Irish Women's Writing and Culture under the Shadow of Austerity

This chapter asks how the cycles of boom and bust have impacted Irish women’s writing and culture between 1980 and 2020, and investigates the social, political, and cultural contexts during the period. We ask what sort of literature and theatre does austerity produce? And if the effects of austerity are gendered, then what are the gender-specific responses to austerity?

The chapter explores the focus of the collection under four headings, beginning with feminism, austerity, and conflict; arts and austerity; race and austerity; and spaces of austerity.