The contemporary conditions of Irish language literature

This chapter proposes to give a general survey of literature in Irish from 1980-2020. Rather than focus on individual genres, it will treat six dominant trends that can be identified in contemporary writing: (1) literature that draws on elements of the Gaelic oral tradition; (2) adaptations or work inspired by Early Irish literature; (3) literature produced in response to historical sources; (4) literary works whose subject matter was previously considered taboo; (5) the experimental strand; (6) the influence of international writers on contemporary writing in Irish. The various infrastructure supporting Irish language literature - criticism, publishers, awards, journals, organisations, schemes - will also be considered in order to survey the conditions in which this literature emerges.