

Cassandra S. Tully de Lope, "Masculinity and Identity in Irish Literature: Heroes, Lads, and Fathers" (Routledge, 2024)
Oct 14, 2025
Cassandra S. Tully de Lope, a researcher specializing in contemporary Irish literature and masculinities, discusses her groundbreaking book on masculinity in Irish literature. She explores the literary evolution of male identities, from warrior archetypes like Cú Chulainn to the complexities of Celtic Tiger 'lads' and traditional fathers. Cassandra shares insights on how corpus linguistics reveals the limitations of these masculine models and examines generational conflicts between fathers and sons. She also highlights her innovative methodology and future research plans.
AI Snips
Chapters
Books
Transcript
Episode notes
From Mr. Darcy To A Research Program
- Cassandra describes how a student essay on Mr. Darcy launched her lifelong interest in masculinity studies.
- She then combined that literary background with corpus linguistics during her MA and PhD to create the book.
Cú Chulainn As An Impossible Ideal
- Cú Chulainn functions as an archetype that men aspire to and inevitably fail to sustain.
- That heroic warrior ideal burdens male characters with impossible expectations across cultures.
Pair Corpus Counts With Close Reading
- Combine corpus linguistics with close reading to reveal patterns humans miss.
- Use computational counts for breadth and human analysis for contextual nuance.