There has been an Irish presence within the Caribbean since at least the 1620s and yet the historical and cultural dimensions of this encounter remain relatively under-researched and are often conceived of in reductive terms by crude markers such as red legs or poor whites. While there are some striking reminders of this history in the names of people and places, as well as the renowned St Patrick’s celebrations in Montserrat, this collection explores how the complications and contradictions of Irish-Caribbean relations are much richer and deeper than previously recognized.

Offering a range of disciplinary perspectives, this volume opens up conversations between scholars based in Caribbean Studies and those in Irish Studies across the fields of history, politics, expressive cultural forms, and everyday practices. It makes an important contribution to Irish studies by challenging the dominance of a US diasporic history and a disciplinary focus on cultural continuity and ancestry. Likewise, within Caribbean studies, the Irish presence troubles the orthodox historical models for understanding race and the plantation, the race and class structures, as well as questions of ethnic and religious minorities.

This ground-breaking collection of new work highlights the importance of understanding the transatlantic nexus between Ireland and the Caribbean in terms of the shared historical experiences of dislocation, diaspora and colonization, as well as of direct encounter. It pays tribute to the extraordinarily rich tradition of cultural expression that informs both cultures and their imagination of each other.

The volume includes a list of resources that will encourage and facilitate ongoing research in this field.