Post-Millennial Irish Fiction

This chapter explores the ways in which Irish fiction has engaged with some of the defining developments in the Republic of Ireland since the turn of the millennium. It charts the experimentations in form and content that define much of Ireland’s recent fiction, as well as the ways in which writers refine and revisit the traditions of the Irish novel. In addition to tracing changes and continuities in the work of established authors such as Anne Enright, Sebastian Barry, and Colm Tóibín, the chapter examines the formal and thematic choices of the newer generation that has come to prominence since 2000. The analysis finds that a unifying feature of this body of fiction is a prevalent desire by novelists to cultivate a sense of empathetic understanding and humane connection with others as a means of countering the moral indifference and isolationist perspectives of neoliberal ideologies and policies.