At Swim-Two-Birds by Flann O'Brien is a work of multiple purposes, at the same time an experimental narrative that responds directly to the modernist work of James Joyce (acting as a precursor of post-modernist thought), and a study of the tortuous challenges faced by the dichotomies of Irish culture. At Swim is at its most discreet, a parody text. O'Brien skillfully brings together the many layers of his novel's world to make a series of critical observations about modernist ideology and realism, as well as exhibiting a necessary dialogue about the formation and perception of Irish culture. A third important aspect of At Swim-Two-Birds is closer to O'Brien's life experience: this is a novel about Irish identity. The Irish identity illustrated by O'Brien, however, is not easily explained. The entire novel is deliberately isolated within the Irish arena, and almost every aspect of At Swim reflects on the complexity of "Irishness." From the end of the 19th century until the 1930s in which At Swim is set, various strands of Irish revivalism were rebelling against the anglicisation of the country with its heavy cultural impact. The revivalist movement, attempting to reclaim a pre-colonial Gaelic identity, energized the celebration of Irish myth and legend and became enormously popular. Parallel to the revivalist movement was a similar Irish language movement, which publicized texts and narratives centered on overtly Gaelic subjects. Groups focused on this task championed Irish warriors and heroes as role models, figures of manhood and moral virtue, which further added to the reevaluation of contemporary Irish identity in this period. Opposition to cultural protectionists who would preserve an "Irish" Ireland, ...... middle of paper ...... the novel: At Swim-Two-Birds by Flann O'Brien. Literature of the Twentieth Century, vol. 39, no. 2 (summer 1993), pp. 208-229. Hofstra. Network. April 20, 2014. Evans, Eibhlin. “A gap in the schedule”. Critical Survey, Vol. 15, no. 1, Anglo-Irish Writing (2003), pp. 91-107. Berghahn Books. Network. April 20, 2014. Joyce, James. A portrait of the artist as a young man. Penguin Books, 2002. Digital file.McMullen, Kim. "Culture as Conversation: Flann O'Brien's Postmodern Dialogue with Irish Tradition." NOVEL: A forum on fiction, vol. 27, no. 1 (Fall 1993), pp. 62-84. Duke University Press. Network. April 24, 2014. O'Grady, Thomas B. "High Anxiety: Flann O'Brien's Portrait of the Artist." Studies in the Novel, vol. 21, no. 2 (summer 1989), pp. 200-208. University of North Texas. Network. April 20, 2014. O'Brien, Flann. At Swim-Two-Birds. Dublin: Dalkey Archive Press, 2012. Print.