A “second coming”: Appraising Relational Ethics and Moral Economy through Animals in Post-Celtic Tiger Ireland: Donal Ryan’s Heart, Be at Peace

This article analyses the representation of new realities faced by individuals and communities in post-Celtic Tiger Ireland in Donal Ryan’s novel, Heart, Be at Peace (2024). It draws upon approaches to moral economy and relational ethics, and examines the use of animal metaphors and comparisons for this portrayal. Set ten years after the financial crisis of 2008, Donal Ryan’s novel depicts individuals who adapt their lives to new ways because the neoliberal, ultra-capitalist Celtic Tiger failed to deliver on many of its promises. The article provides a comprehensive analysis of most characters of the novel and how they are compared to animals. This enables the examination of the various discourses of relational ethics exchange and moral economy within the Irish rural community represented in the novel. Ultimately, this article contends that Donal Ryan’s Heart, Be at Peace represents how socio-economic issues from the past are replaced by new ones and how the novel conveys the idea that unlearned lessons from a recent past result in the repetition of mistakes and harmful patterns in contemporary Ireland.