The Irish Nationalist Movement and its Importance

I had the opportunity to live in Ireland for three and a half years. Over those years I was able to experience Irish national first hand and how it is today. The nationalism in Ireland is deeply rooted in the countries history.

The Irish have felt the influence of Britain long before the more recent campaign for home rule. One could make the case that the Irish people first experienced the influence of Britain with the Norman Invasion. However, the population did not truly experience the authority of Britain until King Henry VIII attempted to consolidate his power by invading and conquering the island. Henry VIII brought the Protestant faith to the Irish which very much clashed with the traditional Catholic faith indigenous to the Irish.

Over the intervening years, the Irish people gradually distanced themselves from the British first by establishing an Irish Parliament, then pushing for home rule and self-governance, finally resulting in a quest for independence.

The Irish Nationalist Movement allowed the Irish people to ultimately define themselves as an independent nation and sovereign state. There are three components to the Irish Nationalist Movement; cultural nationalism, political nationalism, and revolutionary nationalism.

The Irish have always identified closely with their cultural identity. Economic pressures have periodically forced many Irish nationals to immigrate to other countries in search of employment. Each wave of immigrants brought with them the customs and culture of Ireland.

During the 19th century the Irish began a strong identification with their native Celtic and Gaelic culture. Of special importance was the revival of the Gaelic language. This revolution is apparent in the creative arts and is present in the literature, music, dance, and other arts with Celtic ties. Of proximate importance was the Irish promotion of the native Gaelic language. The Irish people found it empowering to speak the Gaelic language.

In addition to the growth of the Gaelic language the Irish people revived the sport of Gaelic football and many other traditions such as traditional music into their daily lives. It is also notable that the Irish revived their Catholic schools and universities.

It is important to note that the cultural revolution began under British rule allowing the Irish to slowly distance themselves from the British authority. The practice and recognition of their native culture allowed the Irish to express an independence without overtly challenging British rule.

Irish history is marked with many uprisings against British rule. The Battle of the Boyne was a notable event within the revolutionary nationalism movement in Ireland. On June 14th, 1690, William rounded up his forces near Dublin. William represented the Protestant side. The Battle of the Boyne was recognized as one of the largest military forces seen at the time. The Catholic opposition was lead by James. Although the Catholics suffered a brutal loss the battle demonstrates that despite losing the Irish still had fight in them and a strong sense of nationalism.

Possibly in response to the successful revolutions in America and France the prospect of greater political rights were born in Ireland in the late 1700’s. Notably the 1798 uprising though not successful demonstrated the demand for Catholic rights. This set the tone for future unrest and revolutionary nationalism.

From 1870 through 1910 Ireland experienced the campaign for home rule. During this period the Protestants led by the likes of Isaac Butt sought a form of home rule through a subordinate Irish parliament. It was a more conservative goal hoping to gain influence over time. While the Catholic faction led by the likes of Charles Biggar sought more assertive actions than the conservative Protestants.

The period between 1910 and 1923 was considered the Irish Civil War. The Ulster Unionist Party under Edward Carson marked the beginning of the tensions. Of note the Easter Rising was initiated in 1916. At the end of the First World War Dail Eireann Sinn Fein was created as an alternative Irish parliament. The success of the Sinn Fein party in the 1916 parliamentary elections elevated the desire among the Irish for independence from Britain. Then in 1919 the Irish War of Independence began with unionist in the north and Britain sending troops to break up the Irish parliament and to return British authority. This was an especially violent period for Ireland. It was not until 1921 that the Anglo-Irish treaty was created ending the War of Independence and creating a partitioned Ireland.

Cultural Nationalism is expressed through the arts. While we think of the 1916 Easter Rising when Irish Nationalism is mentioned there is a very strong cultural nationalism that pervades the music, dance, and literature of Ireland. Irish cultural nationalism has been a process of removing the British influence.

Of the seven signatories of the Proclamation of the Irish Republic three were poets. These three are Patrick Pearse, Joseph Plunkett, and Thomas MacDonagh. Notably Thomas MacDonagh’s works gave rise to the literary tradition he named “Anglo-Irish” where the prose or poetry is written in English but retains the Irish traditions.

It is said that English rule deprived the Irish of their cultural heritage. The end of British rule allowed the Irish poets and writers to reclaim their culture. Yeats wrote, ‘there is no great literature without nationality, no great nationality without literature.”

Despite Yeats observation, he was accepted as an Anglo-Irish poet with reservation due to the fact he was a Protestant. Swift was excluded as well. It appears that writers who were willing to embrace the culture such as Dublin street ballads, folk poetry, and the ways of the Gael were accepted as Anglo-Irish.

Yeats used a heroic Anglo-Irish literary culture based on the ancient Irish tales to build the Irish nationalism. Yeats promoted the Irish Cultural Nationalism.

The suppression of the Gaelic language by the British is an example of a conflict between political nationalism and cultural nationalism. The Irish intended to preserve their cultural nationalism through the preservation of the Gaelic language. The British suppressed the Gaelic language to assert their political nationalism and dominance over the Irish.

Ireland’s strong nationalism expressed in language, customs, music, dance, and literature played an outsized roll in the history of the Irish people. Also, through sources of political and revolutionary endeavours.

References

Moody, T. W. (EDT)/ Martin, F. X. (EDT)/ Keogh, Dermot (EDT)/ Kiely, Patrick (CON). The Course of Irish History. Natl Book Network, 2012.

Michael McAteer. “Celtic and Irish Revival.” Celtic and Irish Revival — British and Irish Literature — Oxford Bibliographies, 20 Sept. 2019, www.oxfordbibliographies.com/view/document/obo-9780199846719/obo-9780199846719-0025.xml.

Barrett, Paul. “Irish Cultural Nationalism Was a Process of ‘De-Anglicisation.’” Owlcation, Owlcation, 29 May 2018, owlcation.com/humanities/Irish-cultural-nationalism-was-a-process-of-de-Anglicisation.

University of Cincinnati. “The Irish Literary Revival.” The Irish Literature Collection, libapps.libraries.uc.edu/exhibits/irish-lit/sample-page/.

BBC. “Ireland Profile — Timeline.” BBC News, BBC, 18 May 2018, www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-17480250.

Yeats, W B, and Richard J. Finneran. The Collected Poems of W.B. Yeats. New York: Collier Books, 1989. Print.