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. Among his books are Synge and the Irish Language, Men and Feminism in Modern Literature and Idir Dha Chultur. He writes regularly for 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 twenty countries and has taught at University College, Dublin, for sixteen years. He is married with three children.

"A masterpiece...Kiberd is surely the finest critic of Irish literature." -- Owen Dudley Edwards Scotsman "A critical study laced with wit, energy and unrelenting adroitness of discourse...A remarkable achievement." -- Thomas Flanagan New York Times "Provocative, contentious, sly, tendentious, challenging, witty...A resounding success." -- Gerry Dukes Irish Independent "Blessedly jargon-free, easy to read and - like all of Kilberd's work - full of bravura cleverness." -- Roy Foster The Times

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. Among his books are Synge and the Irish Language, Men and Feminism in Modern Literature and Idir Dha Chultur. He writes regularly for 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 twenty countries and has taught at University College, Dublin, for sixteen years. He is married with three children.

"A masterpiece...Kiberd is surely the finest critic of Irish literature." -- Owen Dudley Edwards Scotsman "A critical study laced with wit, energy and unrelenting adroitness of discourse...A remarkable achievement." -- Thomas Flanagan New York Times "Provocative, contentious, sly, tendentious, challenging, witty...A resounding success." -- Gerry Dukes Irish Independent "Blessedly jargon-free, easy to read and - like all of Kilberd's work - full of bravura cleverness." -- Roy Foster The Times