tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6113936488115244122024-02-19T08:07:01.528-08:00Of This IslandOf This Islandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03823046615798095409noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-611393648811524412.post-66376369961855723262012-05-02T01:55:00.001-07:002012-05-02T02:14:07.174-07:00Snap, Craickle and Pop: The Controversy of Popular Gaelicisation<br />
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Ever since Ireland was told that the black stuff might
not be Irish, but rather a porter stout from Covent Garden, the country has
descended into a frantic state of uncertain soul-searching and impassioned
reflection to clarify once and for all what is actually ‘Irish’ (potatoes,
Gaelic Storm, and Saint Patrick aside).</div>
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<br /></div>
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But now the most quintessentially ‘Irish’ institution of
them all is under intense academic scrutiny, the much celebrated notion of ‘the
craic’ (and that’s before considering the devastating impact this may have on
the tourist industry). </div>
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Now, this isn’t to say that we’re losing our humour, but
rather are embroiled in an intense etymological debate that discredits ‘craic’
as a recent invention of bleary-eyed romantics and multi-millionaire tourist
tycoons.</div>
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One of the leading figures in the anti-craic camp is
Diarmaid O’Muirithe, a retired senior lecturer in Irish at University College,
Dublin who now keeps his hand in through a weekly column in the Irish Times in
which he examines the origin and meaning of words. </div>
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Mr. O’Muirithe has this to say on the issue:</div>
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“The constant Gaelicisation of the good old
English/Scottish dialect word crack as craic sets my teeth on edge. It seems,
indeed, that many people think that the word is an Irish one; hence we find
advertisements proclaiming ‘music, songs, dancing and craic’; the implication
is that craic = boozing and high jinks, great fun as it used to be…”</div>
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“The English Dialect Dictionary (Wright’s) deals at
length with crack, a word still in use from the English midlands to Glasgow and
Edinburgh. It gives crack as ‘1. talk, conversation, gossip, chat’. In this
context [Walter] Scott uses it in Rob Roy (1817), ‘I maun hai a crack wil an
auld acquaintance here’. ‘The friendly crack, the cheerfulsang’, wrote a lesser
Caledonian, Picken, in 1813. 2. A tale, a good story or joke; gossip,
scandal. 'A' cracks are not tae be trow'd', is a Scots proverb.”</div>
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It transpires that the word crack is of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle_English" target="_blank">Middle English</a> or
old <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scots_language" target="_blank">Scots</a> origin, and crossed the Irish Sea to Ulster a few centuries ago and
there it remained unadulterated. The Gaelicised version is apparently because the
Irish alphabet has no ‘k’, and due to its change has become open to a change in
definition: namely miscreant behaviour, mischief and devilment.</div>
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Another theory as outlined on Wikipedia is that, “Now,
'<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Craic" target="_blank">craic</a>' is interpreted as a specifically and quintessentially Irish form of
fun. The adoption of the Gaelic spelling has reinforced the sense that this is
an independent word (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homophone" target="_blank">homophone</a>) rather than a separate sense of the original
word (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polysemy" target="_blank" title="Polysemy">polysemy</a>).”
Is the word craic, though a modern phenomenon, indeed a homophone for crack
rather than an alternate spelling?</div>
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This isn’t to attack either word, but to extend the
debate to you fine folk to see if craic and crack can be distinguished once and
for all, and to have both words assume their true position within the
vernacular.</div>
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<div class="paragraph" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 6.25pt; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt;">©
Full copyright remains with Of This Island
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material must be made in writing to OfThisIsland@hotmail.com</span></div>
<div class="paragraph" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 6.25pt; vertical-align: baseline;">
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt;"><span style="color: black;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="color: black;">Of This Island are pleased to contribute to <a href="http://sluggerotoole.com/2012/05/02/snap-craickle-and-pop-the-controversy-of-popular-gaelicisation/" target="_blank">Slugger O'Toole</a></span></span></div>
<div class="ecxmsonormal">
<br /></div>Of This Islandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03823046615798095409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-611393648811524412.post-68495552907308234642012-04-14T16:07:00.001-07:002012-04-16T02:37:30.041-07:00Clinkers, Rivets and Flatcaps: Celebrating Titanic and the Men Who Built Her.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgePgjPJ46o-fKFp_WaRC7tMJvN2ohepGF4gFsOEwzipq781_Zvl-AgpOEl7a63KnWxhl1VBe2-5dohd-v-5XC8ncIH1DdOjImwHp1LboA0T9Q0vPBE4KItklEFzzE2l_Di5rcQU20Z_Sm4/s1600/RMS_Titanic_3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="235" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgePgjPJ46o-fKFp_WaRC7tMJvN2ohepGF4gFsOEwzipq781_Zvl-AgpOEl7a63KnWxhl1VBe2-5dohd-v-5XC8ncIH1DdOjImwHp1LboA0T9Q0vPBE4KItklEFzzE2l_Di5rcQU20Z_Sm4/s320/RMS_Titanic_3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
The panicked screams of the dying could be heard long after Titanic broke in two and finally slipped under the icy waters of the North Atlantic. By the time the last voices faded and the inky dark became silence once more, over 1,500 souls had met a terrifying and lonely fate.
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The disaster was a human tragedy from start to finish, the consequences made even more poignant by a sequence of poor and hurried decision making from conception to demise.
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There were not enough lifeboats, a decision made to ensure more walking space on the First Class promenade. And when disaster struck, many of the lifeboats lowered held only a mere handful of their potential capacity. The bulkheads didn't reach the top decks, leaving room for flooding and over-spilling should breaching occur. Multiple ice warnings were received, and ignored, on the nights leading to the sinking.
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The crossing was hurried, precautions devalued. And when the iceberg was finally spotted, the fatal call was made to turn to starboard, in an instant bringing all the other issues to a head. While a head on impact would have crumbled the bow, Titanic would have remained afloat. By trying, and failing to avoid the collision, Titanic's hull was slashed open and she began to sink.
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The names of the dead are immortalised, mourned and reverently remembered, while the testimony of the survivors are forever etched in the annals of history.
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But 2,000 miles to the east, the disaster had far reaching impact on a forgotten people who never sailed on Titanic, yet are forever entwined with her story. Within its limited scope, this piece aims to bring to light those Belfast shipbuilders who invested their blood, sweat and tears in turning blueprints and dreams into a steel framed reality.
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Belfast in the early twentieth century was a city defined by shipbuilding. Of the approximately 250,000 people who lived in and around the capital, a little over 10,000 were employed at the docks, with 3,000 of them employed to build Titanic. It was a laborious project that took three years to complete and at a cost of over $7.5million. She was built largely by hand, with each major component individually constructed and assembled in the muddy banks of Harland and Wolff.
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Despite the hard graft and toil, the building of Titanic was an impressive enterprise undertaken with vigour and determination by the largest shipyard in the world. Bram Stoker wrote that Harland and Wolff had ‘omnipresent evidence of genius and forethought; of experience and skill; of organisation complete and triumphant.’
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPhrku0ah81slraDjafHl9S3jNoSIpLc3z97USeNqNALv7AvvdbmH-2jPyfELHRDixl4Z4GorxXR3T-7M6_MjXJBNGW3G_t1IB75TINjhRgwLgM8-SP3G64ParpQ9gm2V96ajulHySl2eG/s1600/Titanic_stern_and_rudder.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPhrku0ah81slraDjafHl9S3jNoSIpLc3z97USeNqNALv7AvvdbmH-2jPyfELHRDixl4Z4GorxXR3T-7M6_MjXJBNGW3G_t1IB75TINjhRgwLgM8-SP3G64ParpQ9gm2V96ajulHySl2eG/s320/Titanic_stern_and_rudder.jpg" width="222" /></a></div>
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And behind the clink of hammers on metal and the shouting humdrum of the shipyard lay the drive, vision and industrial genius of County Down native Thomas Andrews. Andrews was an able and ambitious young man who felt at ease in the fast paced world of shipbuilding, and by the turn of the century had risen to become an engineering superstar. At the tender age of 34, he had begun to oversee the development of the Titanic, and two years later in 1909 had become her principal architect. But Andrews was not alone at the giddy heights of the Titanic development project, rather working in conjunction with another local man, 1st Viscount William Pirrie, the former Lord Mayor of Belfast and chairman of Harland and Wolff. Pirrie was man of experience and stature, Andrews a visionary and innovator. Together they would develop, implement and launch a legacy that would enter legend.
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Despite the ship's mythical heritage, however, there was an intimacy to the Titanic project. Horses and carts trawled colossal lumps of metal through the streets of Belfast where onlookers gazed with amazement and admiration at the physical manifestation of Belfast's industrial might. Statistics may have told the populous of Belfast's strength in the terms of columns and ledgers, but its tangible reality was what made an impression.
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdNqO4QHwQdN0iHTyJ4tz6sLVg7meOLwk4r946BI8ZknFuKDFHkFn_71IfZcDbdPpB4rYiZ-3e78FN6UuYiguPA9EP49pg2a-Hc4entcJ_9FhIOaXcPocUVj5XVwS4uwyi-TzpQQ7SgnYD/s1600/Titanic_under_construction.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdNqO4QHwQdN0iHTyJ4tz6sLVg7meOLwk4r946BI8ZknFuKDFHkFn_71IfZcDbdPpB4rYiZ-3e78FN6UuYiguPA9EP49pg2a-Hc4entcJ_9FhIOaXcPocUVj5XVwS4uwyi-TzpQQ7SgnYD/s320/Titanic_under_construction.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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The ship's builders lived within striking distance of the docks, many living under the shadows of the monstrous vessels they constructed. They lived by the beckon call of the dock’s hooter, coming and going at the whim of a sharp blast of air for a mere £2 per week. The average labourer worked an average of just under 10 hours each day, often exposed to highly dangerous conditions. The technology may have advanced, but for the men using horses and carts, wooden supports and ropes to build these megaliths of steel, life was frequently in the balance. Eight workers died building Titanic, with a 15 year old boy falling to his death when he slipped on a ladder. He had lived on Templemore Street, just over a mile from the docks.
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Titanic and her sister ships towered above everything around. Contemporary photographs show Titanic as she was, the biggest ship of the time, so big that her dry dock was reminiscent of the throne of a god. They were focal points on the south side of the Lagan, and the pride the ships instilled in the city should not be underestimated. Contemporary reports note that when news of her sinking reached the town on April 16, grown men were seen crying in the streets and a mood of sobriety hung over the shipyards. It was as if the collective parent, Belfast, had lost a child and it would be a very long time until the story would be talked about in everyday conversation.
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It is, almost to the moment, 100 years since Titanic collided with the iceberg and vanished forever. Such a historical landmark has led Belfast to a seminal point in its relationship with the liner. A sense of full circle prevails, and nowhere can this been seen as prominently as The Titanic Belfast project built on the site of the old shipyards. The respectful and revised statement of learning, remembrance, and architecture that the centre exudes is only part of a countrywide movement to connect Titanic.
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<br />
As one man from Belfast said to me recently, ‘it is not something to forget.’<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt;">© Full
copyright remains with Of This Island (http://ofthisisland.blogspot.com). All
requests to use Of This Island material must be made in writing to
OfThisIsland@hotmail.com</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt;">FOLLOW US
ON TWITTER @Of_This_Island and via our blog <a href="http://ofthisisland.blogspot.com/"><span style="color: black;">http://ofthisisland.blogspot.com/</span></a></span>
<br />
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<br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="color: black;">Of This Island are pleased to contribute to <a href="http://sluggerotoole.com/2012/04/15/clinkers-rivets-and-flatcaps-celebrating-titanic-and-the-men-who-built-her/" target="_blank">Slugger O'Toole</a> </span></span>
</div>Of This Islandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03823046615798095409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-611393648811524412.post-58618094359289843532012-04-11T04:28:00.001-07:002012-04-13T00:48:13.125-07:00The Problems of Centralised Government: The Ill-considered Constraints on Economic Recovery in Northern Ireland<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Nobody will
argue that the United Kingdom is in choppy financial waters. On March 26, the
Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development charted the cost of Britain's
recession at a cumulative output loss of £87 billion, or 6% of GDP. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">All very
interesting, but what do cold percentages and unqualified numbers mean for the
people of Great Britain and Northern Ireland? The simple answer is a drop
in real wages and a critical lack of jobs.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">The
unemployment rate in Northern Ireland currently stands at around 7%, taking the
number of people claiming unemployment benefit to over 60,700. And while at 7%
Northern Ireland is still below the national average of just over 8%, a 2009
survey found that the greatest increase in Job Seeker Allowance came from the
30 mile radius of Magherafelt, Dungannon and Cookstown. The area has a
relatively low population base to begin with, but considering that the biggest employer
is construction, the downturn in the housing market has been devastating for
mid-Ulster. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Northern
Ireland finds itself in a difficult situation. To the south it sees the
discovery of oil off Cork as well as big business investments across the ROI
from Beijing and Washington. Across the water, Scotland rumbles with the
politics of independence, while England is occupied with maintaining the Union
on the one hand, while ensuring London continues to enjoy its place as a global
leader on the other.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">The mounting
sense of insecurity has left the country in an unenviable position, where the
only comfort comes from the promise of external investment or industrious
business ideas within. It was with open arms, therefore, that the country received
news that over 7,500 jobs were pledged by foreign investors during a three-year
period. But it was not without Northern Irish energies, as it was locally-based
Invest NI that had stimulated the interest with a tempting chunk of
Government-sourced capital. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Invest NI has
spent £1.5 billion in the nine years since its inception, promoting an
estimated 42,600 new jobs, safeguarding an additional 19,400 positions and
securing £5.5 billion worth of investment in the local economy. While this
success is a relatively recent phenomenon, with the vast majority of its
triumphs recorded between 2008 and 2011, the economic stimulus that Invest NI
has afforded to Northern Ireland must not go unnoticed.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Which is why
the Government's decision to limit the
reach of an organisation with a proven and growing record of success in stimulating
the Northern Irish economy is baffling. From 2013, the country will be
prohibited from proceeding as it has, lest Belfast enjoy an unfair advantage
over other parts of the UK in seeking investment. Furthermore, Business
Secretary, Vince Cable has plans to recall Northern Ireland’s 100 per cent
status for regional aid, which will have the effect of restricting Invest NI’s
ability to offer financial assistance to all but a handful of economic areas
designated as being most deprived. And this is despite intense lobbying by
senior members of the Stormont Parliament.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Historically,
the success rate enjoyed by Invest NI has been drawn from the ability to extend
economic opportunities to companies throughout Northern Ireland, but without the
100 per cent incentive, foreign investment will have to be encouraged by
alternative means.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">But the
nature of British economics is such that if one part of the country succeeds,
the rest does by default, and while the stimulus would be more acutely felt in
Northern Ireland, the impact is farther reaching. Why then, with the Office for
Budget Responsibility predicting the unemployment rate to rise from its current
level of 8.4 per cent to 8.7 per cent and public sector net debt to a peak of
76.3 per cent by 2014-15, would Westminster find it a sound judgement to
restrict one of its four constituent nations?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">The
government claims to be simply exercising a policy on the small scale that
mirrors one in Brussels; namely that the EU prevents government funds being
used in a way that can be deemed to unfairly advantage one country over
another. But aside from the irony that the Conservatives are stepping to the
beat of Europe, the fact remains that this legislation also allows member
states to continue with stimulus if the area in question qualifies the need for
support: which Northern Ireland certainly does.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">And one way
to help achieve this in accordance with EU laws is through the distinctly
Conservative notion of enterprise zones. A remnant of the Thatcher era,
enterprise zones have been reintroduced across England, Scotland and Wales,
bringing with them tax breaks and rate holidays as incentives for business to
relocate and existing businesses to thrive. They are successful ventures, as
Duncrue Industrial Estate demonstrates on the local level and Canary Wharf on
the global scale. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">It is
arguable that reintroducing the scheme to Northern Ireland would help to cushion
the blow of the new restrictions placed on Invest NI should the removal of the
100 per cent regional aid status pass in spite of Stormont's efforts to fight the
move. Enterprise zones would also carry
with them the potential to help redress the heretofore lopsided economic
balance of the country by helping to stimulate business in the previously
mentioned areas west of the Bann, as well as other historically economically
deprived areas. With another avenue for the expansion of established companies
on the one hand, and fresh growth on the other, the government would lawfully
enjoy the fruits of an economic stimulus without betraying the status quo of
its ideology.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">And then
there is the more pressing issue of Corporation Tax. Despite plans to reduce it
to 22 per cent by 2014 with an overall medium term aim of 20 per cent, Northern
Ireland would still find itself at a considerable disadvantage when placed
alongside the generous 12.5 per cent offered in the Republic. To see proof that
a low Corporation Tax does generate foreign investment one only need consider
that multinationals account for roughly a quarter of Irish GDP. US companies
doubled their investment in the Republic in the first half of 2011 on top of
fivefold growth in the past ten years, and former US President Bill Clinton has
been personally encouraging his fellow countrymen to invest in Ireland due to
the competitive tax rates. In principle this writer can understand support for the
economic theories of consumer and industry spending, and with greater tax
breaks for business comes the opportunity to increase real wages, offer
employment and reinvest in the local infrastructure. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Emphasising
this point is a report by a new trade union-funded think tank, Nevin Economic
Research Institute who in their first Quarterly Economic Observer report
recommended an All-Island spending stimulus package by the Republic with 15
billion euro going to the Republic itself and an additional five billion euro
being offered to Northern Ireland. They admit it won’t represent a fix-all, but
rather claim that it will help the economy to gather momentum in the short-term,
leading to a projected long-term boost to the island’s growth capacity. The
package is advised over a five year period beginning in 2013, and it is
predicted to result in the creation of 262,000 jobs and a rise of 25 billion
euro in GDP.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">This is
arguably one area in which Westminster needs to accelerate devolution of power
to Northern Ireland who, in spite of similar demands by Scotland, is the only
UK country to share a border - and to some extent resources, consumers and a
workforce - with another EU country. If Northern Ireland is to get back on its
feet it must be given the tools required to match in real terms its southern
neighbour’s competitive Corporation Tax rates in order to stand a chance of
garnering its share of interest bestowed on the Republic by powerful foreign
investors.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Business
Alliance members recently released a statement in which they specifically
pinpoint the issue of reducing Corporation Tax as a key issue requiring focus
on delivering a positive decision by the summer.</span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Recovery is
certainly possible, and the mechanisms to achieve it are firmly in place. So
why does the government feel that curbing growth in the province is the most
prudent course of action? Well, to be perfectly honest, your guess is as good
as mine.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"> </span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt;">© Full
copyright remains with Of This Island (http://ofthisisland.blogspot.com). All
requests to use Of This Island material must be made in writing to
OfThisIsland@hotmail.com</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt;">FOLLOW US
ON TWITTER @Of_This_Island and via our blog <a href="http://ofthisisland.blogspot.com/"><span style="color: black;">http://ofthisisland.blogspot.com/</span></a></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: black;">Of This Island are pleased to contribute to <a href="http://sluggerotoole.com/2012/04/12/the-problems-of-centralised-government-the-ill-considered-constraints-on-economic-recovery-in-northern-ireland/" target="_blank">Slugger O'Toole</a> </span></span>
</div>Of This Islandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03823046615798095409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-611393648811524412.post-36802476320909393182012-03-27T06:43:00.001-07:002012-03-28T06:18:02.719-07:00Political Progress and Educational Sectarianism: Addressing Religious Schooling in Northern Ireland<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Northern Ireland’s past echoes with the haunted politics
of division, its communities littered with the graves of over 3,000 victims of
shameful brutality. When Peter Robinson spat that, ‘the only input that
Unionists want into the Anglo-Irish Conference is a stick of gelignite’, not
even the most ardent optimist would have predicted that he would one day attend
a GAA match as the honoured guest of Martin McGuinness.<br />
<br />
But the progress is real and it is, I daresay, sincere. In only two years did
the widely-heralded patriarch of entrenched Unionism Rev. Dr. Ian Paisley
reverse his line from, ‘we are not going into government with Sinn Fein’, to,
‘we must not allow our loathing of the tragedies of the past to become a
barrier to a better future.’ <br />
<br />
Shaking his hands with Mr Paisley in the halls of Stormont, it is nigh
impossible to equate the Martin McGuinness of, ‘I haven't done anything that
I'm ashamed of’, to the progressive politician who has learned the hard lessons
of a misguided youth. <br />
<br />
And Northern Ireland’s modern politics of progress are neatly mirrored in the
geography of the country.<br />
<br />
Spectators looking out on the Belfast of the second decade of the twenty-first
century are greeted by a vibrant and optimistic city. Colour flows through her
streets, heartfelt music dribbles out of its pores. It is a cosmopolitan,
bohemian culture where students mingle with working professionals. And it is
not surprising, for a city rescued from the despairing grip of wartime violence
as recently as Belfast can do nothing else but blossom with tenacity and
intent. <br />
<br />
And the schools are doing well. GCSE and A-Level results in Northern Ireland
are the best in the United Kingdom. Modern teaching methods are complemented by
updated facilities, and with increasingly stable socio-political conditions,
young people in Northern Ireland can come together to build upon the progress
already enjoyed across the country. <br />
<br />
But one contentious point remains very much at the centre of the country’s
school system, and that is the role of faith-based education. The statistics
released by the Department of Education in 2011 reveal that just over 4,000
nursery school children attend a denominational play group, with over 65,000 of
the country’s teenagers in segregated secondary education. <br />
<br />
We no longer live in the era of different histories, but it is of academic
importance to note the patterns of where the Irish language is, and is not, taught.
Outside of the classroom, stand-offs continue in the sport’s field between <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">caid</i>-influenced football and rugby,
hurling and hockey. And threaded through all these facets is the ever-present
influence of religion. <br />
<br />
Whether by design or by the circumstance of tradition, schools in Northern
Ireland prescribe young people with a pre-determined notion of identity. This
is not to say that religious education and Christian values are without place
in modern Northern Ireland. The issue lies with perpetuating a sectarian school
system in a country recovering from three decades of religious turmoil. One
does not fight fire with fire.<br />
<br />
And the state of the economy doesn’t help matters either. As job prospects
dwindle, uncertain and directionless youths are being offered prospects of
sorts with terrorist organisations. The Financial Times spoke of the downturn
as, ‘a recruiting sergeant for dissident republican [sic.] groups’, with the
recent resurgence of radical IRA organisations serving to strike an alarming chord.
<br />
<br />
Households Below Average Incomes figures between 2005 and 2008 reported that 48
per cent of children in Northern Ireland lived in poverty, with 21 per cent
classed as living in ‘persistent poverty’. When these numbers are coupled with
the country’s lack of vocational opportunity and the attraction of paramilitary
groups, one can only question the true meaning of promising examination results
and political progress.<br />
<br />
And politics, education and the economy are not mutually exclusive. Each facet
plays into the other, in turn determining the effectiveness and implication of
the next. Nationalist and Unionist politicians can sit in the modern Stormont
and talk about the future until they are blue in the face, but nothing will
come of it unless they proactively address the interests of children.<br />
<br />
Community groups across Northern Ireland are doing fantastic work in uniting
the people, young and old, but this could be lost on future generations unless
lasting grassroots changes are recorded. And to do that, Northern Ireland needs
to see integrated education. Children are in need of a daily reminder that
there is more to the country than the members of their own community. <br />
<br />
The idea is not a new one. First Minister Peter Robinson spoke of the
importance of integrated education in 2011, but despite promises, very little
visible progress has been made. For all the good Mr Robinson and his colleague
Mr. McGuinness are doing, this most crucial of considerations is being
inexplicably overlooked. <br />
<br />
It would be a tragic error to allow anything to hinder the rejuvenation of
Northern Ireland, especially if that barrier is the remnants of a dying culture
of division. Progress is built upon familiarity and cross-community
cooperation, but the existence of denominational education counteracts this at
an early point in a child’s development, and continues throughout their school
career. This academic incongruity fights alongside fading archaic notions of
yore, engaged in a determined tug-of-war with the new and progressive Northern
Ireland.</span></div>
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requests to use Of This Island material must be made in writing to
OfThisIsland@hotmail.com</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div>
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<br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">Of This Island are pleased to contribute to <a href="http://sluggerotoole.com/2012/03/28/political-progress-and-educational-sectarianism/" target="_blank">Slugger O'Toole </a></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>Of This Islandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03823046615798095409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-611393648811524412.post-10828261749380961402012-03-15T09:46:00.003-07:002012-03-16T02:43:33.450-07:00Ages of Myth and Legend: The Two Lives of Saint Patrick<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: center;">
<u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14pt; font-variant: small-caps; line-height: 200%;"></span></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: 200%; text-indent: 36pt;">
Unravelling and presenting a
plausible and coherent narrative of any historical event not only demands a
great deal of caution and astute evaluation from the historian, but also an
unsettling divorce from the sheltered confines of historical mythology. Our
past is littered with the corpses of so-called historical truths, the erroneous
attribution of ‘let them eat cake’ to Marie-Antoinette, the emotive corruption
of the ‘glorious massacre’ of Custer at Little Bighorn and the misplaced
titling of the ‘Battle of Hastings’ to name but a few.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: 200%;">
But when dealing with the period
directly following the fall of Rome, that uncertain blur of intermingled fact
and legend loosely entitled ‘The Dark Ages’, the historian must adhere to a
greater deal of scholarly caution than anywhere else in post-recorded history.
Here is an era of rumour, scant records and destructive human interaction; a
time characterised by movement, disruption and frequent redefinition. </div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_750801542" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAfSykH6WnxHCIomybjdZCoSfOJC8n7uxoMNCeTPmu660FGsdl6i3o-qu48t8IV3diRTa6vcyZA3fmdUjdTZ6aylvDsXAnjplhMZbZZX8nbP9-6-0Cz3zVFfL7Rh2WO65kT2rnf-WKpsin/s400/387px-Saint_Patrick_(window).jpg" width="257" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/sicarr/3252088322/in/set-72157613324540934/" target="_blank">St Patrick</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Within such confines, addressing but
one small aspect of an overall uncertain field of study, that of Saint Patrick
and his role in Ireland, is a task that is far from straightforward in spite or
perhaps because of primary sources such as The <i><span lang="LA">Confessio</span></i><i>, </i>written
by the man himself, which is both understandably bias and frustratingly vague.
Records are tenuous, to say the least and the influence of myth, strong.
And while Patrick is credited with bringing Christianity to Ireland,
contemporary testimony strongly suggests otherwise.</div>
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Modern studies of the historical Patrick are based
around a variant of T.F O’Rahilly’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Two
Patrick’s Theory</i>, suggesting that a great deal of what has traditionally<span style="color: black;"> been </span>attributed to Patrick was rather the work of
Palladius and his followers who preceded him in Ireland. Palladius was sent to Ireland in 431 by Pope
Celestine I in what we can safely interpret as an attempt to check the ever-growing Pelagain Heresy. In turn, Palladius
was charged with consolidating the work of Saint Ciaran Saighir the Elder
through active interaction with the island’s existing, and distinctly burgeoning
Christian community. Palladius was mostly active in Leinster, reinvigorating
Christian ideals to the extent that he became Ireland’s first bishop as well as
a saint. Further fusing the men together is a contemporary confusion of names,
a relative chronological proximity, and the mistaken idea that Patrick was
active across Ireland, whereas in fact he was most likely confined to Ulster
and parts of Connacht. It was Secundinus, for example, a colleague of
Palladius, who founded the famous Dunshughlin near Tara. It was also Secundinus
who wrote the contemporary work known as the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Tripartite Life of Saint Patrick</i>. Adding to the confusion and
entangled interactions is a host of imbalanced histories. Prosper’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Chronicle </i>does not even mention Patrick,
but instead Palladius. By contrast, the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Annals
of Ulster</i> radiates with uncertainty as more than one Patrick appears to be
recorded.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: 200%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-left: 18pt;">
<span style="font-size: 10pt;">457:
‘Repose of the elder Patrick, as some books state.’</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-left: 18pt;">
<span style="font-size: 10pt;">461:
‘Here some record the repose of Patrick’</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-left: 18pt;">
<span style="font-size: 10pt;">492:
‘The Irish state here that Patrick the Archbishop died.’</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-left: 18pt;">
<span style="font-size: 10pt;">493:
‘Patrick... apostle of the Irish, rested on the 16th day before the Kalends of
April...’</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: 200%;">
In time, the confusion over who did
what, and the irritating evidence that Patrick had not, in fact, brought
Christianity to Ireland became a bit a problem for Patrick's hagiographers. Men
such as Muirchu moccu Machtheni opted to downplay Palladius with false testimony,
writing ‘[n]o one can receive from earth what has not been given by heaven:
Palladius was denied success... and he himself did not wish to spend a long
time in a foreign country.’ With the die cast, Muirchu builds upon Palladius’s
apparent lack of staying power by disregarding his consecration as a mere
Vatican procedure. Readers of the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Life of
Saint Patrick</i> will also be misinformed that Palladius was appointed Ireland
in 431, Patrick in 432. In 432, as will be presented below, Patrick was only
beginning to forge his presence in Ireland. Muirchu also conveniently
negotiates away from Palladius’s seniority to Patrick. </div>
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But it is essential to note that
Palladius and Patrick had, for all intents and purposes, different objectives
in Ireland. While Palladius was there first, he had gone to Ireland to work
with the already-converted. Patrick, by contrast, took his work to those still
relatively untouched by the Christian doctrine. And while Palladius’s role in Irish
history deserves further recognition, this most singularly important of
distinctions is what allows Patrick to stride past Palladius in the annals of
Christian history. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: center;">
Slemish,
Co. Antrim where Patrick is said </div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: center;">
to have
tended sheep as a slave</div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Born of Roman blood in the northern
English settlement of Banna Venta Berniae in the late 380s, Patrick was brought to
Ireland by raiders as a child where he was enslaved as a shepherd on the slopes
of Slemish (although this is contested by Killala Bay, County Mayo). Attributing
his misfortune to an abandonment of faith, Patrick embarked upon a near
obsessive investment in Christianity, seeking influence and learning at every
available instant. Eventually, according to Patrick’s own testimony, he heard a
voice that he accredited to God who exclaimed, ‘it is good that you fast… look,
your ship is ready.’</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: 200%;">
Taking it as a sign to flee, Patrick
escaped back to England to enter the seminary, before crossing the Irish Sea
for a third time as a fully ordained man of the Christian faith. He cited his
motive as a vision in which the native Irish had issued him with a plea for religious
awakening. While clear of spiritual conscience, Patrick faced with a career that
was both testing and frequently dangerous. Patrick was criticised on the manner
of his faith by his followers, was placed under curse and suspicion by druids –
the same people he prescribed as having little direction or coherence within
native religion – and at times was imprisoned and bound, facing execution. He
was even put on trial by his elders for what he vaguely describes as an
‘arduous escapa[d]e’ during his bishophood. </div>
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Despite the difficulties that
defined his existence, Patrick was a prolific institutionalist and champion of
Christian dogma, criss-crossing the northern part of the island to spread,
establish and maintain his chosen religion.
And while he is famed for sending the snakes from Ireland (albeit the
product of legend as archaeological findings show that snakes have not existed
in Ireland since before the last Ice Age) and illustrating the Holy Trinity by
the leaves of the shamrock (an attribution first recorded in 1726 by Englishman
Caleb Threlkeld), it is Patrick’s edificial record that is the most tangible
indicator of his influence. With little external help, Patrick was granted land
in Saul, County Down in 432 by a local chieftain, Dichu, building his first
church on the site before moving onto consolidate Armagh’s place as the centre
of Irish Christianity by 445. Here he built a grand cathedral that still stands
to this day, and developed a town at its base. In 457, the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Annals of the Four Masters </i>records that,</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: 10pt;">‘Ard Mhacha was founded by Saint Patrick, it
having been granted to him by Daire, son of Finnchadh, </span></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: 10pt;">son of Eoghan, son of Niallan. Twelve men
were appointed by him for building the town. He ordered </span></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: 10pt;">them, in the first place, to erect an
archbishop's city there, and a church for monks, for nuns, and for the </span></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: 10pt;">other orders in general, for he perceived
that it would be the head and chief of the churches of Ireland </span></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: 10pt;">in general.’</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: 200%;">
Patrick did not bring Christianity
to Ireland, rather dismantled traditional religious practice and vigorously
fostered his own. While a cynical scholar might point to his strengthening of
Christian foundations as a fertile plot for later sectarianism, they would also
miss the point. What Patrick did for Ireland, if unintentionally, was to lay
the foundation for what has become a celebration of pan-Irish identity that was
already being observed by the Irish in the tenth century. The eighteenth
century saw the rise of green as a national icon, as well as a more widespread
adoption of the shamrock. This tradition became more vigorous after 1903 when
his feast day became a public holiday, and today has spread to become a global
phenomenon. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSiF4IMP5B7LPjkC7Qq6pJrWK5FClY7laMQiJKvAOpJh5u15dwfG-Nqoq5tZJIwd5gBEGoun7vkRG-meGovZ_uoY3lZsaSjYlbs5Twnai9j5Xe3SC9Eror2cxpRAgctxhYxGVvxsa714go/s1600/Irish_clover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSiF4IMP5B7LPjkC7Qq6pJrWK5FClY7laMQiJKvAOpJh5u15dwfG-Nqoq5tZJIwd5gBEGoun7vkRG-meGovZ_uoY3lZsaSjYlbs5Twnai9j5Xe3SC9Eror2cxpRAgctxhYxGVvxsa714go/s200/Irish_clover.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
There is no question that the modern
Saint Patrick’s Day has long overtaken Saint Patrick the man. But despite this,
Saint Patrick’s Day is a beautiful and worthy event. While a little gaudy and often
slightly drunk around the edges, March 17 encourages all Irish communities to unite
in celebration of traditions developed from each of their cultural backgrounds.
But it still worth remembering that this distinctly international sense of ‘Ireland’,
and the powerful importance of a singular identity that it promotes, could not
have been so without the slave boy from Banna Venta Berniae. <br />
<br />
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<span style="font-size: 8pt;">©
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material must be made in writing to OfThisIsland@hotmail.com</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 8pt;">FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @Of_This_Island and via our blog <a href="http://ofthisisland.blogspot.com/"><span style="color: black;">http://ofthisisland.blogspot.com/</span></a></span></div>
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</div>Of This Islandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03823046615798095409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-611393648811524412.post-56694657769646786162012-03-07T07:33:00.000-08:002012-03-13T02:56:07.194-07:00More Irish Than Ireland: The Curious Phenomenon of Irish-AmericanismIn a flurry of flamboyant
rhetoric and quixotic reflection, President Obama triumphantly proclaimed on
March 1 that March 2012 was to be officially designated, ‘Irish-American
Heritage Month.’ During his address the President described the Irish as, ‘sons
and daughters of <st1:place w:st="on">Erin</st1:place>’ and encouraged his
fellow citizens, ‘to observe this month by celebrating the contributions of
Irish Americans to our Nation.’ <br />
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0pt;">
The move is not without
merit. Out of a population of 313 million, a little over 36 million Americans
claim Irish ancestry, with 22 of their Presidents, including Mr Obama, being
descended from a son or daughter of <st1:place w:st="on">Erin</st1:place>. Even
our accent remains prominent in American intonation in some regions. </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijMuUGU7j4lv-wP6gVmOBChzIyrmGgZA-_WvWEBvLN4E3AKSEZgSw3wWA-JY_a5UZ8uzNetJxlzJe8j6QI71P5MBmIb9GRAmdKdMUnmDElZaFMEjC1MNnfS3ZE-kX2kaIrKiSbXZ_Yyuds/s1600/Irish2000.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijMuUGU7j4lv-wP6gVmOBChzIyrmGgZA-_WvWEBvLN4E3AKSEZgSw3wWA-JY_a5UZ8uzNetJxlzJe8j6QI71P5MBmIb9GRAmdKdMUnmDElZaFMEjC1MNnfS3ZE-kX2kaIrKiSbXZ_Yyuds/s400/Irish2000.gif" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Concentration of Americans who claim Irish ancestry according to the 2000 Census</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0pt;">
The two nations are old
friends. <st1:country-region w:st="on">Ireland</st1:country-region>’s
relationship with <st1:place w:st="on">North America</st1:place> goes as far
back as the early colonial period of the seventeenth century, if not earlier when
Irish monks claim to have landed on the east coast in the middle ages. </div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0pt;">
Immigrants arriving in the
New World were presented with a beautiful, but potentially fatal invitation; to
go forth, prosper and help to bring about a <st1:place w:st="on">New World</st1:place>
founded on Christian principles. The idea was stirring and the romance appealing,
and aware that there was no way back, the settlers had no choice but to give life
to the dream. </div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0pt;">
The colonies were divided up
into various social groupings, and many Irish found themselves headed to the Appalachia
where they helped to push the frontier forward and forge a unique identity in the
eastern hinterlands. Irish settlers faced the same problems as their fellow migrants across the colonies; hard graft, uncertainty and bloody encounters with
Indians. Perseverance was key, and bolstered by tens of thousands more of their
kinsmen, the Irish moved forward with tenacity. <span class="msoIns"><ins cite="mailto:m.rice" datetime="2012-03-07T13:51"></ins></span><br />
<span class="msoIns"><ins cite="mailto:m.rice" datetime="2012-03-07T13:51"></ins></span><br />
<span class="msoIns"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
With them came their culture
and ideas of society, and importantly their music. Irish music, fused with traditions
and influences of other folk musicians, made a marked impact in the cultural
evolution of early America, eventually evolving into bluegrass and country. If
settlers could counterbalance the hardships of daily life with the rousing
rhythms and melodies of a <i>céilí¸ </i>they could, in turn, use music as a psychological
tool in conquering the interior<i>.</i><i><span style="font-style: normal;"> As late as the 1860s and 1870s, Lieutenant George
Armstrong Custer used the <st1:place w:st="on">Limerick</st1:place> air </span>Garryowen
</i><i><span style="font-style: normal;">on his
campaigns against Plains Indians. </span> </i><br />
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0pt;">
While important, music alone
is not enough to explain the insatiable American romance with Ireland and the
celebration of all things Celtic thrust upon, and relished by, the descendants
of the Irish in America. And this New World interpretation of Irish culture has
teeth, with 150,000 people expected at the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:state w:st="on">New York</st1:state></st1:place> Saint Patrick’s Day parade, and a
further 2 million lining the streets.</div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaWxq79-OY6gkZT3OGn7QKcWl6WlZnagZ7_oens7eS7n3A0GO3SC7QMCRYuqZvRzI0gu7iBnUqJ0MwB3MdNKVzLnBRNwOLae7FrqHAthZkAH0zSm_p_9MOszthZcR4X6nb8Jx65XEVd9AK/s1600/800px-Chicago_River_dyed_green,_focus_on_river.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaWxq79-OY6gkZT3OGn7QKcWl6WlZnagZ7_oens7eS7n3A0GO3SC7QMCRYuqZvRzI0gu7iBnUqJ0MwB3MdNKVzLnBRNwOLae7FrqHAthZkAH0zSm_p_9MOszthZcR4X6nb8Jx65XEVd9AK/s400/800px-Chicago_River_dyed_green,_focus_on_river.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Chicago River is dyed green each year for St. Patrick's Day </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0pt;">
What made the stereotyped sociable,
happy-go-lucky and dreamy-eyed Irishman into an American icon was twofold: the
sheer numbers of Irish immigrants and the people they spawned. From the
much-loved yarn-spinners of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Ireland</st1:place></st1:country-region>
came such men as Andrew Jackson, John F. Kennedy and Billy the Kid. Two Presidents
and an outlaw; men such as these allowed the Irish to claim a place in American
culture that went beyond the fun-loving friend of all. What people such as
Jackson, Kennedy and The Kid did was to put the Irish at the forefront of American
legend. </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0pt;">
Greatly helping things along was the almost continual immigration of the Irish to the <st1:place w:st="on">New World</st1:place>. Upwards of <span class="st">250,000 </span><i><span style="font-style: normal;">migrated to <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">America</st1:place></st1:country-region></span></i><span class="st"> during the colonial era alone. T</span>wo centuries later nothing had changed, with almost 2 million arriving between 1820 and 1860. The sheer numbers reflect the appalling conditions in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Ireland</st1:country-region></st1:place>, and most had left due to hardships such as persecution and famine. </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0pt;">
But this did nothing to destroy Irish pride, and in the New World, many felt at liberty to display it more prominently than they had at home. The Irish clung together in the cities, forging strongholds such as Boston, New York and Chicago, where they settled in close proximity and were voted into government, their identity enhanced as a form of neo-tribal marker. For those who risked it and headed west, their ideas came with them, as did their involvement in frontier affairs. </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0pt;">
This caricatured injection
of ‘<st1:country-region w:st="on">Ireland</st1:country-region>’ that the
immigrant culture developed was well nurtured by the promise of <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">America</st1:country-region></st1:place>
and flourished. When this is considered within the greater context of American historical
identity, it is clear that the contribution of the Irish is as important as that
of the Founding Fathers or the cowboys, some of whom were of Irish descent themselves. </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0pt;">
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyy2mxtr6RV2i5rKKUHW6PE-ZxgUBweZTczln_26f4vPtk4OeXAjyWAPs0SZs4iE3VZy1xhuV5OwY_8yj3PyKhn__1pgSDE8z6A3zuvdnOhZAs8fT-i13vx1uDUvrLZ6383qXPH2MchGFj/s1600/Irish_Americans.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyy2mxtr6RV2i5rKKUHW6PE-ZxgUBweZTczln_26f4vPtk4OeXAjyWAPs0SZs4iE3VZy1xhuV5OwY_8yj3PyKhn__1pgSDE8z6A3zuvdnOhZAs8fT-i13vx1uDUvrLZ6383qXPH2MchGFj/s400/Irish_Americans.jpg" width="310" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_F._Kennedy" title="John F. Kennedy"><span style="color: windowtext;">John F. Kennedy</span></a>• <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Harris_Jones" title="Mary Harris Jones"><span style="color: windowtext;">Mother Jones</span></a>• <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_M._Cohan" title="George M. Cohan"><span style="color: windowtext;">George M. Cohan</span></a><br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_J._Braddock" title="James J. Braddock"><span style="color: windowtext;">James J. Braddock</span></a>• <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_J._McGivney" title="Michael J. McGivney"><span style="color: windowtext;">Michael J. McGivney</span></a>• <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Michael_Curley" title="James Michael Curley"><span style="color: windowtext;">James M. Curley</span></a><br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victor_Herbert" title="Victor Herbert"><span style="color: windowtext;">Victor Herbert</span></a> • <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eugene_O%27Neill" title="Eugene O'Neill"><span style="color: windowtext;">Eugene O'Neill</span></a> • <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ed_Sullivan" title="Ed Sullivan"><span style="color: windowtext;">Ed Sullivan</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 115%;">(with credit to Malachi Throne, Bertha Howell, George Grantham Bain, Anne S. Faulkner, Alice Boughton, and Maurice Carnes LaClaire, unaffiliated.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0pt;">
But today there is a
difference. The great waves of Irish migrants have petered away to droplets,
and the increasing majority of Irish-Americans are many generations removed
from their Irish-born forbearers. The curious thing is that these people, born
and bred in the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">United
States of America</st1:place></st1:country-region>, reflect favourably on a
country which is, for all intents and purposes, alien to them. Shamrock power
is not to be taken lightly in <st1:country-region w:st="on">America</st1:country-region>,
with countless Irish-American societies keeping the notions of the Old World
alive in a polished, <st1:place w:st="on">New World</st1:place> fashion. </div>
<br />
From this has developed a
fondness close to obsession that serves to perpetuate the cartoon Irishman, the
Plastic Paddy on the one hand, and to generalise Irish history with romantic
notions of justice and poetry on the other. A joint portrayal of this all-Irish-American hero is perhaps most aptly demonstrated in the film <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Far and Away</i>. And while Irish-American
culture is certainly identifiable to a native of the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placetype w:st="on">island</st1:placetype> of <st1:placename w:st="on">Ireland</st1:placename></st1:place>,
it is also very much removed from what we know to be Irish. Many traditional musicians for one find the music
greatly differs, complaining bitterly about the jazzing up of sacred rhythms;
and when have you ever met a fellow-Irishman who regards ‘corned beef and cabbage’ to be the staple fare on St Patrick’s Day?<br />
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0pt;">
The New World notion of
Irish has become an identity tag of weight in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">America</st1:place></st1:country-region>, and in doing so has
allowed the actual native born Irish to flirt a little more outrageously with
their stereotype. This writer for one readily admits to abusing the ‘Irish
card’ on more than one occasion whilst in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:state w:st="on">New York</st1:state></st1:place> and having had it received well. The
environment allows it, that subtle whiff of the colonial still lingers even
today. Americans are certain of their position, but they also seek certain
groundings and associations that go back to another place and time. </div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0pt;">
American tourism to <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Ireland</st1:place></st1:country-region> is big
business, and a dollar or six can be made from importing Irish jewellery and
emerald paraphernalia. Money flies back and forth across the Atlantic, with <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Dublin</st1:place></st1:city> receiving marked
investment by big, prospering American businesses. But while the eager
accommodation of the old ways is endearing, it must also be treated carefully. Irish
culture is neither a stagnant entity nor an interactive museum piece, but an-ever
evolving social concept. American eagerness can at times be forbearing, laying
claim to another nation with a zoo-esque approach to interaction. Laced among
this is the sometimes crude understanding of Irish politics that led to the
infamous scandal of American organisations collecting money for the IRA. While this applies only to a small minority of Irish-Americans, it is not an affair to be taken lightly. Celebrating an ancestral culture is one
thing, but actively and potentially destructively interfering in the current affairs of a foreign
nation is another.</div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0pt;">
The big question to ask is why
Irish-Americans label themselves thus, and not simply as unhyphenated Americans? The answer lies in the problem of romantic gloss. <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Ireland</st1:place></st1:country-region>, while
beautiful is a boggy country with lots of rocks and boulders. Its people, while
good-natured and friendly, are concerned with the simple things in life and
value the importance of being allowed to go about their business in a
distinctly understated fashion. The decidedly populist notion of the fighting Irish rogue spinning tales in a misty nation of Blarney and <span class="st"><em>bodhráns </em></span>is an increasingly Stateside portrayal of the Irish. While historically homogeneous, the Irish and the Irish-American are two distinctly different cultures, and while some of those born on the island may happily don a
leprechaun suit and drink whiskey till they sing to their shoes, this is only
one of many sides to a native of the island of Ireland. </div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0pt;">
Nor is it simply a case of
throwing out the Brits and having a massive stout-infused piss up after the
fact. </div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0pt;">
And it is due to these differences and occasional misconceptions that Irish-American
Heritage Month finds its true importance as Irish people of all backgrounds can unite in an exercise of exchange and education. Ireland gave America
unrestricted access to a romantic notion of Ireland, as well as some of the key building
blocks to their nation. Chicago native Michael
Flatley gave us Riverdance, Boston gave us the Dropkick Murphys, whose song
‘Shipping up to Boston’ is played during Irish Rugby matches, and politicians such as Bill Clinton gave us cross-Atlantic attention and support. Now it is time to redress the balance. <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Ireland</st1:place></st1:country-region> can
hope to learn what Irish-Americans actually think without getting caught up in
the smokescreen of fluorescent shamrocks and invasive exuberance. By contrast,
America should take time to drop preconceived notions of the fighting Irishman,
and instead become better acquainted with what it actually means to be of this
island through learning about its history and social expectations. This is not
a month for bars, pubs and brawls at 4am on Broadway; this is a month to become
properly reacquainted with old friends.</div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0pt;">
So Mr Obama, thank you for a
very kind gesture as it is one that we are very much humbled by. And if we manage to beat England at the rugby on
Saint Paddy’s Day, will be sure to attribute the win to you. </div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPKUEhO_PzbHWIGAL-37-fWyM-SmQYynXWh8Nz_Wd57FOH6BneQtFtufwKrPejmdzBRi1Dzl5uWd2Nzf3LzZ0eydrk0Oo0FgosyfMfFqk5OIuXq0_lIH2HeQqTTp5ZMvx-WDPBr1-TIXUV/s1600/800px-Green_Fountain_at_White_House_on_St_Patricks_Day,_2009.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPKUEhO_PzbHWIGAL-37-fWyM-SmQYynXWh8Nz_Wd57FOH6BneQtFtufwKrPejmdzBRi1Dzl5uWd2Nzf3LzZ0eydrk0Oo0FgosyfMfFqk5OIuXq0_lIH2HeQqTTp5ZMvx-WDPBr1-TIXUV/s400/800px-Green_Fountain_at_White_House_on_St_Patricks_Day,_2009.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The White House Fountain dyed green for St Patrick's Day</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<div class="paragraph" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 6.25pt; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt;">© Full copyright remains with Of This Island (http://ofthisisland.blogspot.com). All requests to use Of This Island material must be made in writing to OfThisIsland@hotmail.com</span></div>
<div class="paragraph" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 6.25pt; vertical-align: baseline;">
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</div>Of This Islandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03823046615798095409noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-611393648811524412.post-90125008406508803222012-03-01T15:33:00.000-08:002012-03-06T07:19:27.355-08:00The Old World Melting Pot: Nationalism, Regionalism and Identity in Modern IrelandGeorge William Russell once said
of Ireland
that, ‘after the spiritual powers, there is nothing in the
world more unconquerable than [its] spirit of nationality.’ History has
interpreted this as Russell most likely intended it, namely as a loaded
reflection on his own political bias, but the linguistic scholar will be quick
to point out that ‘nationality’ is far more than a vehicle for political
belief. It is, in its truest essence, a marker of place and identity. <br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="body"><span style="color: black;">But the concept
of Irish identity is an entirely complex one. Not only is the island fragmented
along the much mulled-over socio-religious split, its border and the political
loyalties within, but also the long-standing heritage of regionalism and provincialism. There is no easy answer to,
‘where are you from?’, and while people usually provide a simple, and indeed
satisfactory, response, regardless of their official geopolitical tag, the
truest description of Irish personal identity is highly developed and often
impossible for outsiders to grasp. And that’s before one even considers the
influence of the EU on both Dublin and on Belfast. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="body"><span style="color: black;">Ireland</span></span><span class="body"><span style="color: black;"> the island, both the Republic and the
North, can be divided into six key descriptors.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<ol start="1" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;"><span class="body">The smallest, and most ancient marker: townland (from </span><i>tuath</i>,
denoting an enclosure). Unique to Ireland. For example
Cahermaclanchy , County Clare and Shillanavogy, County Antrim.</li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<ol start="2" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;">Towns
and cities might follow, if living in an urban environment. </li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<ol start="3" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;"><span class="body">The next largest divider (dismissing Borough Councils) is the
county. For example Louth or Waterford.</span></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<ol start="4" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;"><span class="body">Then comes one of four provinces; Ulster,
Leinster, Munster,
Connacht.</span></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<ol start="5" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;"><span class="body"> Following this is the
geopolitical decider of Northern Ireland
or the Republic
of Ireland.</span></li>
</ol>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<ol start="6" style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: black;"><span class="body">Then, and perhaps the most tricky for those in the North, is
whether the individual is Irish, Northern Irish, British or a mixture of
all three.</span><span class="body"><span style="color: black;"> </span></span></li>
</ol>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZWmwnWyr7IijQsAaeaZTDKV5Bma7OsHs7aLqIEc6pZQ3_CxNvWpLGj26C1Jyu0-JTWdj1jpKTpOoA2Briv5S8xz6bsZqjB8o5zR179fPEhT9Ic-dba559QSUroKSGHY7cB7HxuldKO5Gw/s1600/Identity.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZWmwnWyr7IijQsAaeaZTDKV5Bma7OsHs7aLqIEc6pZQ3_CxNvWpLGj26C1Jyu0-JTWdj1jpKTpOoA2Briv5S8xz6bsZqjB8o5zR179fPEhT9Ic-dba559QSUroKSGHY7cB7HxuldKO5Gw/s640/Identity.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="body"><span style="color: black;">But this is all
purely academic, for in reality, few people will rattle off all six. Most will
opt for point two, five or six, occasionally three. Even here, however, the
concept is hazy, as nobody will say the same thing as the next. And herein lies
the crux of the issue. What does it actually mean to be from the island of Ireland?</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<span class="body"><span style="color: black;">In ancient times it was a strictly provincial concept, further
subdivided by local kingdoms, clans and ruling families. Not that this mattered
to the common man, as the daily life and cultural behaviours of each region was
closely related and family would have been the primary marker of identification
for the masses. And so it remained until 1541, when the single Kingdom of Ireland
was created by the occupying politics of Westminster,
once and for all forcing the Irish to subscribe to the heretofore alien notion
of nationhood. Not that this meant that the island as a whole was its own ruler
under a single, accepted government; it never has been. Nor was it ever a
united country, much to the dismay of modern romantics.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<span class="body"><span style="color: black;">And so Ireland
moved into the early modern period and beyond with scrambled and uncertain
concepts of identity, largely dictated by the divisive legacy of conquest.</span></span><span style="color: black;"> Further confusing the issue was the notion of post-Reformation
Christianity. From the early medieval era until this point, Ireland had been
Christian, if in a unique form in many ways foreign to accepted Roman
Catholicism. But the advent of Protestantism and the forceful policies of Tudor
and Elizabethan planters gave rise to a cultural divide still being negotiated
to this day; the labelling of people as Catholic or Protestant, as opposed to simply
Christian. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<span class="body"><span style="color: black;">But it would be erroneous to accept that the sectarian
divide of the modern day has been continuous since the Plantation. One has only to point to the
highly popular and nationwide United Irishmen movement that attracted
supporters on both sides of the religious divide. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<span class="body"><span style="color: black;">If the current social ghettoisation is not down to
continual, if habitually recurring, sectarianism of the kind that finally undid
the United Irishmen, nor is it the result of social incompatibility. The Scots
and Irish share more than many in the current day are willing or able to
acknowledge (see ‘Shared Origins’ article for more information). On the
contrary, it is largely due to confused and desperate attempts to forge
security out of the ruins of conquest. </span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span class="body"><span style="color: black;">Ireland</span></span><span class="body"><span style="color: black;"> has never been the golden chalice of
promise as believed by some, and those who point to the Battle
of the Boyne as a way to sure their argument
are grossly misinformed. As Winston Churchill tellingly put it, </span></span><span style="color: black;">‘we have always found the Irish a bit odd. They refuse to
be English.’ In the rawest evaluation, the modern problems of identity are the
direct result of external influence.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<span style="color: black;">These
conflicting ideas of nationalism, regionalism and identity are highly tangled
and largely contradictory notions that fail to see the bigger and more
important picture; the inhabitants of Ireland are culturally and genetically the
same, and share the same linguistic origins. This is largely ignored, forgotten
and dismissed, and as Conor Cruise O'Brien observed, ‘Irishness is not
primarily a question of birth or blood or language; it is the condition of
being involved in the Irish situation, and usually of being mauled by it.’<span class="body"></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
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<span class="body"><span style="color: black;">Inhabitants of the island are torn and confused by the
situation, and </span></span><span style="color: black;">the scholar must look no
further that the highly romanticised notions of pan-Celticism and the idea of a
pure Celtic race, made popular in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. These
notions were the construct of desperate idealism, born in a climate of
frustration and uncertainty due to the political machinations of Ireland being
torn apart by various claimants, and given weight by the poetic musings of the
likes of William Butler Yeats. Yeats, a Protestant, reflected fondly on the
idea that Ireland
should cast off the constraints of external rule and forge a modern
interpretation of Celtic identity. The fact that ‘Celtic’ in this sense was a
recent fabrication seems not to have entered into his thinking. </span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"> </span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYw7HKdwrmiaZjF1z7eUFpK8lWFyrqWTYHGJx0YBwviB5sKPT7tXPWe8p2emjhfUNF05_p5pevoEkNyRKDd6BdvKsQpcsWeOoplXna52b1AON9Mrl8pK-YykZ4sR0hDuP2wT3mjXWeBY6y/s1600/447px-Revolutionary_Joyce_Better_Contrast.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYw7HKdwrmiaZjF1z7eUFpK8lWFyrqWTYHGJx0YBwviB5sKPT7tXPWe8p2emjhfUNF05_p5pevoEkNyRKDd6BdvKsQpcsWeOoplXna52b1AON9Mrl8pK-YykZ4sR0hDuP2wT3mjXWeBY6y/s320/447px-Revolutionary_Joyce_Better_Contrast.jpg" width="238" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: black;">Indeed not
all were convinced, not least of who was Yeats' contemporary James Joyce. Joyce,
a Catholic, viewed the Irish as a people who had never known a singular,
all-encompassing identity, and argued that its fluid state was well suited for
pragmatic evolution and development. In his work, <i>A Portrait of the Artist
as a Young Man</i>, Joyce criticises
the notions favoured by allies of Yeats, and instead invites the Irish to
consolidate the notions of identity and in doing so move forward for the first
time in a singular notion of pan-Irish identity. </span></div>
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<span style="color: black;">One must
be careful not to dismiss Yeats as a dreamer, nor Joyce as a shamefaced
cultural critic. Both men present important interpretations of identity upon
which an enduring and all-encompassing notion of modern ‘Irishness’ can be built.
The Yeats camp encourages the consideration that the ‘Gaelic-Irish’ and ‘Scots-Irish’
share a singular cultural and historical heritage, while Joyce reminds us that Ireland is a modern country, an Old World melting pot which must adapt, learn and settle
before it can progress. </span></div>
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<span style="color: black;">While the
tricky political condition resulting in the border must not be taken lightly,
people of this island need to learn to transcend political reckoning with
social cooperation. So where does this leave us? It leaves us without a single,
identifiable voice; a petty and embarrassing construct born from invasion,
divide and conquest. Indeed, if the island is to move forward, it is time for
the people to reconsider their history with a fresh perspective and rethink
what exactly it means to be of this island. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt;">©
Full copyright remains with Of This Island
(http://ofthisisland.blogspot.com). All requests to use Of This Island
material must be made in writing to OfThisIsland@hotmail.com</span></div>
<div class="paragraph" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 6.25pt; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt;">FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @Of_This_Island and via our blog <a href="http://ofthisisland.blogspot.com/"><span style="color: black;">http://ofthisisland.blogspot.com/</span></a></span></div>
</div>Of This Islandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03823046615798095409noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-611393648811524412.post-57088853150349538822012-02-23T05:20:00.000-08:002012-02-23T05:28:17.549-08:00International Interest and Investment: The Rise of the Celtic Dragon?<br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-size: 20pt;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"></span></span></u></b>Casting the eye back over the economic affairs of the past
four years it is not difficult to deduce that Ireland was in a state of financial,
and at times political, ruin. Hidden loans, resignations and the so-called ‘Golden
Circle’ became Dublin’s public face, and the country plunged into the crisis of
depression. A whacking great bailout followed and the once mighty Tiger was left
in the shadows to lick its wounds.
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But as with a forest regenerated by the results of a fire,
Ireland has begun to attract interest again and there is considerable economic
gain to be made by any nation who deploys an economic partnership with the
country. Ripe for the picking, Ireland
is a blank emerald canvas complete with a willing workforce and a modern
infrastructure. The land is fertile again.</div>
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Who to plant it? Certainly not Europe, with its unsteady
financial relations with Ireland still very much a problem, or a United Kingdom
struggling to keep itself together economically as well as geo-politically. No,
the new suitor must be from further afield, somewhere not fuddled by years of
nitty-gritty, and outside Western Europe,
things are certainly rosier. Bill Clinton for one is leading the charge in the
States, encouraging widespread investment in the Republic, pointing to Google
and Paypal as pioneering examples. Clinton’s
calling has certainly been gathering momentum and tangible progress has been
made, with US companies
being behind almost 40 per cent of offices bought or leased in Dublin last year. But America has been hit
hard by the recession and needs to baton down the hatches during the expected
uncertainty of an election year, especially one in which the incumbent has recently
<span lang="EN" style="color: #333333;">unveiled plans to
introduce measures to tax American companies operating overseas</span>.</div>
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Instead the spark comes in the form the world’s most
populous nation: China.
Beijing too has suffered from the global
downturn, with America’s
problems damaging trade between the two nations as Washington began its retreat. Only in the
latter half of 2011 did China engage with the idea of an internal recession,
but immediately sought positive solutions. And like a great deal of Chinese
problem solving, the blossoming relationship with Ireland is one that is to be
viewed in the long term.</div>
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China is
again booming at the forefront of the global economy, with Beijing predicting imports to exceed $8
trillion by 2015. And Ireland
has not been slow to react, with existing bi-lateral trade between the two
countries recently having increased to $8.6 billion. </div>
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And when Chinese vice-president Xi Jinping visited the
country earlier in the week, the relationship between Ireland and China was broadcast on a global
scale. </div>
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350 delegates gathered at an Ireland-China forum in Dublin
on Monday, where Mr Jinping not only reiterated that the two nations would
continue to work closely to strengthen investment ties, but that Chinese
investment would become beneficial to Europe as a whole.</div>
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East-West tensions and suspicions go back far, but the
nature of the current recession allows for an easing of past uncertainties,
with even the United States
admitting that Beijing and Washington must work together to
reinvigorate global economics.</div>
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Progress can be made in such an environment, and not only
economically. Trade will indeed help to ease the pressures born from
unemployment, in turn injecting much-needed stimulus into Ireland’s bourgeoning
infrastructure of new motorways and airport redevelopment, but also allows the
Republic to escape the age-old roll and tumble contest with the United Kingdom.
By escaping from this stagnant state of conceived dependency on one hand and financial
intimidation on the other, Dublin can make a bold statement of its existence as
an international power in its own right.</div>
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But what about Ireland as an island? How can Northern Ireland
benefit from the promise shown in the south? This is a tricky issue, for Westminster can connect with Dublin’s
Chinese romance, and indeed the flattering – but no less inviting – attention
from America,
through the mutual medium of the Six Counties. But London
must realise that this Ireland
is confident, with Taoiseach Enda Kenny already planning great strides to the
East for a visit to Beijing
in March. When this is considered alongside the current preoccupation of
Scottish independence and the potential loss in capita faced in 2014,
Anglo-Irish relationships may just find themselves at an interesting and highly
potent crossroads. </div>
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The pressure is squarely on Dublin to do this properly. It must keep an
eye on its banks, ensure sound economic checks are in place and be firm, but
flexible, in its demeanour. On the one hand, Ireland must seize this chance to
reinvent itself. On the other, it must keep its head together and its eyes firmly
focused on its goals. Most importantly, it must learn from all the
implications, both positive and negative, stemming from the rise and the fall
of the Celtic Tiger, before it fuels the fires of the rapidly growing and
potentially powerful Celtic Dragon.<br />
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<div class="paragraph" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 6.25pt; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt;">©
Full copyright remains with Of This Island
(http://ofthisisland.blogspot.com). All requests to use Of This Island
material must be made in writing to OfThisIsland@hotmail.com</span></div>
<div class="paragraph" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 6.25pt; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt;">FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @Of_This_Island and via our blog <a href="http://ofthisisland.blogspot.com/"><span style="color: black;">http://ofthisisland.blogspot.com/</span></a></span></div>
</div>Of This Islandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03823046615798095409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-611393648811524412.post-37268159438658803282012-02-10T16:18:00.000-08:002012-02-13T05:00:46.239-08:00Six Nations, Five Games, Four Provinces, Three Pointers, Two Anthems and One Island: Rugby Season in Ireland<br />
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"All visitors enjoy a taste of Ireland", or so the promotion man at Lansdowne Road told me. But lying face down, battered and bruised, at the business end of a muddy field in south Dublin isn’t quite what tourists to the Emerald Isle are expecting from this vague idiom.</div>
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Unless, of course, they are here to play rugby union.</div>
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<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:IRFU_flag.svg" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNDrP-CMdqAqk-33y-lmobqWfSKzTbt9VTZTRTWtTO26bj_xCfA9iGfQcBlSPG4gT8YcvpzX8fC_JAYvwGl0CX-tuHvb4ftXpo8s6U13XEAA4qli99DXg2cNNnGQsBNdEGZGcTK_nCb9X1/s320/IRFU.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Rugby days in Dublin are special. They are lively events; spirited spectacles of camaraderie, exchanges of wit, and good natured misbehaviour. The city is adorned in green and white, with random splashes of colour of whoever the day’s opposition might be. The bars are full, the music is loud and upbeat, and if you look carefully, you might catch some poor bugger falling into the Liffey. <br />
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And if you so happen to be one of the select few who hold a ticket, there is nothing more thrilling and self-satisfying than leaving the bar at 12.45 to make the pilgrimage to the hallowed ground, leaving two thirds of your heretofore new best friends wallowing in emerald green envy. </div>
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The approach to Lansdowne Road is along the eponymous narrow boulevard of the same name, a straight strip of tree-lined tarmac with a dog leg bend in the middle. Grinning faces, half-cut and rosy from all the Guinness, leisurely crowd and jostle along the road; getting increasingly excited and boisterous as the stands rise into view.</div>
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100 yards from the ground is the territory of ticket touts, burger vans and sellers of match day tack, and this just serves to add to the infantile excitement. Fully grown men in wax jackets, hunter wellies and green shirts abandon wholesale their daytime guise of city executive and become giddy children clamouring for scarves and programmes. </div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4nywsPZqambOdKwu5eMXqXFwMBIX26LK7PLpKoN8AVvaPzagyG771bki0YE2FTenvWlwsUsIRaWdXyyie1MnwAKTIkGBfqvEDoac0MRHmKSn4IGfWrMwau0hUBKMxiE8fU8t5JDpnt3T0/s1600/IRFU2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4nywsPZqambOdKwu5eMXqXFwMBIX26LK7PLpKoN8AVvaPzagyG771bki0YE2FTenvWlwsUsIRaWdXyyie1MnwAKTIkGBfqvEDoac0MRHmKSn4IGfWrMwau0hUBKMxiE8fU8t5JDpnt3T0/s320/IRFU2.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ireland v. Scotland 2007 photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/15489034@N00/420003710" target="_blank">Conor Lawless</a>, unaffiliated.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Once inside, greeted and seated, fans from both sides of the argument have the chance to debate their respective chances in close proximity, exchanging long-drawn drawls concerning provincial and club scores, player myths and secret tactics known only to the yarn-spinner in question.</div>
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"Aye, while your number 10 might kicked four conversions against the All Blacks, Ronan O’Gara hit six against the Bokkas AND scored a try, and I’m saying this as an Ulsterman."</div>
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And that’s the beauty of Irish rugby; it is genuinely Irish. Fans from all four provinces unite under a single, island-wide banner to celebrate something all-defining but positively non-political. There remains the issue of anthems, when players of Northern Irish heritage awkwardly remain silent during the Soldier Song, but are invited to dismiss the divisive legacy of history by singing the all-inclusive Ireland’s Call; some might point to this as a negative, but its quite the opposite. Ireland’s Call disengages from the problems of secular division, reminding us all that there is more to being human than the intangible implications of geo-political borders and debatable tribal loyalties. </div>
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Rising from this is Irish rugby. One identity, one fan base and one voice, but drawn from the mixed heritage of four provinces. There is surely something good to be taken from this. <br />
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<div class="paragraph" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 6.25pt; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri", "sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt;">© Full copyright remains with Of This Island (http://ofthisisland.blogspot.com). All requests to use Of This Island material must be made in writing to OfThisIsland@hotmail.com</span></div>
<div class="paragraph" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 6.25pt; vertical-align: baseline;">
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</div>Of This Islandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03823046615798095409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-611393648811524412.post-64156840881007855602012-02-01T06:52:00.000-08:002012-04-22T08:22:26.798-07:00Shared Origins<div class="paragraph" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 6.25pt; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="textrun"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">At least two centuries before the great boulders of Stonehenge were placed on a windswept Salisbury Plain, and over 500 years before the Great Pyramid of Giza rose from the deserts of Egypt, Neolithic architects in the Boyne Valley <i>(Brú na Bóinne) </i>were laying the foundations of one of the most studied structures of the ancient world. </span></span><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt;"></span></div>
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<span class="textrun"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">An imposing earthen mound in County Meath (<i>an Mhí</i>), its original name has been lost to the jealous mists of history. But the legacy of middle age Cistercian farming practices provided the tag that it has today, Newgrange. </span></span><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt;"></span></div>
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<span class="textrun"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">In its most elementary guise, Newgrange can be regarded as a passage tomb and an impressive illustration of Neolithic structural design. But on a more refined level, Newgrange is revealed as a highly-charged site of much debated pre-Christian spirituality, a sunlight trap on Winter Solstice, and as an exhibit of some of the finest examples of ancient Irish art; including intricate stone carvings of spirals known as the <a href="http://www.knowth.com/newgrange/spirals.jpg" target="_blank">triskele or triskelion</a>.</span></span><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"><span class="textrun"> </span></span></div>
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<span class="textrun"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">Given the connection between Newgrange and the Solstice, it is mused that the meaning of the triskelion is solar. But the artwork has assumed more widely celebrated connotations over the centuries, and is not only regarded as one of the most famous examples of ancient Irish art, but an iconic symbol of the Ireland the island. </span></span><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt;"></span></div>
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<span class="textrun"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">It is important to remember that this comes from a culture that not only pre-dates Christianity in Ireland, but also the arrival of the Celts around 400 BC. </span></span></div>
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<span class="textrun"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">The pre-Christian triskelion, however, is not alone. From the fifth century BC until 100 AD, the La Tène culture of art swept post-Iron Age Europe, incorporating and developing much of the artistic nuances seen at places such Newgrange. The most famous examples of spiral-influenced La Tène art can be found at the <a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/75/Stone_of_Turoe.JPG" target="_blank">Turoe Stone</a> </span></span><span class="textrun"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">in County Galway (<i>Contae na Gaillimhe</i>) and the </span></span><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"><a href="http://www.ancientireland.org/castlestrange/P5050168ax.jpg" target="_blank">Castlestrange stone</a> in County Roscommon (</span><i><span lang="GA" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">Contae Ros Comáin</span></i><i><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">).</span></i><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"><i> </i></span><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt;"></span></div>
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<span class="textrun"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">By now Ireland was a highly-active ‘Celtic’ nation defined by its pagan religion and symbolic interrelation of society, ritual and art. And it was during this time of great cultural exchange that some of the most influential elements of shared Irish, Scottish and Welsh culture still evident today would emerge. </span></span><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt;"></span></div>
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<span class="textrun"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">According to the legends of Irish mythology, a woman named Brigid, daughter of Dagda and a member of the pre-Celtic <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuatha_D%C3%A9_Danann" target="_blank">Tuatha Dé Danann</a>, emerged to become the goddess of inspiration and poetry, hearth, healing and midwifery. Such was her importance that when Christianity eventually did come to Ireland c.</span></span><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"> <span lang="EN">5th century AD, she was incorporated wholesale along with the majority of her prior aspects in the persona of St Brigit of Kildare; one of Celtic Christianity’s most celebrated saints even outside Ireland.</span></span></div>
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<span class="textrun"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">But it was in the north of the island that a Celtic, pre-Christian symbol emerged that would go on to have an even greater impact on the joint history of Ireland than that of Brigid. According to myth, the Red Hand of Ulster</span></span><span class="textrun"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"> - tragically reviled by some </span></span><span class="textrun"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">- was originally the symbolic celebration of an early king of the province winning the rights to the crown from a rival. Not only had it nothing to do with Protestant ascendancy, but it was later used as a marker by the <a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_1233030120">O’Neill (</a></span></span><a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_1233030120"><i><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">Uí Néill</span></i></a><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/O%27Neill_dynasty#Coats_of_arms" target="_blank">)</a> </span><span class="textrun"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">clan who resisted Tudor and Elizabethan designs on Ireland. </span></span></div>
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<span class="textrun"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">But the Red Hand is not alone as a </span></span><span class="textrun"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">symbol of pre-Christian Ireland that has been </span></span><span class="textrun"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">erroneously </span></span><span class="textrun"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">co-opted to assume prescribed sectarian connotations. The Celtic harp (</span></span><i><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">Clàrsach/Cláirseach/clàrsach Ghàidhealach)</span></i><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"> </span><span class="textrun"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">has long been associated with Irish nationalism but in reality it is not unique to that view nor even to Ireland being a </span></span><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">prominent element in Welsh, Breton, and Scottish cultures also and is in fact another element of shared origins and cultural exchange. Even the most iconic of ‘Irish harps’, the National symbol of Ireland, the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trinity_College_Harp" target="_blank">Trinity college Harp (Brian Boru’s Harp)</a>, is thought to have been hand-crafted in, or near, Argyll in western Scotland c. 14<sup>th</sup> or 15<sup>th</sup> century and bears the coat of arms of the O'Neills, whose stronghold during that period was in Ulster. </span></div>
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<span class="textrun"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">Likewise, the Celtic knot, to use a very loose, but suitably descriptive term, is often assumed to be a show of modern Irish nationalism, but has no true connection. Knots originated around 450 AD, and became central to pre-Christian Celtic design in Britain as well as across Europe. In Scotland, the artistic traditions of the Picts built upon the La Tène cultures to create sharp, angular knot patterns, while the Irish crafted smoother, more circular designs. But this is by no means a hard and fast rule, for as La Tène and later artworks spread, local artists borrowed and traded from other British tribes to create a fluid interchange of culture that created not only distinctly Irish styles, but was also part of a wider inclusive artistic heritage. </span></span></div>
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<span class="textrun"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">With the onset of Christianity, Irish artists manipulated existing artistic styles to incorporate the newly-arrived Christian symbolism. So far did the Irish interpret and mould Christian practices that by the early Dark Ages, Rome was forced to send papal delegates to Ireland to correct what had become an almost unrecognisable form of ‘Celtic Christianity’. </span></span><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt;"></span></div>
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<span class="textrun"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">Into this environment of incorporation, trade and tribal interaction stepped a man that has gone on to embody the island of Ireland. Born a Roman in the area of <a href="http://www.saintpatrickcentre.com/saint_patrick.php#confession" target="_blank">modern Carlisle</a>, Saint Patrick is now celebrated the world over as the most Irish of Irish. But with Saint Patrick begins a troubling legacy of religious intolerance, arguably born from a disregard for long established Druidic practice.</span></span></div>
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<span class="textrun"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">But Patrick is by no means the origin of the sectarian troubles of today. On the contrary, Patrick allows for Irish people the world over to find common ground behind symbols such as the triskelion, Ulster’s Red Hand, the knots and the harp, for these are all shared markers of Irishness, whether of four province descent, Scots or otherwise. This phenomenon can be identified in the modern celebration of St Patrick ’s Day. Seen less often as a Christian Saint’s feast day and increasingly as a secular holiday, March 17 brings people together the world over simply to celebrate being Irish or of Irish descent.</span></span></div>
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<span class="textrun"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">In this light, it is fair to propose that the problems of the modern day are disconnected from the most recognisable symbols of Irish culture. Most of the symbols in question pre-date the sectarianism that originated with the divide and conquer policies of post-Norman rule, and has only in relatively recent history been ascribed to such symbols. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">But there is a wind of change. The recent attendance of <a href="http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/northern-ireland/dups-peter-robinson-attends-gaa-match-16110288.html" target="_blank">Peter Robinson at a GAA</a> match with current colleague and former foe, Martin McGuiness (<i>Máirtín Mag Aonghusa</i>), and the latter's visit to <a href="http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/northern-ireland/martin-mcguinness-at-windsor-park-to-cheer-on-beloved-candystripes-16126988.html" target="_blank">Windsor Park</a> for the first time since 1964, demonstrates how the divisive tools of history can be overcome with an advanced understanding of place, past and modern context. As Mr Robinson reflected, 'I have consistently been saying that we have to get away from the 'them and us' politics. We have to be able to show respect for each other's traditions so it's good to be here.'</span></div>
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<span class="textrun"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">Our aim is not to dissuade people from using these symbols, nor to challenge the authenticity or integrity of the symbols themselves, but rather to demonstrate through an examination of their origins that the idea they are the sole preserve of any one ‘type’ of Irish, is in a word, erroneous. Just as </span></span><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">Stormont First Minister Peter Robinson was able to enjoy and show his support for Irish sport in the form of Gaelic football (<i>Peil Ghaelach)</i>, so should all of these symbols and more be enjoyed and celebrated by all Irishmen. </span><span class="textrun"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">They are 'Irish' symbols, incorporating elements borrowed from other cultures, and belong equally to all the inhabitants of this island as a celebration of the shared origins of its people. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt;">© Full copyright remains with Of This Island (http://ofthisisland.blogspot.com). All requests to use Of This Island material must be made in writing to OfThisIsland@hotmail.com</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt;">FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @Of_This_Island and via our blog <a href="http://ofthisisland.blogspot.com/"><span style="color: black;">http://ofthisisland.blogspot.com/</span></a> </span></div>Of This Islandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03823046615798095409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-611393648811524412.post-14731607211369281002012-01-25T15:31:00.000-08:002012-02-02T05:06:07.023-08:00Sham-rocks, Plastic Paddies and Bar Brawls: Challenging the Populist Status Quo <style>
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Ireland is a country tagged as the home of the craic, the blarney and roguish poets, and while even the most ardent Irishman would entertain the idea of wearing a leprechaun hat on Saint Patrick’s Day, the Emerald Isle is more intricate and learned than the stereotyped Celtic partyland of popular culture. Nor does the true Ireland conform to the darker side of its typecasting, as a shadowy land of drunks, violent men in balaclavas, and a culture based upon the currency of potatoes, sheep and oppressive religious figures. </div>
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In order to understand the real Ireland, the student must first appreciate the roots behind the labelling and acknowledge the factual elements within, before proceeding to unravel the complexities surrounding Irish culture and history. Only then will the disseminated pieces allow for a proper reconstruction. </div>
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But there is hindrance, and not only from the outside. </div>
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In the northeast corner of the island, 30 years of Troubles have cast Northern Ireland as an unstable hellhole of political dogma and hard social division. Suspicion and tension is still recorded on both sides of the debate, while an overwhelming number unaffiliated parties resolutely focus on the isolated disparity. And this exists regardless of the fact that things have greatly improved since the dark days of the 1970s and 80s. What remains is a tragic lack of a single voice, where sporadic terrorist attacks putrefy within the void. </div>
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By contrast, the prevailing consciousness outside the island is one of misapprehension manifested in slurs and an approach that some argue flirts with racism in an all too acceptable fashion. 'Paddy' has become a name synonymous with idiotic buffoonery, the ancient symbolism of the shamrock desecrated, and the history of the island projected through the veil of conquest. </div>
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And it is neither localised nor restricted to everyday social banter. </div>
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In February 2010, the journalist and then Director of the Centre for Social Cohesion, Douglas Murray, posted a reactionary, and some argued <a href="http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/douglasmurray/100025451/anyone-know-any-irishman-jokes/" target="_blank">anti-Irish opinion piece</a>, in The Daily Telegraph blog that prompted readers to post derogatory jokes in response. </div>
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Across the Atlantic, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg came under criticism for his alcohol-centred treatment of Saint Patrick's Day, while in July 2011, <a href="http://politicalscrapbook.net/2011/07/richard-barnes-irish-builders/" target="_blank">London's Deputy Mayor for Equalities, Richard Barnes</a>, queried, 'are they like most Irish builders, saying that it’s going to be ‘roughly that’', when discussing the cost of redesigning Euston Station.</div>
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In 2006, The Irish Times criticised the prison newspaper, <a href="http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/frontpage/2009/1016/1224256789057.html" target="_blank">Inside Times</a>, for printing a series of anti-Irish jokes in two consecutive editions, before ignoring complaints and following suit on a third. </div>
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The most damning example were the views printed in <a href="http://irishecho.com/?p=54215" target="_blank">the Guardian by Julie Burchill</a>, who linked the Irish to fascism and child abuse, commenting on, 'almost compulsory child molestation by the national church, total discrimination against women who wish to be priests, aiding and abetting Herr Hitler in his hour of need and outlawing abortion and divorce.'</div>
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This is not to say that the Irish are unable to laugh at themselves, but the humour popularised by Father Ted and Give My Head Peace must be properly understood; it is dark comedy that exists to as an intelligent response to detractors and so must be treated with care. </div>
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In light of this climate, it is time to challenge the misconceptions. </div>
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Broken down into its basic, but by no means comprehensive, components, modern Ireland can be presented in three distinct, but closely related personalities; the independent and progressive Eurozone of the Republic; the closely guarded but highly colourful North forever uncertain of its prescribed Westminster governance; and the shared history of scholarly prowess, accomplished artistry and globally celebrated hospitality. To an outside mind, therefore, Ireland is a complex affair and one which understandably lends itself to the simplifying process of caricature. The result, once the balances are struck, is a land of joviality, undermined by internal dispute, and due to its restrained global presence, one that can be affectionately patronised. </div>
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And herein lies the problem; the uneasy relationship behind Ireland the Industry and Ireland the Island. </div>
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Ireland the Industry is the cartoon of Ireland, embodied as the palatable, plastic Paddy with his slow-poured Guinness, wooden pipe and flat cap. He is a jolly figure, whose friendliness is interpreted as idiocy, and his regional-focus as charmingly backward. Such is the force of this prescription that Ireland has been reduced to making an industry out of the caricature, a desperate measure for a desperate situation. But this must not be interpreted as acceptance, for the pragmatist is not unfamiliar with the realist.</div>
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Ireland the Island is the proud, but brow-beaten, alter-ego of Ireland the Industry. It realises the issues that have cloaked its counterpart, and constantly battles with the problems involved. It understands that it cannot change the populist perspective of Ireland, but rather wishes to inform outsiders, and invites them to experience the real Ireland. The vibrant revival of the Irish language and celebration of Irish music, dance and arts in all forms should be acknowledged as they are things that, in theory, should be championed across the four provinces. This camp also celebrates positive treatments of the island, pointing to events such as the visit of Queen Elizabeth II in 2011; the fine historical and social commentary on the island; and the increasing efforts to effectively console the north, rebuilding relations between the nations through a celebration of cultural assets they hold as part of a common heritage as people of this island. </div>
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This article does not wish to advocate external censorship or excessive political correctness, but to consider whether the concept of plastic paddies and bar brawls is as true a reflection on Ireland as painting any other nationality by their prescribed stereotype. Instead, consider this an invitation for inhabitants of the island and outsiders alike to reconsider Ireland without the lazy cloak of prejudice, and to form a sustainable and fair impression of Ireland that future generations can be proud of. </div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri", "sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt;">© Full copyright remains with Of This Island (http://ofthisisland.blogspot.com). All requests to use Of This Island material must be made in writing to OfThisIsland@hotmail.com</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri", "sans-serif"; font-size: 8pt;">Check out <a href="http://www.the-platform.org.uk/2012/01/30/sham-rocks-plastic-paddies-and-bar-brawls" target="_blank">The Platform</a> for this and other great blogs.</span><br />
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</div>Of This Islandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03823046615798095409noreply@blogger.com0