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Ireland has generated an inordinately large number of storytellers, and Irish short stories bear a striking resemblance to Irish jokes. The tradition of telling jokes and stories in pubs resulted in the core of Irish-written literature, and many Irish short stories have the same narrative structure as the jokes on which they are based.

This reference is a comprehensive guide to humor in Irish literature from the 16th century to the present day. An introductory essay discusses the essential nature of Irish humor, and how Irish humor developed out of pain and tragedy that resulted in a diaspora. The chapters that follow are devoted to particular centuries. Each chapter includes entries for individual authors, with entries arranged chronologically to show the development of humor over time. Each entry discusses the nature of humor in the author's works and includes a bibliography. A detailed index allows alphabetical access to information on authors and subjects.