Representations of Jews in Irish Literature

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Additionally, in conjunction with the conference an exhibition will be organised at Ulster University in Belfast, and subsequently in Dublin at the Royal Irish Academy in collaboration with the Irish-Jewish Museum.

Above all, this study is concerned with the process of ‘othering’ of the Jews and will investigate the forces in consciousness and culture which have generated long-standing assumptions, biases, stereotypes and myths out of which the ‘Jewish other’ is produced.

The project will demonstrate how representations of Jews in Irish Literature tell us not only about Jewish identity but also give an insight into Irish identity. Specifically, the project asks questions of how the Irish view themselves as well as offering a psychohistory of Irishness, and what it means to consider oneself ‘Irish’.

One of the aims of this project was to create a bibliographic database. The following document offers a comprehensive list of the representation to Jews in all the main genres of Irish literature. A significant research output, this study is the first of its kind to be completed and offers a substantial collection of references to Jews and Jewishness in Irish literature from the earliest times to the present.

View the bibliography, compiled by Dr Barry Montgomery.