Introduction
The introduction establishes the context for the book by describing the literary, critical, and historical contexts for its readings of Irish coastal literature from the late nineteenth century to the present. It describes the recent history of critical discussion of water and the sea in relation to literature globally, and connects this history to connected projects in the Irish and British archipelago, establishing how this book is interested principally in the many moments of transition between land and sea that occur in Irish literature. It proceeds by tracing the various and changing ways in which the coast, the sea, and the ocean have shaped the operations of a series of interconnected literary and visual works that radiate from the island’s shores. The collective presence of these hydro-cultures invites a different perspective on literature and history that complements the comparative study of Ireland in four nations, Atlantic, and oceanic histories.