Biafra in the Irish Imagination: War and Famine in Banvilles An End to Flight and Forristals Black Mans Country

The name Biafra persists in the vocabulary of Irish people, even though many people who use it have no memory of the events, or indeed any knowledge of what the name refers to. This book chapter considers two fictional texts by Irish writers about Irish peole in Biafra. One is a play written by an Irish priest about Irish missionaries in Biafra (Desmond Forristals Black Mans Country, 1974), the other is a novel by an Irish writer set during the war (Vincent Banville, An End to Flight, 1973). During my research I have also found a few references to Biafra in short stories by Irish writers. These references, though brief, indicate how Biafra had an impact in popular culture here and entered peoples consciousness. Although many Nigerian writers wrote novels and short stories about Biafra, there are no other texts written by non-African writers  concerning the Nigeria-Biafra War. The existence of these two texts is evidence of the strong link that the Irish felt with the secessionist Republic of Biafra.