Nationalism in Irish History: History in Irish Nationalism

Exosocialization Gellner and the economic and demographic changes that make culture primary Gellner uses the term “visible” -what makes culture “visible” is the need to socialize subjects who are no longer living in intimate social units (villages and towns) Nationalism and the city

A problem that we encounter often in this discipline is fairly obvious: nationalism is both a historical phenomenon and a mechanism of mediation for other historical phenomenon So, we can quite easily outline the history of modern Irish nationalism, and even discuss how certain figures treat nationalism, but…

We also have to consider how a belief in the political rightness of the nation is itself modifying the way history gets told For example: much agrarian violence is seen by contemporary historians as nationalist or proto-nationalist, when it was neither: it was strictly economical

Ribbonmen (early 1800s), Oakboys (mid 1800s), Whiteboys (1760s), peep o’ day boys (1780s) Agrarian secret societies founded on the premise of protecting farmers from landlords Not really interested in constitutional independence from England

The Act of Union, 1800 Piece of legislation that abolished the Irish Parliament and made Ireland “a sister country” of England Irish landlords, growing increasingly worried about agrarian unrest, trade some of their rights and economic interests for enhanced security from an invincible defender: England and the Crown

Document, which secures the primacy of the Protestant Church of Ireland and the political privilege of Unionists, is a direct response to two historical phenomena: 1) The French Revolution 2) Insurgent Irish nationalism (especially Ribbonism)

As Oliver MacDonagh notes, as long as the Act was maintained “it was more or less threatened by the forces which had provoked its inception” (Union and Aftermath, 14). The Act of Union and the forces that necessitate it are the starting points of modern Irish history

Constitutional Independence and the Nation Young Ireland, Thomas Davis, and the urban strands of Irish nationalism O’Connell and the rural strands Davitt, the Land War ( ), and the Three “F”s –Fixed tenure –Fair rent –Free sale

Parnell Irish Parliamentarian and landlord, Parnell, sought to have the Act of Union repealed Was able to successfully join the two distinct, and even contradictory, impulses of Irish rural and urban nationalism On the verge of this political success, Parnell was accused of committing adultery with Kitty O’Shea Divorce was legal for Protestants in Ireland, but no nationalist leader would seriously contemplate marrying a divorced woman

By custom, then, O’Shea had split from her husband and had maintained a separate life Lived with Parnell in London (but kept separate residences in Dublin) They had three children together, and their “marriage” was well known

Still, this did not prevent the accusation of adultery from destroying his political career The Catholic church was especially vicious with Parnell Many Parnellite’s (like Joyce) responded by suggesting the Church focus on issues of spirituality rather than politics, but this did not help

Cultural Nationalism “The Fall of Parnell” (note the biblical and epic overtones) left a void in Irish politics This void was addressed by cultural figures rather than political ones for the next two decades The Gaelic League 1880s-90s Irish Education Act

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