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Chapter 6 - Literature and the Technologies of Radio and Television

from Part II - Infrastructures

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 January 2023

By
Robert J. Savage
Edited by
Margaret Kelleher  and
James O'Sullivan
Margaret Kelleher
Affiliation:
University College Dublin
James O'Sullivan
Affiliation:
University College Cork
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Summary

Across the globe radio developed rapidly as a popular and transformative technology in the aftermath of the Great War. In the 1920s it quickly became a means of mass communication reaching millions, enabling listeners access to news, information, and entertainment. In Ireland the advent of ‘wireless’ broadcasting coincided with independence and the partition of the island. Initially, broadcasting in Ireland looked inward as it sought to help define and consolidate the deeply conservative states that emerged from the violence of the Irish Revolution. However, identities throughout the island of Ireland have evolved to challenge the narrow, defensive, insular states that struggled to assert themselves a century ago. This chapter addresses the evolution of broadcasting in Ireland and how Irish writers have successfully used radio and television to find regional, national, and global audiences. Although presented in an Irish context, much of their writing transcends national borders because it explores the human condition in a variety of dramatic and comedic forms.

Keywords

Radio ÉireannBBCRTÉdramalanguagethe troublesviolencereligion
Type
Chapter
Information
Technology in Irish Literature and Culture , pp. 99 - 117
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

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References

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