Based on research completed between 2018 and 2022 in the Republic of Ireland, this article examines how the distinctive ethos and relational pedagogy of adult literacy education have been impacted by broader changes in the field and wider society, with significant impact on its capacity to support learners. The learner-centred ethos, ways of working and webs of relationality between literacy learners and staff are increasingly squeezed by rising pressures from the broader socio-political context which promotes a neoliberal view of education for individual improvement and employability. Drawing on Freirean critical education and relational pedagogy, the consequences of this are considered in the three interconnected themes of i) the learner-centred ethos in adult literacy, ii) learner identities and relationships of learning, iii) creative and responsive pedagogies of literacy.