What is Celtic Futurism?

Anarres Project

On this episode of Conversations on Anarres, we talk with Irish historian, Dr. Christopher J.V. Loughlin, who has been examining ancient Irish tales of sea voyages, the immrama,-- which literally means tales of "rowing about". He finds within them the seeds of a unique brand of speculative thinking he calls Celtic Futurism.

Many of these immrama stories date back to the 7th and 8th centuries CE and detail journeys to far away spiritual lands with mystical elements and fantastic creatures. Dr. Loughlin argues that these stories help us to talk about Irish speculative fiction and the history of Ireland, particularly about its experience with colonialism, empire, and racism. He also thinks the way these stories frame time traveling help us to learn what it means to think critically about power and global solidarity with other liberation struggles.

Dr. Loughlin has been a contributor to the Anarres Project for many years, writing on our blog about Irish politics and solidarity with global liberation struggles. He is a labour historian of modern Britain and Ireland. He was employed as lecturer in history at Newcastle University, 2018-21, and obtained his training at Queen’s University, Belfast. His first monograph, "Labour and the Politics of Disloyalty in Belfast, 1921-39", was published in 2018. He has also published work on civil rights, loyalty and the foundation of Northern Ireland, gender, sexualities and industrial relations. His work has recently appeared in the "Routledge Handbook of Literature and Class", and the SFRA Review.

Music: Video excerpt is from "M'ANUM" by M'ANUM, composed by Michael McGlynn.