The Irish are known for their compassion for religion and brotherhood. They have had a tough life overcoming many hardships and oppression. One might think that religion, compassion, oppression or survival may be the unifying theme for Irish Literature; however, lying embedded within is the unifying theme of luck. Whether the protagonists are simply fortunate after being in trouble or they are helped out by another character when in dire need, it is this constant referral to luck that ties all Irish Literature together. Every literary work has contrasts, however in Irish Literature the use of luck to succeed is idiosyncratic. Roddy Doyle's A Star Called Henry, Troy Duffy's The Boondock Saints, and the short stories Janey Mary, and A Man's World, all demonstrate that that not only does luck, the ability to defy odds or having a helping hand...