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This article examines Irish identity as seen through the lens of satire and parody by the versatile writer Flann O’Brien/Brian Ó Nualláin (1911-1966). These literary genres are masterfully documented and attested in traditional Irish culture, from The Tale of Mac Da Thó’s Pig in the legendary Ulster Cycle (Scéla Muicce Meicc Da Thó) to Jonathan Swift’s A Modest Proposal published in 1729. O’Nolan/Ó Nualláin constructs a unique portrait of a nation in the making through his novels and short stories and also through his journalistic writings, which were published in his column in The Irish Times from 1940 to 1966. Between tradition and postmodern transgression, O’Nolan offers modern Ireland a luxury that is the preserve of only the most liberated and established of nations, namely self-mockery.