Uchronian Scenarios in the Context of Irish Literature: The case of C. B. Gilford’s The Crooked Shamrock

• Main Author: Juan F. Elices
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Asociación Española de Estudios Irlandeses 2014-03-01
• Series: Estudios Irlandeses
• Subjects: Alternate history; Counterfactuals; Parody; Monarchy; Colonialism
• Online Access: http://www.estudiosirlandeses.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Juan_Elices_91.pdf

The outburst of the science fiction phenomenon, very much sustained on the notoriety and popular acclaim received by some television series and films, has made it very complex to withdraw the literary artefact proper from the influence exerted by these audio-visual productions. Even though the presence of the fantastic has been quite recurrent in the context of Irish literature, it would be difficult to argue that the tradition of science fiction and alternate history and writing, which builds up “what-if” speculations on the basis of what would have happened had certain historical episodes been different, has hardly constituted a significant trend, perhaps due to the prevalence of other more realistic genres and also due to the very limited critical and commercial impact these works have had. Among these works, C. B. Gilford’s The Crooked Shamrock stands as a most suitable example of how accepted and unquestioned historical assumptions can be re-invented and re-inscribed within an alternate historical scenario in which the author very suggestively constructs a series of counterfactuals that challenge the foundations of the Anglo-Irish relations. Therefore, the purpose of this paper will revolve around the way Gilford manages to build up “what-if” speculations that basically purport to unveil and undermine some long unquestioned historical assumptions.