Declan Kiberd was born in Dublin in 1951. He took a degree in English and Irish at Trinity College Dublin, and he holds a doctorate from Oxford University. He writes in English and Irish and his books include: Synge And The Irish Language, Men And Feminism In Modern Literature and Idir Dha Chultur. He writes regularly in Irish newspapers, has prepared literary scripts for the BBC, and is a former director of the Yeats International Summer School. He has lectured on Irish culture in more than 20 countries and was appointed to the chair of Anglo-Irish Literature at University College Dublin, earlier this year.

Declan Kiberd's exciting literary survey, Inventing Ireland places textual analysis within its historical/ political context and sets out to explore and explain the development of modern Irish literature. Celebratory and optimistic as well as challenging, it is an international as well as Irish book written in a fast-moving, conversational rather than academic language.

Inventing Ireland is published by Jonathan Cape