Description

Book Synopsis

This book, the first devoted to the history and contemporary forms of Irish performance art in the north and south of Ireland, brings together contributions by prominent Irish artists and major academics. It features rigorous critical and theoretical analysis as well as historical commentaries that provide an absorbing sense of the rich histories of performance art in Ireland. Presenting diverse visual documentation of performance art practices, this collection shows how performance art in Ireland engaged with – and in turn influenced and led – contemporary performance and Live Art internationally.

Co-published with Live Art Development Agency.



Trade Review

'Philips rightly foregrounds the importance of her work as a reference book for performance arts training and ‘a stimulus for future projects and the evolution of Live Art in Ireland and else - where’. Yet, with its timely exploration of the increasingly interdisciplinary nature of arts practice, informed by intersecting political interests and influences, this volume also makes a major contribution to Irish studies and cultural studies more broadly.'

-- Siobhán O’Gorman, New Theatre Quarterly

'Walsh provides an extraordinarily thoughtful analysis of the term ‘post-conflict’ in an Irish performance context, deftly traversing fifty years of political struggles and negotiations from ‘the Troubles’ in Northern Ireland to the investigations of clerical sexual abuse across the country (pp. 211–14). These are just two examples of the sense the book provokes that the vibrant, churning, frequently invisible history of performance art in Ireland is very much worth investigating. I fervently hope that Phillips’s volume and the names and works it brings to a wider audience for the first time pave the way for further exploration and analysis of these artists and their performance practices.'

-- Karen Quigley, Theatre Research International

Table of Contents

Performing Political Acts: Performance Art in Northern Ireland: Ritual, Catharsis, and Transformation, André Stitt

Bbeyond and the Art of Participation, Karine Talec

Dublin and Performance Art, Twenty Years of Action 1970-1990, Amanda Coogan

The Development of Performance and Sound Art in Cork, Megs Morley interviews Danny McCarthy

Polyphonic Resonance: Sound Art in Ireland, EL Putnam

Survey: Ireland South of the Border High Performance 1984 Issue 25, Anthony Sheehan

The Development of Irish Feminist Performance Art in the 1980s and early 1990s, Kate Antosik-Parsons

Developing Dialogues: Live Art and Femininity in Post-Conflict Ireland, Helena Walsh

Performance Art in Ireland the New Millennium, Michelle Browne

Right Here Right Now, Cliodhna Shaffrey

Fragments on The Performance Collective: Subject to Ongoing Change at The Galway Arts Centre, Dublin, Ireland, Fergus Byrne

Out of Ireland: Irish Performance Art Internationally, Áine Phillips

Performance Art in Ireland: A History

    Product form

    £28.45

    Includes FREE delivery

    RRP £29.95 – you save £1.50 (5%)

    Order before 4pm tomorrow for delivery by Tue 23 Jun 2026.

    A Paperback / softback by Aine Phillips

    Out of stock


      View other formats and editions of Performance Art in Ireland: A History by Aine Phillips

      Publisher: Intellect Books
      Publication Date: 15/04/2015
      ISBN13: 9781783204281, 978-1783204281
      ISBN10: 1783204281

      Description

      Book Synopsis

      This book, the first devoted to the history and contemporary forms of Irish performance art in the north and south of Ireland, brings together contributions by prominent Irish artists and major academics. It features rigorous critical and theoretical analysis as well as historical commentaries that provide an absorbing sense of the rich histories of performance art in Ireland. Presenting diverse visual documentation of performance art practices, this collection shows how performance art in Ireland engaged with – and in turn influenced and led – contemporary performance and Live Art internationally.

      Co-published with Live Art Development Agency.



      Trade Review

      'Philips rightly foregrounds the importance of her work as a reference book for performance arts training and ‘a stimulus for future projects and the evolution of Live Art in Ireland and else - where’. Yet, with its timely exploration of the increasingly interdisciplinary nature of arts practice, informed by intersecting political interests and influences, this volume also makes a major contribution to Irish studies and cultural studies more broadly.'

      -- Siobhán O’Gorman, New Theatre Quarterly

      'Walsh provides an extraordinarily thoughtful analysis of the term ‘post-conflict’ in an Irish performance context, deftly traversing fifty years of political struggles and negotiations from ‘the Troubles’ in Northern Ireland to the investigations of clerical sexual abuse across the country (pp. 211–14). These are just two examples of the sense the book provokes that the vibrant, churning, frequently invisible history of performance art in Ireland is very much worth investigating. I fervently hope that Phillips’s volume and the names and works it brings to a wider audience for the first time pave the way for further exploration and analysis of these artists and their performance practices.'

      -- Karen Quigley, Theatre Research International

      Table of Contents

      Performing Political Acts: Performance Art in Northern Ireland: Ritual, Catharsis, and Transformation, André Stitt

      Bbeyond and the Art of Participation, Karine Talec

      Dublin and Performance Art, Twenty Years of Action 1970-1990, Amanda Coogan

      The Development of Performance and Sound Art in Cork, Megs Morley interviews Danny McCarthy

      Polyphonic Resonance: Sound Art in Ireland, EL Putnam

      Survey: Ireland South of the Border High Performance 1984 Issue 25, Anthony Sheehan

      The Development of Irish Feminist Performance Art in the 1980s and early 1990s, Kate Antosik-Parsons

      Developing Dialogues: Live Art and Femininity in Post-Conflict Ireland, Helena Walsh

      Performance Art in Ireland the New Millennium, Michelle Browne

      Right Here Right Now, Cliodhna Shaffrey

      Fragments on The Performance Collective: Subject to Ongoing Change at The Galway Arts Centre, Dublin, Ireland, Fergus Byrne

      Out of Ireland: Irish Performance Art Internationally, Áine Phillips

      Recently viewed products

      © 2026 Book Curl

        • American Express
        • Apple Pay
        • Diners Club
        • Discover
        • Google Pay
        • Maestro
        • Mastercard
        • PayPal
        • Shop Pay
        • Union Pay
        • Visa

        Login

        Forgot your password?

        Don't have an account yet?
        Create account