www.intellectbooks.com 7 SCENE 8 (1+2) pp. 7–27 Intellect Limited 2020 Scene Volume 8 Numbers 1 & 2 © 2020 Intellect Ltd Article. English language. https://doi.org/10.1386/scene_00020_1 Received 19 August 2020; Accepted 14 September 2020 MARIE KELLY University College Cork SIOBHÁN O’GORMAN University of Lincoln ÁINE PHILLIPS Burren College of Art Performing Ireland: Now, then, now … ABSTRACT This article offers a comprehensive, research-informed reflection on the contents of the Special Double Issue of Scene, ‘Performance and Ireland’, conceptual- ized within a sense of looped temporalities (now, then, now), a concept borrowed from Irish multidisciplinary performance company, ANU Productions. From the perspectives of performance studies and visual culture, we connect and contextu- alize for an international readership articles concerning such topics as: Ireland’s colonial history; race, ethnicity and racism in relation to Ireland; performing the Irish diaspora; feminist activism; performing LGBTQ+ identities; the Troubles and the border in Northern Ireland; Ireland as a global brand; the Gaelic Athletics Association (GAA); and artistic engagements with hidden histories. This intro- ductory article provides an overview of the discourses on performance studies and Ireland to date, and draws on theories of performance as they intersect with Irish studies, postcolonialism, commemoration and gender and sexuality, to situate the volume within pertinent contemporary and historical contexts from the Irish Famine (1845–49) to Covid-19. ‘Performing Ireland’ in the context of the current pandemic is considered specifically towards the end of the article. KEYWORDS performance studies Irish studies gender and sexuality commemoration postcolonialism race, ethnicity and Ireland culture and Covid-19