Representations of Migrancy in the Poetry of Contemporary Irish Poets in Britain

Abstract

This thesis is a work of poetry criticism. It explores the theme of migrancy in the poetry of Bernard O’Donoghue, Peter McDonald, David Wheatley, Caitríona O’Reilly, and Conor O’Callaghan, five contemporary Irish poets who currently live in Britain. My main research question is, how does the theme of migration find expression in the poetry of O’Donoghue et al.? My method is founded on close reading as the principal means to understanding the poem. The context of postnationalism, sometimes termed post-Ireland, is an important cultural context. This is highlighted by critics such as Anthony Bradley, Elmer Kennedy-Andrews, and the contributors to the edited volume Post-Ireland? Essays on Contemporary Irish Poetry. This thesis explores the poetry in light of this context, particularly the ways in which migrancy intersects with this phenomenon. Place and poetic identity are important concepts to all five migrant poets. This investigation into representations of migrancy concludes that, while place and identity are common themes for migrant poets, the way migrancy finds expression is variable. The migrant experience is more of a process than a fixed position, and, therefore, the way that this finds expression in a given poet’s work is changeable and, even, contradictory. This study also finds that the poetry of the O’Donoghue group – supposedly ‘minor’ figures within contemporary Irish poetry – is a significant contribution to the canon of migrant Irish literature.