ABSTRACT
A specific research has demonstrated that Irish migration has been predominantly female, despite it’s under representation in popular imagery and reports. The representation of this problematic situation in contemporary Irish narrative is abundant, and the success of novels dealing with women's diasporic experiences in the twentieth century indicates that migration is as much a historical phenomenon as it is an issue of general interest and academic attention. A woman was talking to mother, talking on and on, about Brooklyn where her daughter had been. It began to listen". Despite these coincidences, neither of the authors has admitted any relation whatsoever between the two novels, which could indicate that female Irish migration is a topical and relevant issue per se that generates a genuine interest among contemporary writers. In The Light of Evening, the reader learns that the night before the departure people gathered at the family home, a practice known as the American Wake.
