From 1969–1998, the ‘Troubles’ attracted sustained international attention, prompting an extensive body of dramatic and fictional responses. Across this literature, the majority of representations of the Troubles centre on working-class communities, homes, and individuals, and often reinforce hegemonic narratives that construct Northern Ireland as ‘a place apart’—not only geographically distinct from the rest of Ireland and the United Kingdom, but also socially and culturally Other. This presentation explores the issues at stake in such representations by examining how working-class life in the North of Ireland has been repeatedly conflated with violence, division, and social dysfunction. It considers the ideological work performed by these dominant tropes within Troubles-era drama and fiction, as well as the ways in which writers and dramatists have subverted stereotypes and challenged dominant ideological frameworks. By foregrounding class as a critical lens, the presentation argues for a reassessment of Northern Irish cultural production that moves beyond ethnonational binaries to account for the material and social realities shaping literary responses to the Troubles.

Ciara McAllister is a postdoctoral research fellow in the College of Arts, Social Sciences and Celtic Studies at the University of Galway, having previously lectured in English and Drama at Queen’s University Belfast. Her research centres on 20th and 21st Century Irish literature and drama, with a particular focus on gender, class, and violence, and she is an incoming Prize Officer for the Irish Society for Theatre Research executive committee. Her first monograph is under contract with Routledge.

This seminar is available in hybrid format: in-person in 27 University Square and online via Teams

[Image: Still from Kenneth Branagh, 'Belfast' (2021)]