Literary anthologies feature many of Ireland's most well-known authors, Oscar Wilde, W. B. Yeats, J. M. Synge, George Bernard Shaw, Seán O'Casey, James Joyce, and Brendan Behan among them. While a number of notable scholars have contended that middle-class Irish Americans rejected or ignored this rebellious group of poets, playwrights, and novelists in favor of a conservative Catholic subculture brought over with the mass migration of the mid-nineteenth century, Stephen G. Butler demonstrates that the transatlantic relationship between these figures and a segment of Irish American journalists and citizens is more complicated—and sometimes more collaborative—than previously acknowledged.

Irish Writers in the Irish American Press spans the period from Oscar Wilde's 1882 American lecture tour to the months following JFK's assassination and covers the century in which Irish American identity was shaped by immigration, religion, politics, and economic advancement. Through a close engagement with Irish American periodicals, Butler offers a more nuanced understanding of the connections between Irish literary studies and Irish American culture during this period.

“Butler makes an important scholarly contribution with his reanimation and careful study of the Irish American press. Not only does he bring needed attention to key Irish American literary men like John Boyle O'Reilly, but he also sheds light on the work of a generation of Irish American editors and Irish nationalist Catholic publications.”—American Literary History

“Butler's book will reward students of New York Irish history since so many of the controversies he describes took place there and so much of the Irish American press was situated there. He makes the case that Irish writers and Irish literature 'were a matter of importance to many Irish Americans.' And Butler's case is far more nuanced and sophisticated than the clichés embraced by many previous scholars.”—New York Irish History

“Butler's book contains a wealth of valuable archival materials and a compelling exploration of how golden-age Irish literature and drama circulated in the United States. There are many surprising discoveries within its pages.”—Sean Latham, editor of James Joyce Quarterly

“Butler does a particularly thorough job of examining how Irish America responded to Irish writers and their works, with writing that is relaxed, clear, and detailed.”—Shaun O'Connell, author of Remarkable, Unspeakable New York: A Literary History

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