Bibliographic Notes on Selected Irish-Australian Writers

The invitation from Professor Ronan McDonald to a symposium in late 2019 on ‘What Is Irish-Australian literature?’, with its implication of dealing with an unknown reality, led me to collect my scattered notes on what previous authors had said it was, or assumed it to be, and to write this essay.1 Before proceeding, two of my presuppositions need to be tabled: firstly, that Irish-Australian literature is here used as a broad term covering writings of varying genres which connect Australia and Ireland through author’s ancestry, subject matter or language; and second, that in recent decades authors discussing Australian literature often use a framework which neglects Irish-Australian literature as a topic. Popular reference works such as Bennett, Strauss, Wallace-Crabbe Birns and McNeer; Hergenhan, Bennett et al; Sarwal and Sarwal; Pierce; and Webby have passing mentions of Irish matters but no chapter or article on Irish-Australian literature. The framework in question summarises…