Flowering of Irish literary talent in the late 19th and early 20th century.
It was closely allied with a strong political nationalism and a revival of interest in Ireland's Gaelic heritage (see Gaelic revival). Other factors in the renaissance were the retelling of ancient heroic legends in books such as Standish O'Grady's History of Ireland (1878, 1880) and Douglas Hyde's A Literary History of Ireland (1899), and the Gaelic League, formed in 1893 to revive the Irish language and culture. It developed into a vigorous literary force centred on William Butler Yeats ; other important figures were Augusta Gregory , John Millington Synge , and Sean O'Casey . See also Abbey Theatre.