Autobiografía o memoria? El discurso de la identidad en el caso irlandés

There are many autobiographical writings that have appeared throughout history until today, filling pages and pages with personal and private experiences or public ones, related to the world and society around us. This article attempts to clarify the vague barrier existing when using the terms ‘autobiography’ and ‘memoir’ to refer to elements belonging to the autobiographical narrative genre. In order to achieve this goal, it is necessary to differentiate between the purpose and the content we may find in any of the two cases. This will involve an approach to several classics of the genre as well as to the various studies already published about the issue. In the Irish case we find an even more difficult differentiation of the terms ‘autobiography’ and ‘memoir’. However, in autobiographical Irish writings we will always find a rich historic and cultural source giving evidence of the reconstruction and resurrection of the Irish identity during the last centuries.