Globalizing Identity: Irish theatre in a postnational economy

For the better part of the twentieth century, Irish identity has been firmly but uncomfortably characterized by national identity. Over the last decade, the "Celtic Tiger" and membership in the European Union have changed the economic and social make-up of Ireland, creating a culture that derives part of its richness out of the clash between the local and the global. For the first time since the famine, immigration to the island outstrips emigration. In an increasingly diverse Ireland, not all peoples will share common narratives of the past; how does collective memory shift in light of new realities brought about my immigration?  Recent scholarship on Irish drama has focused on postcolonial issues, but few scholars have paid attention to Ireland's growing internationalism. This paper will address recent works by Sebastian Barry and Marina Carr to argue that identity is shaped by the encounter between collective memory and current political realities. Taking dramatic texts and theatrical reception into account, I will argue that Barry uses historical revisionism to critique accepted notions of Irish identity, whereas Marina Carr -- who at first glance is a less politically-oriented playwright -- resists literary tradition by creating new myths that challenge the traditional triad of myth, memory and history in Irish theatre.