1. Nationalism & Unionism in Ireland
Do Economic Forces Matter?

2. Nationalist Ideology: some theory
Product of the modern industrializing world
Reaction to disruptive economic & social change
Especially where an ethno-cultural group feels disadvantaged
Nationalist intellectuals and ideologues emerge
Demand political autonomy

3. Overview: 19th century Economic changes Demographic changes
Political changes: movement towards greater democracy
Context: industrializing Britain; liberalizing tendencies in the direction of mass politics

4. Take five economic indicators & three time periods*
Living standards
Handling or avoiding economic crises
Industrialization
Emigration
Economic justice
* ; ;

5. Tables: Five economic indicators
An uncontroversial choice of indicators (I think!)
Fundamental for economic well-being
Simple scoring system: bit like noughts and crosses
Could devise a more complex scoring system but …
Score of 1 indicates a substantial gain
Score of 0 indicates little or no improvement

6. Five economic indicators, 1800-50: Nationalist Ireland (South)
Living standards: no gain
Handling or avoiding economic crises: no gain
Industrialization: no gain
Emigration: no gain
Economic justice: no gain
OVERALL SCORE: No gains (0)
Union not working: Repealers

7. Five economic indicators, 1800-50: Unionist Ireland (North)
Living standards: no gain
Handling or avoiding economic crises: no gain
Industrialization: gain*
Emigration: no gain
Economic justice: gain
OVERALL SCORE: Two gains (+2)
*Rev Henry Cooke: look on Belfast and be a Repealer if you can

8. Summary,
Southern Ireland: no major gains in any of the 5 economic indicators, so no obvious economic reasons to favour the Union
North of Ireland: some gains (though limited), so some economic reasons to favour the Union

9. Five economic indicators, 1850-80: Nationalist Ireland (South)
Living standards: gain
Handling/avoiding economic crises: no gain?
Industrialization: no gain
Emigration: no gain
Economic justice: no gain?
OVERALL SCORE: One gain (1)

10. Five economic indicators, 1850-80: Unionist Ireland (North)
Living standards: gain
Handling/avoiding economic crises: gain
Industrialization: gain
Emigration: no gain
Economic justice: gain
OVERALL SCORE: Four gains (+4)

11. Summary 1850-1880 Southern Ireland: some limited economic progress
North of Ireland: substantial economic progress on most fronts

12. Five economic indicators, 1880-1914: Nationalist Ireland (South)
Living standards: gain
Handling/avoiding economic crises: gain
Industrialization: gain
Emigration: no gain
Economic justice: gain
OVERALL SCORE: Four gains (4)

13. Five economic indicators, 1880-1914: Unionist Ireland (North)
Living standards: gain
Handling/avoiding economic crises: gain
Industrialization: gain
Emigration: no gain
Economic justice: gain
OVERALL SCORE: Four gains (+4)

14. LINEN INDUSTRY. KENNEDY’S FACTORY, CUPAR STREET.

15. Belfast 1911: the industrial success story
Industrial capital of the island
Two world-class shipbuilding yards
Major engineering works: Sirocco, Mackies, others
Internationally-renowned Linen industry
Other industries
So Ulster Unionists pro-Union?

16. Summary,
Southern Ireland: substantial economic gains on most fronts
North of Ireland: maintaining economic gains
Paradox: “last years of the Union were the most prosperous!”

17. Do Economic forces matter?: Ulster Unionism
Ireland’s only industrial city: Belfast
Based on Free Trade and World exports
Economic success group confidence
Business class: financial resources for anti-HR
agitation and eventually guns
DEMOGRAPHIC implications

21. Population: political importance
Numbers vital to political power in a democratizing era
Compacting of Protestant and Unionist population of Ireland in East Ulster
Industrialization created a critical mass of Protestants and Unionists in East Ulster
Capable of resisting Home Rule
Underpinning all this: industrializing economy

22. Do economic forces matter?: Irish nationalism
Long litany of economic woes
No great economic progress pre-1880
- Emigration, Famine & Land War
Formative period of Irish nationalism before 1880s
False optimism: political autonomy economic prosperity

23. Conclusion
Best to see economic forces in conjunction with political and other historical forces
Eg Land War, :
- Agricultural Depression (European-wide)
- But role also of political leadership: Parnell &
Davitt
- in conjunction to mass mobilisation
powerful Home Rule movement

24. Conclusion (contd.)
“If really pressed, my view is that, taking the long view, cultural and political forces take precedence over economic factors in the making of Irish nationalism and Ulster Unionism, even though arguments for and against the Union are often dressed up in economic terms.”
- Liam Kennedy