University of Cyprus Irish Studies Collective explores links between Ireland and Cyprus

Nicosia, Cyprus. The University of Cyprus’ Irish Studies Collective is highlighting connections between Ireland and Cyprus through international collaborations, literary events and talks. Its activities aim to extend beyond traditional literary criticism.

An Eastern Mediterranean hub for Irish studies

Launched in 2025 within the university’s Department of English Studies, the Collective works closely with the Embassy of Ireland.

It belongs to the European Federation of Associations and Centres of Irish Studies (EFACIS), a network comprising more than 50 universities, and serves as an Eastern Mediterranean focal point for Irish culture. Its core research areas include modern literature and cultural memory.

The founding director is Dr James Little, Assistant Professor in Drama, Theatre and Performance. The 40-year-old Irish academic arrived in Cyprus with his partner in 2024. He previously worked at University College Dublin (UCD) on a research project examining the cultural history of confinement in Ireland.

Literature and contemporary society

Little’s work, which includes expertise on Beckett, addresses contemporary and political themes such as confinement, conflict, migration and displacement.

In an interview, the discussion considered how these themes relate to expectations that English departments should focus on reading authors such as Jane Austen or Henry Fielding. Asked whether this reflected developments across academia, Little nodded.

“Well, a lot of the work that is happening in the department deals with issues that are really important in contemporary society,” he said.

He cited a Seamus Heaney poetry reading organised by the Collective last month, featuring readings in English and in Cypriot Greek, translated by department alumna Thea Paraskeva.

Drawing parallels through poetry

The poems were selected from Death of a Naturalist, Heaney’s first major published volume. The collection draws on childhood experiences, the formation of adult identities, family relationships and the rhythms of rural life. Heaney received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1995.

“This is a good example of what we are trying to do – drawing parallels between the two places,” Little said.

“But it doesn’t happen in a programmatic way. We are not sitting and thinking what the major themes should be and how to put them together. It draws on what’s already happening…”