Symbols, language & identity in Northern Ireland
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Transcript of Symbols, language & identity in Northern Ireland
Paul Breen, INTO University of East Anglia
1Paul Breen INTO University of East Anglia, London
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The IRA – Irish Republican Army. A left wing paramilitary organisation that fought for Irish unity.
ORANGE ORDER – A Protestant organisation that sees the act of ‘parading’ as essential to its cultural identity.
Burning streets and riots in Belfast –Sadly Belfast has been synonymous with sectarian rioting since the 1920s which reached a peak in the 70s and 90s during the era of ‘The Troubles.’
Unionist distrust & insecurity
Nationalist desire for Irish reunification
Refusal to accept nationalist identity & treat aspirations as
legitimate.
Union with Britain not an attractive
option for nationalists
3Paul Breen INTO University of East Anglia, London
Roots of conflict
British colonisation of Ireland
Plantations of 17th century
Demographic impact of this
Protestant state & decades of discrimination
4Paul Breen INTO University of East Anglia, London
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From the 1920s up until the 1960s Northern Ireland was a state where the majority Protestant community exercised virtually 100% control of all institutions whilst the Catholics played little active part in society.
The police were Protestant. The law makers were Protestant. The Parliament was overwhelmingly Protestant. Catholics only had one Act passed in the whole existence of the Northern Ireland Parliament – The Wild Birds Act of 1930 (Tom Paulin, 1993).
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MURALS were a way of expressing political identity in republican and loyalist areas of Northern Ireland, especially in urban parts such as Belfast and Derry, which the loyalists called Londonderry.
Is this young soldier trapped in the middle of two implacable enemies or is he part of an occupying army or is he protecting British rule in N. Ireland?
1998 Good Friday Agreement – signed after two years of ‘peace’ negotiations
Based on principles of inclusion, power-sharing & self-determination for the people of Northern Ireland (Todd, 2010; Nagle, 2012)
Strengthens British sovereignty but leaves way open for united Ireland in the future
Has this shaped a repositioning of nationalism?
7Paul Breen INTO University of East Anglia, London
Languages – English, Irish & Ulster Scots
Official language of the State is still very much unionist; downplaying Irishness
Not so much the languages spoken as how language itself is constructed to give legitimacy to ideologies
8Paul Breen INTO University of East Anglia, London
‘Love’ of the nation – a term colonised by both sides (Ahmed, 2004)
Nationalism’s investment of ‘love’ in the long-term goal of a united Ireland
Impact of this & the creation of a cycle which is like an affair that can never quite end
9Paul Breen INTO University of East Anglia, London
Clash of identities expressed in symbols –flags, emblems, cultural activities, and even sporting affiliations (Hassan, 2002)
Unionism’s fear of relinquishing dominance
Possibility of a ‘third space’ being created? (Rapp & Rhomberg, 2012)
Equilibrium needed, rather than neutrality
10Paul Breen INTO University of East Anglia, London
Deeper integration of nationalist symbols into the identity of the State
Nationalist demands for justice and equality presently outweigh demand for reunification
Unionists need to concentrate on macro-situation not the micro-situation
Reconciliation can only come about in the context of true equality of identities
11Paul Breen INTO University of East Anglia, London
Paul Breen INTO University of East Anglia, London 12