‘Putting on the Green Jersey’: Irish artists as critical insiders and co-authors of an authentic nation brand

Abstract

ABSTRACT There is a remarkable confidence in Irish culture right now. In the decade to 2024, Ireland successfully emerged from a devastating recession while overseeing significant investment by the State in the arts. A new generation of artists are shaping Irish identity, forged in the heat of a rapidly growing multicultural population, to construct a new national narrative of Ireland. This paper examines the instrumentalisation of artists in Ireland’s nation brand. Based on interviews with renowned Irish artists, the author applies an autoethnographic approach to capture specific insights from these elite expert informants. The study establishes that artists are complicit in their use of the arts as a tool of soft power. It confirms their unique role in building a nation’s reputation, and engaging international publics with the multiplicity of narratives, within an evolving Irish identity. It calls for a conceptual repositioning of artists as critical co-authors in effective nation branding.