Abstract

This essay details the frequent appearances of science fiction tropes and plots in the Cruiskeen Lawn column, from excursions to the moon and death-rays to interstellar banshees and metallic-skinned Martian slave drivers. Noting also the presence of Ronald Arbuthnott Knox’s God and the Atom in O'Nolan's personal library, Fennell considers how O'Nolan uses these sci-fi tropes to explore geopolitical, philosophical, and theological themes, including the atomic bomb, Cold-War politics, melting polar ice caps, worries for a third world war and the conflict between science and religion under modernity.

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Keywords: Space travel, Ronald Arbuthnott Knox, Science Fiction, Cruiskeen Lawn, Myles na gCopaleen

How to Cite: Jack Fennell, 'Myles in Space: Science Fiction and Cruiskeen Lawn,' The Parish Review: Journal of Flann O'Brien Studies 3, no. 1 (Fall 2014): 64-77. Available at: https://doi.org/10.16995/pr.3128.