions for the future. In their family narratives – often observing new forms of inter-relation between fathers, mothers and children – these writers have offered a conspectus of both continuity and change in the wider Irish social context.
Original languageEnglish
QualificationDoctor of Philosophy
Supervisors/Advisors
  • Dolin, Kieran, Supervisor
  • Lynch, Andrew, Supervisor
Publication statusUnpublished - 2015

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