I.

Introduction

Irish Literature, literature written either in Gaelic (see Celtic Languages) or in English by writers of Irish birth who remain identified with Irish life and culture. For discussions of the work of those Irish-born writers in English who are closely identified with English life and literature—such as Jonathan Swift, Oliver Goldsmith, Richard Brinsley Sheridan, George Bernard Shaw, Oscar Wilde, and James Joyce—see Drama and Dramatic Arts: Western Theatre; English Literature; and articles under the names of individual writers. For a discussion of Irish literature in Gaelic, see Gaelic Literature.