This collection emerged from a conference held in TU Dublin at a time when the theme of «New Beginnings» seemed particularly apposite. In the few years prior to the gathering, COVID-19 had brought the world to almost a complete standstill. The need to recalibrate, to find new and more effective ways of dealing with the climate crisis, domestic and international politics, literary expression, and technology, was clearly felt by everyone. The fourteen essays deal with literary figures such as Jonathan Swift, George Moore, Colm Tóibín, Richard Murphy, Seamus Heaney, Michael O’Siadhail,...