Women and Relationships in Contemporary Irish Women’s Short Stories

Since the advent of second wave feminism in the 1960s contemporary Irish women's writing has become an increasingly vivid and important facet of Irish literature. Many Irish women have chosen to write for the modern media in the form of journalism, magazine articles, television drama or radio broadcasts, in order to reach a broad readership and gain publicity.1 They also have chosen to work in a variety of literary genres, particularly the novel and the short story. There have been some notable, if gradual, changes in many aspects of Irish women's roles and lives in general since ‘the other voice’ emerged in Irish society in the aftermath of the Eamon De Valera period in the 1960s. It is evident that many contemporary Irish women's short stories reflect some of these changes in Irish women's lives. It is also the case that some Irish female writers are active feminists or have been engaged with the women's movement; consequently, their literary works tend to be ‘gynocentric’ and consciously concerned with feminist issues. For example, one of the foremost activists of the women's movements among Irish female writers is Mary Dorcey. Dorcey is also one of the founder members of Irish women's organisations such as the Irish Gay Rights Movement (founded in 1974) and Irish Women United (founded in 1975). Other Irish female writers such as Maeve Kelly and Evelyn Conlon are also feministconscious as regards women's rights. Their short stories explicitly uncover female unrest in the face of prejudice as well as giving voice to the feminist outcry for justice. Generally speaking, there is a wide range of writing styles as well as choice of topics and representations of Irish women in short stories by contemporary Irish female writers. Some Irish women's stories, such as those by Éilís Ní Dhuibhne and Marilyn McLaughlin, appeared in the late 1990s and after the millennium, and consequently present assertive and independent female characters.