Does anyone know what he thought of Ireland?
I know Swift was ashamed to be Irish, but I’ve never heard if Wilde liked Ireland (or why he left). Anyone know?
I reckon Wilde found London (and then France) more cosmopolitan and amenable to his, um, tastes.
As for Swift, he considered it an accident that he happened to be born on the island, and that he did not belong there. On the other hand, he wrote on behalf of “Irish” causes, and said the English should be ashamed of their “selfish tyranny.” But it must be remembered that in some contexts at the time “Irish” meant Protestant Anglo-Irish colonists, land owners, merchants and Church of Ireland clergy–the same people who in other contexts would be called “English” by Gaels.
Wilde referred to himself as an Irishman when he felt political sympathy for the Irish. However, he never used Ireland, or Irish themes, in his works.
A whole book was written about this topic: Wilde the Irishman, by Jerusha McCormack.