Traditional Medicine in the Irish Literary Revival

"Walker-Dunseith's study of Yeats, Gregory and Synge constitutes a significant and original intervention in the growing body of critical literature on Irish Studies and medical humanities. Focusing on a representative range of their writing, she convincingly demonstrates the importance to her chosen authors of the practice of traditional folk medicine in their creation of literary works geared towards national revival and cultural rejuvenation."

- Alex Davis, Professor of Modern Literature, University College Cork, Ireland

This book explores representations of traditional medicine and healing practices in Irish Revival-era literature spanning from the late nineteenth century to the early twentieth century. Specifically, the book focuses on the work of William Butler Yeats, Lady Augusta Gregory, and John Millington Synge. The author examines folk medical practices and analyses how folk medicine appears in literature, bringing to light fresh contexts and materials including diaries, letters, folklore collections, and medical texts. By writing the first book to explore the place of traditional medicine in Irish literature, Walker-Dunseith sheds light on a distinctive area of Irish life and practice that gestures towards the possibility of a culture and nation in the act of healing itself and questioning nationalistic discourses.

Holly May Walker-Dunseith received her PhD in Irish Literature and Medical Humanities from University College Cork, Ireland.