From Gaelic annals and medieval poetry to contemporary Irish literature, A History of Irish Literature and the Environment examines the connections between the Irish environment and Irish literary culture. Themes such as Ireland's island ecology, the ecological history of colonial-era plantation and deforestation, the Great Famine, cultural attitudes towards animals and towards the land, the postcolonial politics of food and energy generation, and the Covid-19 pandemic - this book shows how these factors determine not only a history of the Irish environment but also provide fresh perspectives from which to understand and analyze Irish literature. An international team of contributors provides a comprehensive analysis of Irish literature to show how the literary has always been deeply engaged with environmental questions in Ireland, a crucial  new perspective in an age of climate crisis. A History of Irish Literature and the Environment reveals the socio-cultural, racial, and gendered aspects embedded in questions of the Irish environment.

‘… a landmark publication, with the potential to change the field of Irish Studies comprehensively and for the better.’

Patrick Lonergan Source: Irish Studies Review

‘A demonstration of what environmental studies can achieve.’

John Kerrigan Source: London Review of Books

‘By tracing the deep past of Irish literature, this collection emphatically demonstrates that matters of ecology are interwoven into all aspects of human and non-human existence, and that this is not a new concern. The authors are not promising a rosy future. However, in this collection they provide the tools to participate in the type of discourse that can begin to undermine the capitalistic values that have generated environmental crisis. This book comes not a moment too soon.’

Ryan Dennis Source: Irish University Review

‘Indispensable … a landmark publication, with the potential to change the field of Irish Studies comprehensively and for the better.’

Patrick Lonergan Source: Irish Studies Review

‘The editor and the individual authors have collectively advanced and enhanced the breadth and quality of Irish EnvironmentalHumanities.’

Eoin Flannery Source: English Studies