Medieval Invasions in Modern Irish Literature offers the first book-length treatment of the literary return to and reinterpretation of this twelfth century history by twentieth century Irish writers. The set of modern Irish writers explored in this book - W.B. Yeats, Lady Gregory, James Joyce, Sean O'Faolain, Micheal Mac Liammoir, Brendan Behan and Jamie O'Neill among other writers less known and outside of Ireland - returned to and reinterpreted this medieval history, using it to disrupt the received historical narrative, to reframe a range of present conflicts and to invite alternate conceptions of the modern nation.