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A preface supplies the author's personal background that led to exploration of this subject. Chapter 1 states the thesis, the form, and the methodology employed. Chapter 2 briefly surveys contemporary theory explaining the evolution of human language, origins of the oral tradition and storytelling, and the development of written literary prose. Chapter 3 seeks common themes in examples of ethnic American literary texts by Jewish American, Native American, Chinese American, African American, and Franco American writers, examining texts by Bernard Malamud, N. Scott Momaday, Maxine Hong Kingston, ToniMorrison, and E. Annie Proulx. Chapter 4 identifies several Irish cultural characteristics, and traces Irish history and folklore to suggest the origins, development, and persistence of these characteristics. The Brehon Laws, Christianity, British conquest and colonization, the consequences of the Penal Laws, and the Potato Famine of the 19th century are specifically examined in this context. The Irish intellectual tradition, the use of satire, and the role of storytelling in entertainment and education are discussed as well. Chapter 5 examines eighteen literary texts by eight Irish American writers of the second half of the 20th century in order to locate and identify Irish cultural characteristics; these texts were written by James T. Farrell, Edwin O'Connor, Maureen Howard, William Kennedy, Mary Gordon, Tess Gallagher, Alice McDermott, and Frank McCourt. A collection of the author's short stories displaying Irish cultural characteristics is appended to the dissertation.