威廉巴特勒葉芝，亦譯葉慈、耶茨，愛爾蘭詩人、劇作家，著名的神秘主義者，是愛爾蘭文藝復(fù)興運(yùn)動的領(lǐng)袖，也是艾比劇院的創(chuàng)建者之一，被詩人艾略特譽(yù)為當(dāng)代最偉大的詩人。葉芝對戲劇也有濃厚的興趣，先后寫過26部劇本。

　　William Butler Yeats was an Irish poet and one of the foremost figures of 20th century literature. A pillar of both the Irish and British literary establishments, in his later years he served as an Irish Senator for two terms. Yeats was a driving force behind the Irish Literary Revival and, along with Lady Gregory, Edward Martyn, and others, founded the Abbey Theatre, where he served as its chief during its early years. In 1923 he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature as the first Irishman so honoured for what the Nobel Committee described as inspired poetry, which in a highly artistic form gives expression to the spirit of a whole nation. Yeats is generally considered one of the few writers who completed their greatest works after being awarded the Nobel Prize; such works include The Tower and The Winding Stair and Other Poems . Yeats was a very good friend of Indian Bengali poet Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore.

　　Yeats was born and educated in Dublin, but spent his childhood in County Sligo. He studied poetry in his youth and from an early age was fascinated by both Irish legends and the occult. Those topics feature in the first phase of his work, which lasted roughly until the turn of the 20th century. His earliest volume of verse was published in 1889 and those slow-paced and lyrical poems display debts to Edmund Spenser, Percy Bysshe Shelley, and the Pre-Raphaelite poets. From 1900, Yeats poetry grew more physical and realistic. He largely renounced the transcendental beliefs of his youth, though he remained preoccupied with physical and spiritual masks, as well as with cyclical theories of life.

　　意識流小說巨匠James Joyce

　　詹姆斯喬伊斯，愛爾蘭作家，詩人。1882 年2月2日生于都柏林信奉天主教的家庭，1941 年1月13日卒于瑞士蘇黎世。

　　James Augustine Aloysius Joyce was an Irish novelist and poet, considered to be one of the most influential writers in the modernist avant-garde of the early 20th century. Joyce is best known for Ulysses , a landmark work in which the episodes of Homers Odyssey are paralleled in an array of contrasting literary styles, perhaps most prominent amongst these the stream of consciousness technique he perfected. Other major works are the short-story collection Dubliners , and the novels A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man and Finnegans Wake . His complete oeuvre also includes three books of poetry, a play, occasional journalism, and his published letters.

　　Joyce was born to a middle class family in Dublin, where he excelled as a student at the Jesuit schools Clongowesand Belvedere, then at University College Dublin. In his early twenties he emigrated permanently to continental Europe, living in Trieste, Paris and Zurich. Though most of his adult life was spent abroad, Joyces fictional universe does not extend far beyond Dublin, and is populated largely by characters who closely resemble family members, enemies and friends from his time there; Ulysses in particular is set with precision in the streets and alleyways of the city. Shortly after the publication of Ulysses he elucidated this preoccupation somewhat, saying, For myself, I always write about Dublin, because if I can get to the heart of Dublin I can get to the heart of all the cities of the world. In the particular is contained the universal.

　　戲劇家George Bernard Shaw

　　蕭伯納愛爾蘭劇作家，1925年「因?yàn)樽髌肪哂欣硐胫髁x和人道主義」而獲諾貝爾文學(xué)獎，是英國現(xiàn)代杰出的現(xiàn)實(shí)主義戲劇作家，是世界著名的擅長幽默與諷刺的語言大師。蕭伯納的一生，是和社會主義運(yùn)動發(fā)生密切關(guān)系的一生，他認(rèn)真研讀過《資本論》，公開聲言他是一個普通的無產(chǎn)者，一個社會主義者。然而，由于世界觀上的局限性，他沒能成為無產(chǎn)階級戰(zhàn)士，而終生是一個資產(chǎn)階級改良主義者。

　　George Bernard Shaw was an Irish playwright and a co-founder of theLondon School of Economics. Although his first profitable writing was music and literary criticism, in which capacity he wrote many highly articulate pieces of journalism, his main talent was for drama, and he wrote more than 60 plays. He was also an essayist, novelist and short story writer. Nearly all his writings address prevailing social problems, but have a vein of comedy which makes their stark themes more palatable. Issues which engaged Shaws attention included education, marriage, religion, government, health care, and class privilege.

　　He was most angered by what he perceived as the exploitation of the working class. An ardent socialist, Shaw wrote many brochures and speeches for the Fabian Society. He became an accomplished orator in the furtherance of its causes, which included gaining equal rights for men and women, alleviating abuses of the working class, rescinding private ownership of productive land, and promoting healthy lifestyles. For a short time he was active in local politics, serving on the London County Council.

　　In 1898, Shaw married Charlotte Payne-Townshend, a fellow Fabian, whom he survived. They settled in Ayot St Lawrence in a house now called Shaws Corner. Shaw died there, aged 94, from chronic problems exacerbated by injuries he incurred by falling from a ladder.

　　He is the only person to have been awarded both a Nobel Prize in Literature and an Oscar , for his contributions to literature and for his work on the film Pygmalion , respectively Shaw wanted to refuse his Nobel Prize outright because he had no desire for public honours, but accepted it at his wifes behest: she considered it a tribute to Ireland. He did reject the monetary award, requesting it be used to finance translation of Swedish books into English.

　　荒誕派代言人Samuel Beckett

　　塞繆爾貝克特，20世紀(jì)愛爾蘭、法國作家，創(chuàng)作的領(lǐng)域包括戲劇、小說和詩歌，尤以戲劇成就最高。他是荒誕派戲劇的重要代表人物。1969年，他因以一種新的小說與戲劇的形式，以崇高的藝術(shù)表現(xiàn)人類的苦惱而獲得諾貝爾文學(xué)獎。

　　Samuel Barclay Beckett was an Irish avant-garde novelist, playwright,theatre director, and poet, who lived in Paris for most of his adult life and wrote in both English and French. His work offers a bleak, tragicomic outlook on human nature, often coupled with black comedy andgallows humour.

　　Beckett is widely regarded as among the most influential writers of the 20th century. Strongly influenced by James Joyce, he is considered one of the last modernists. As an inspiration to many later writers, he is also sometimes considered one of the first postmodernists. He is one of the key writers in what Martin Esslincalled the Theatre of the Absurd. His work became increasingly minimalist in his later career.

　　Beckett was awarded the 1969 Nobel Prize in Literature for his writing, whichin new forms for the novel and dramain the destitution of modern man acquires its elevation. He was elected Saoi of Aosdna in 1984.

　　小說家戲劇家Oscar Wilde

　　奧斯卡王爾德為劇作家、詩人、散文家，19世紀(jì)與蕭伯納齊名的英國才子。他的戲劇、詩作、小說則留給后人許多慣用語，如：活得快樂，就是最好的報復(fù)。

　　Oscar Fingal OFlahertie Wills Wilde was an Irish writer and poet. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of Londons most popular playwrights in the early 1890s. Today he is remembered for his epigrams and plays, and the circumstances of his imprisonment which was followed by his early death.

　　Wildes parents were successful Dublin intellectuals. Their son became fluent in French and German early in life. At university Wilde read Greats; he proved himself to be an outstanding classicist, first at Dublin, then at Oxford. He became known for his involvement in the rising philosophy of aestheticism, led by two of his tutors, Walter Pater and John Ruskin. After university, Wilde moved to London into fashionable cultural and social circles. As a spokesman for aestheticism, he tried his hand at various literary activities: he published a book of poems, lectured in the United States and Canada on the new English Renaissance in Art, and then returned to London where he worked prolifically as a journalist. Known for his biting wit, flamboyant dress, and glittering conversation, Wilde became one of the best-known personalities of his day.

　　At the turn of the 1890s, he refined his ideas about the supremacy of art in a series of dialogues and essays, and incorporated themes of decadence, duplicity, and beauty into his only novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray . The opportunity to construct aesthetic details precisely, and combine them with larger social themes, drew Wilde to write drama. He wrote Salome in French in Paris but it was refused a licence. Unperturbed, Wilde produced four society comedies in the early 1890s, which made him one of the most successful playwrights of late Victorian London.

　　At the height of his fame and success, while his masterpiece, The Importance of Being Earnest , was still on stage in London, Wilde had the Marquess of Queensberry, the father of his lover, Lord Alfred Douglas, prosecuted for libel, a charge carrying a penalty of up to two years in prison. The trial unearthed evidence that caused Wilde to drop his charges and led to his own arrest and trial for gross indecency with other men. After two more trials he was convicted and imprisoned for two years hard labour. In 1897, in prison, he wrote De Profundis which was published in 1905, a long letter which discusses his spiritual journey through his trials, forming a dark counterpoint to his earlier philosophy of pleasure. Upon his release he left immediately for France, never to return to Ireland or Britain. There he wrote his last work,The Ballad of Reading Gaol , a long poem commemorating the harsh rhythms of prison life. He died destitute in Paris at the age of forty-six.

　　天籟歌者恩雅Enya

　　恩雅，愛爾蘭共和國著名獨(dú)立音樂家。若以樂隊(duì)而言，恩雅一詞則包括：恩雅本人、Nicky Ryan、以及Roma Ryan。恩雅此名實(shí)則是愛爾蘭語名稱在英語中的拼音。

　　Enya is an Irish singer, instrumentalist and songwriter.

　　Enya began her musical career in 1980, when she briefly joined her family band Clannad before leaving to perform solo. She gained wider recognition for her music in the 1986 BBC series The Celts. Shortly afterwards, her 1988 album Watermark propelled her to further international fame and she became known for her distinctive sound, characterised by voice-layering, folk melodies, synthesised backdrops and ethereal reverberations. She has performed in 10 languages.

　　Enya continued to enjoy steady success during the 1990s and 2000s; her 2000 album A Day Without Rain sold 15 million copies, and became the top selling new age album of the 2000s in the US, according to Nielsen SoundScan. She was named the worlds best selling female artist of 2001. She is Irelands best-selling solo musician and is officially the countrys second-largest musical export after the band U2. Her album sales were more than 75 million worldwide, with over 26.5 million in album sales in the US. Her work has earned her four Grammy Awards and an Academy Award nomination.

　　著名的搖滾樂隊(duì)U2、The Cranberries

　　U2是一支成立于1976年的愛爾蘭都柏林搖滾樂隊(duì)，自80年代竄起走紅之后，一直到進(jìn)入21世紀(jì)的今天，仍然非?；钴S于全球流行音樂樂壇。音樂風(fēng)格上，除了傳統(tǒng)的另類搖滾之外，在90年代中、后期U2也曾一度嘗試過將搖滾與電子舞曲融合的流行搖滾。在歌曲主題上U2的創(chuàng)作內(nèi)容也非常廣泛，尤其是對于政治性的話題并不避諱，例如對社會公平公正的追求以及對人權(quán)問題的探討。

　　U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2s early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music. Throughout the groups musical pursuits, they have maintained a sound built on melodic instrumentals, highlighted by The Edges timbrally varied guitar sounds and Bonos expressive vocals. Their lyrics, often embellished with spiritual imagery, focus on personal themes and sociopolitical concerns.

　　卡百利樂隊(duì) ，又譯為小紅莓樂隊(duì)、紅草莓樂隊(duì)、小紅莓合唱團(tuán)，1990年代成立于愛爾蘭利默里克。與U2、Sinead OConnor、Enya等一樣，被譽(yù)為是帶領(lǐng)愛爾蘭音樂走向世界的重要力量?？ò倮麡逢?duì)一共有5張錄音室專輯，2003年，隨著樂隊(duì)成員們紛紛宣布單飛，卡百利一度沉寂了六年。這期間，樂隊(duì)主唱Dolores曾經(jīng)發(fā)行過兩張個人專輯。2009年，Dolores公開宣布樂隊(duì)將重組并舉辦世界巡演，卷土重來，卡百利這個名字終于重新回歸大眾視野。

　　The Cranberries are an Irish rock band formed in Limerick in 1989. The band consists of vocalist Dolores ORiordan, guitarist Noel Hogan, bassist Mike Hogan and drummer Fergal Lawler. Although widely associated with alternative rock, the bands sound also incorporates indie pop, post-punk, Irish folk and pop rockelements.

　　The Cranberries rose to international fame in the 1990s with their debut album, Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Cant We?, which became a commercial success and sold over five million copies in the United States. The group was one of the most successful rock acts of the 90s and sold over 15 million albums in the United States alone. The band has achieved four top 20 albums on the Billboard 200 chart and eight top 20 singles on the Modern Rock Tracks chart .After a six-year hiatus, The Cranberries reunited and began a North American tour, followed by dates in Latin America and Europe in early 2010. The band recorded their sixth album, Roses, in May 2011, and released it on 27 February 2023.

　　流行樂隊(duì)The Corrs、Westlife、Boyzone

　　可兒家族合唱團(tuán)，由來自于愛爾蘭小鎮(zhèn)一個天主教家庭的四位兄弟姐妹吉姆、莎朗、卡羅琳、安德烈組成。可兒家族合唱團(tuán)是一只獨(dú)具愛爾蘭凱爾特民族風(fēng)格的樂團(tuán)。他們父母親是巡回演出樂團(tuán)的樂師，在父母親的指引下，大哥吉姆負(fù)責(zé)吉他及鍵盤、大姐莎朗負(fù)責(zé)演奏小提琴、二姐卡羅琳負(fù)責(zé)打鼓、小妹安德烈則是吹奏錫笛及身兼主唱。

　　The Corrs are an Irish band which combine pop rock with traditional Celtic folk music. The brother and sisters are from Dundalk, Ireland. The group consists of the Corr siblings: Andrea ; Sharon ; Caroline ; and Jim .

　　The Corrs have released five studio albums and numerous singles, which have reached platinum in many countries. Talk on Corners, their most successful album to date, reached multi-platinum status in Australia, and in the UK was the highest selling album of 1998. The band are only the second group in history to hold the number 1 and number 2 album positions simultaneously in the UK charts with Talk On Corners at number 1 and Forgiven Not Forgotten at number 2. The first group to achieve this accolade was The Beatles. Forgiven Not Forgotten was the second highest selling album in Australia in 1996, behind Alanis MorissettesJagged Little Pill. Their third studio album, In Blue went to number 1 in 17 countries.

　　The Corrs have been actively involved in philanthropic activities. They have performed in numerous charity concerts such as the Princes Trust in 2004 and Live 8 alongside Bono in 2005. The same year, they were awarded honorary MBEs for their contributions to music and charity. The Corrs are on hiatus because Jim and Caroline are raising families, while Andrea and Sharon are pursuing solo careers. Sharon doesnt know if The Corrs will get back together.

　　Westlife是在1998年成立的愛爾蘭男子歌唱團(tuán)體。 Westlife在愛爾蘭和英國走紅，在非洲、澳大利亞與亞洲也很受歡迎。1999年至2005年間，Westlife有13張單曲唱片在英國高據(jù)首位;其數(shù)量排名歷史第四位，僅次于Elvis Presley、披頭士和Cliff Richard。西城男孩也是英國流行音樂史上唯一一支頭七支單曲空降榜首的樂隊(duì)。西城男孩在世界范圍內(nèi)售出四千萬張專輯，其中包括七張超白金專輯。2011年10月20日，成立14年的愛爾蘭流行組合西城男孩在官網(wǎng)發(fā)布了解散聲明。

　　Westlife were an Irish boy band formed in 1998. They disbanded in 2023 after almost 14 years together. Originally signed by Simon Cowell and managed by Louis Walsh, the groups final line-up consisted of Nicky Byrne, Kian Egan, Mark Feehily and Shane Filan. Brian McFadden was a member from 1998 until his departure in 2004.

　　Westlife sold over 50 million records worldwide, a total that includes studio albums, singles, video release, and compilation albums. The group had accumulated 14 number-one singles in the United Kingdom and 26 top ten singles over their 14 year career. They are also the most frequent act to win The Record of the Yearthe only music award in the UK based on public voteswith four awards. Despite their worldwide success, Westlife had been unable to break into the U.S. market, having only one hit single, Swear It Again, which peaked in 2000.

　　In 2023 the Official Charts Company revealed the biggest selling singles artists in British music chart history with Westlife currently placed at 34th and the third most successful boyband in the UK.

　　In October 2011, Westlife announced that they would split in 2023 after finishing their Greatest Hits Tourfollowing the release of Greatest Hits. Their last ever concert, on 23 June 2023 at Croke Park Stadium in Dublin, sold out to 85,000 people in just five minutes. Due to high demand, it was screened live in cinemas worldwide, and another date was added for 22 June at the same venue.