Celtic Connections: Irish-Scottish Relations and the Politics of Culture

by Willy Maley (Editor), Alison O'Malley-Younger (Editor)

While a number of published works approach the shared concerns of Ireland and Scotland, no major volume has offered a sustained and up-to-date analysis of the cultural connections between the two, despite the fact that these border crossings continue to be politically suggestive. The current collection addresses this area of comparative critical neglect, focusing on writers, from Charles Robert Maturin to Liam McIlvanney, whose work offers insights into debates about identity and politics in these two neighbour nations, too often overwhelmed by connections with their larger neighbour, England.

The essays in this collection are distinct yet connected, and are designed to come together like the intricate cross-bars and precise patterning of the plaid to capture the complexity of the Celtic connections they address. They move from pre-history to postmodernism, from Gothic to Gaelic and from Macbeth to Marxism, incorporating gender and genre, and providing a detailed survey of responses to the Irish-Scottish paradigm.

254 pages, ebook

First published January 1, 2012

About the author

William Timothy "Willy" Maley is a Scottish literary critic, editor, teacher and writer. He was Professor of Renaissance Studies at the University of Glasgow, and founder, with Philip Hobsbaum, of Glasgow's Creative Writing programme. He retired from the university in 2024. He is a Fellow of the English Association (FEA). He writes on early modern English literature from Spenser to Milton, and on modern Scottish and Irish writing.