Learning to be Irish
The second generation Irish and self -expression
I am delighted to share news with you about my friend Maria’s book launch in Medway next month. Maria is - as I am - second generation Irish and her book tackles this straight on. Maria has written about her experiences as a second generation Irish women in England, and the whole experience that comes with it. It is a cracking book, unlike anything else, an honest telling, mixed with poetry, prose, an unusual layout for a book, the variety in styles working well together. Maria is a talented and expressive writer, and I’d recommend her other work, too. Maria C. McCarthy’s blog.
Second generation Irish have previously been well represented in comedy, in music, in literature, usually through comedic interpretation as with Kate Kerrigan’s recent one-woman play Am I Irish Yet? talking about the ‘Plastic Paddy’ experience. It’s been awhile since I heard that expression. I’m hoping that Kate will expand on this play, as there is so much more to say… c’mon Kate!
I am having difficulty finding other narratives. Two such ones I wouldn’t start from here: the second generation Irish in Britain by Ray French, Moy McCrory & Kath McKay, and London Irish Fictions: narrative, diaspora and Identity by Tony Murray (shamefully) sit on my to be read pile and have done for years. After reading Maria’s book, I am inspired to give them a go, but after that where then?
What books or other would you recommend to me?
Thank you, Sarah x
I would recommend Clair Wills. Lovers and Strangers looks at migrants in Britain, including the Irish. Her most recent book, Missing Persons, or my Grandmother's secrets, is about unearthing family secrets. Clair Wills is second-generation Irish. I haven't read the Tony Murray book, but I met him (online), as he invited me to be a guest on the Irish Writers in London Summer School. His partner is Joanne O'Brien who was co-editor of Across the Water, Irish Women's Lives in Britain. Out of print, but you may find it online.