Intercultural similarities are usually studied between countries that share similar socio-political structures or belong to the same cultural spheres. However, this research reveals notable cultural parallels between Ireland and China - two nations that are geographically distant and characterised by divergent politico-legal systems and ideological traditions. Drawing on data from a nationwide survey and interdisciplinary research encompassing social anthropology, law, history, religion, and philosophy, this paper investigates the underlying causes of these similarities from a legal-cultural perspective. The findings suggest that people's social mentalities and attitudes towards law and legal compliance are not necessarily determined by the politico-legal systems in which they live. Rather, their shared socio-political, cultural, and historical experiences may foster comparable legal consciousness and behavioural norms across otherwise disparate societies. This study challenges some of Hofstede's cultural dimensions theory, which would not anticipate such convergence between countries as seemingly dissimilar as Ireland and China.
The article undertakes an analysis of the Middle Irish prosimetric tale Buile Suibhne in the light of the current cultural resignification of the Irish-language tradition from a resource for nation-building to a locus of inspiration for modern ecological thought. The general theoretical framework is provided by Timothy Morton's concepts of "ecology without nature," "strange stranger," and especially "uncanny intimacy." The article contends that while many early Irish treatments of nature display features of the pastoral mode, favourably comparing idealised nature to civilisation, Buile Suibhne remains ambiguous in this respect. In addition, the tale contains exceptional passages where the main character blends into the environment in a disquieting, although often sympathising way. A possible explanation for the unique features of the text is the fact that it creatively combines material from various sources.
This essay explores early modern Anglophone poetry on Ireland, touching on neglected metrical innovators like Richard Stanihurst, an audacious translator of Virgil, as well as more familiar figures such as Spenser, Milton, and Marvell. Plantation poetry provides fresh angles on the ways in which an adverse Irish context could produce poetry that was both impactful and experimental. Joad Raymond's idea of "The Daily Muse," or poetry as journalism, fits Ireland, which in the period furnished the perfect interface for poetry as muse and news and gave rise to lasting lyrical work as well as opportunistic ephemera. When placed alongside lesser known and anonymous writers whose light verse may appear too transient for analysis, celebrated canonical works are brought into sharper relief. Bill McCormack's brilliant analysis of Lycidas and David Norbrook's rich contextual study of Marvell's Horatian Ode demonstrate exactly what immersion in an Irish environment can provide by way of reorienting early modern English poetry. The essay concludes by exploring some early modern echoes in modern Irish poetry.
